North East bakery business Greggs has opened its first eco-shop as part of its pledge to make the world a better place.
The Newcastle food-on-the-go retailer has unveiled the first eco-shop in Northampton, providing a test bed for future in-store sustainability initiatives.
The plan forms part of The Greggs Pledge, a series of 10 commitments set out in last year’s annual sustainability report, which included targets to reduce its environmental impact and protect animal welfare.
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Earlier this year the group, which has more than 2,200 shops across the UK, announced it had completed its template for the shop’s design, saying it wants to have eco-shop elements in 250 shops before the year is out.
The new eco-shop, which has opened at Great Billing, Northampton, is a new format where Greggs will test innovative solutions and initiatives aimed at delivering progress in reducing the environmental impact of the company’s operations.
Greggs worked closely with specialist consultancies Innovation Gateway, Quantum Zero and Bureau Veritas to to develop and design the shop, with successful new ideas and technologies to then be rolled out across the broader shop estate. The solutions being trialled this year include recyclable flooring, cistern-less and air assisted toilets, eco-ovens, heat pump air curtains and solar control glass. All initiatives are focused on waste management, water reduction or overall energy reduction.
Longer term, Greggs has set a target for a quarter of its shop estate to feature eco-shop elements – by 2025 – and it will continue to reduce the carbon footprint across its shops every year, driving the company further towards its net zero carbon objective.
Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, said: “We’re delighted to have launched our first eco shop, in line with our Greggs Pledge and net zero commitments. As a responsible business we have a duty to our customers and to our planet to change the world for the better. Our new eco-shop format gives us a platform to develop and test solutions to minimise our impact on the environment by cutting our waste, energy and water usage. As we continue to trial new and innovative sustainability initiatives we look forward to making real progress in our goal to becoming a greener Greggs.”
