M&S eco-store outperforms targets

Marks and Spencer’s massive eco-store at Cheshire Oaks has smashed its sustainability targets and is performing much better than designed in its first year in operation, an independent report has found.

The 195,000sq ft store is consuming 29% less energy per square metre than it was designed to an assessment by consultant Faithful and Gould has found.

It said the store, designed by architect Aukett Fitzroy Robinson and built by contractor Simons, had 40% lower carbon emissions than other comparable M&S stores and used 60% less heating fuel than predicted.

Munish Datta, head of property for the retailer’s overarching green strategy, said the building loses less than 1° C of its temperature overnight, which compares to 9° C lost by other M&S stores. “They have to work a lot harder to warm up in the morning,” she said.

Datta said the insulating properties of the hemp panels that make up the building’s walls and the cross-laminated timber roof were key factors in keeping the temperature stable and energy use down.

Datta said the firm was now planning to use what it had learned from Cheshire Oaks to conduct energy efficiency retrofits across its existing estate of shops.

The firm is currently assessing four small pilot retrofit projects before progressing the programme.

The report also looked at staff and customer experiences of the building. It found the building scored 6.88 out of seven in the Building User Surveys.

Plus, 85% of staff felt that the environment was good place to work, compared with 75% at other similar stores.

Datta said the firm was now planning to use what it had learned from Cheshire Oaks to conduct energy efficiency retrofits across its existing estate of shops. The firm is currently assessing four small pilot retrofit projects before progressing the programme.