Make Space and our Environment
We are committed to operating an environmentally sustainable and responsible business for our customers, colleagues, and the communities we serve. We have in place, a strategy that identifies areas of the business where investment and development will deliver this commitment.
Energy
Our goal is to achieve 100% Renewable energy. At the end of 2022, 87% of all energy consumed in our stores was Carbon Neutral and 67% was Renewable.
Key commitments:
Eliminate the use of gas heating in our stores.
Install Solar Panels at every store to generate our own clean energy. We anticipate that PV systems will be installed in all stores by 2026.
We have been upgrading our lighting and approximately 70% of all lighting in our stores is now LED. We will achieve 100% within the next two years. All light fittings are controlled by presence detectors and timers, so they only switch on when needed.
Waste Management
Our goal is simple – to minimise the amount of waste we produce and to ensure we recycle as much waste as practicable. Our activities do not generate much waste, but our goal is to ensure the little that we do have is managed responsibly.
Redundant IT and office equipment is sent to WEEE recycling plants, and all print toner cartridges are submitted for recycling.
Retail products
With the support of our suppliers, we continue to review our product range with the aim of providing sustainable and environmentally friendly products. With ongoing product innovation, we are focused on the following key areas:
Reducing single use plastics. We are achieving this by changing the product packaging from plastic to cardboard. We are also looking for alternative solutions, such as providing paper parcel tape, rather than the traditional plastic type.
Seek products with a high recycled content and are highly recyclable. For example, our cardboard boxes are made from 70% recycled material, and are 100% recycleable. Further, the cardboard is FSC approved.
To minimise waste from the products we sell, we offer a box return scheme, whereby customers can return their unused cardboard boxes for a full refund, or if they are used, we donate them to a local charity for re-use.
Other beneficial changes
Identify opportunities to improve the thermal efficiency of our buildings, to reduce heat loss. We have already made a good start by over-cladding the external walls of our reception and office areas with Quadcore Insulated Panels.
Our intention is that all business owned vehicles will be replaced with fully electric vehicles over the course of the next five years, as and when the vehicles need to be replaced, and sufficient infrastructure is in place in the areas in which we operate.
Replacing older, inefficient convection heaters in all our reception areas and tenanted offices with modern alternatives that use the latest technology to improve efficiency and reduce consumption.
Overtime, as we need to replace electrical equipment, we will invest in high efficiency rated products.
These are some of the improvements we have identified to date. Ongoing, we shall continue to evaluate our business practices to ensure that we are doing all that we can to deliver our commitment.