Last July, food chain Greggs announced the launch of its first ‘eco shop’, which opened in Great Billing, Northampton to provide the business with a chance to test in-store sustainability initiatives.
The aim was to operate it with a reduced environmental impact compared to its existing estate, and it was kitted out with recyclable flooring, cistern-less and air assisted toilets, eco-ovens, heat pump air curtains, and solar control glass. Better waste management, water reduction, and lower energy usage were the targets of the new site.
This week, as part of its annual sustainability report, and as it nears the halfway point of its five-year sustainability plan, The Greggs Pledge, the business has highlighted several ways the eco shop is making a difference – and how it is making Greggs a greener retailer.
Greggs said, to date, it has brought in eco shop sustainability initiatives into more than 250 of its stores.
As part of the Greggs Pledge, 25% of its shops need to feature elements from the ‘shop of the future’ design, but they are currently in 10.7% of its estate. The target for this year, the retailer explained, is for 400 shops to contain features of the eco design – that would equate to 17% of its estate.
Other greener retailing updates from Greggs this week included setting a 2023 target for 98% of electricity usage to come from renewable sources and 30% of the gas used across its operations to be from renewable sources.
Greggs also published its Deforestation Policy in 2022, mapped supplier compliance and said it plans to be deforestation-free by the end of 2025. A goal for 2023 is to complete the mapping of soy in animal feed to determine sustainability status.
Roisin Currie, CEO of Greggs, commented: “When we first launched The Greggs Pledge, we committed to being transparent about – and accountable for – the areas where we believe we could drive the most change in making the world a better place.
“I am pleased to report that we are on track to meet each one of our ambitious targets that we set out to achieve by the end of 2025 making us both a stronger and better business.”
[Image credit: Greggs]
