C&A and its eco store concept, first BREEAM certificated store in Europe

The German city Mainz is the first city where C&A opened its ecological store, the store has been developed to reduce the energy consumption and the CO2 emissions. The store is the first redeveloped retail property in Europe to be granted BREEAM certification.

The building, with retail floor space of around 6,500 m², will reduce the consumption of electricity with 50% and 70% less energy consumption in heating fuel, furthermore the store is carbon-neutral.

One of the principles underlying the eco-store's energy plan is that the shell of the building needs to be almost completely sealed. In addition, all the windows and display windows have been replaced by insulated glazing units with thermally separated frames. A new vestibule made of insulated glass has been constructed in the entrance area.

The ventilation technology used in the eco-store is completely new. The new system works on the principle of circulating air, and will cut the amount of air entering the building by 75% without reducing air quality. This means that the new ventilation system will use 74% less energy than the old one, and CO2 emissions will as a result be cut by 138 tonnes a year.

The opening of this ECO Store forms part of the international environmental “We C&Are”, presented by the Dutch retailer last year. This program also mentions the new lighting plan that has been introduced in over 200 stores:

Keyword: New Lighting Concept

An environmentally friendly lighting system has been developed in cooperation with the company Philips. In the year 2008 this system was incorporated into around 200 European C&A stores. 150,000 lights have been exchanged. The energy saving compared to conventional systems is 18%.

http://www.c-and-a.com/aboutUs/socialResponsibility/environment/weCare/

The green retailing revolution; five quick steps to greentailing success

At the website Dynamic Business we found an interesting article written by Nina Hendy about green retailing. Topics that are described in this article are Getting behind green retailing, evaluating the cost and time involved in green retailing and five quick steps to ‘greentailing’ success
We refer to the website to read further this article, below we mention the 5 quick steps for greentailing success which are explained further in the article.
Five quick steps for greentailing successWhat steps can a retailer take to move toward a greener business model?
1. Eco-packaging

2. Expanding the green offer

3. Inside the store

4. Decrease your waste

5. Green marketing

Source: ACRS Environmentally Friendly Retailing Secondary Research Report 2008
This article first appeared in the March/April 09 issue of Giftrap, the official magazine of Gift and Homewares Australia (GHA).

100% ECO Hygienic Paper available at the supermarkets of Albert Heijn and Coop (The Netherlands)

Since today the Dutch consumers are able to purchase 100% ECO Hygienic Paper. The first supermarkets in The Netherlands who offer this environmental-friendly product are Albert Heijn and Coop. The assortment these stores offer are toilet paper, kitchen rolls and tissues of the brand NORTH RIVER. The products are the most environmental friendly products of the market. By using the product the Dutch consumers help to improve the environment.

The production of these paper product is realized by recycled wood, there is no chlorine included, 80% less water is used and the production process is realized by 100% sustainable energy.
For more information on these products take a look at the website of Friends Hygiene or contact them by e-mail jan@friendshygiene.nl

Saving energy by using a economical store fachade

The organization for small business retailers (MKB) and the energy center will work together in developing sustainable store fachades. Dutch retailers waste a lot of energy and money by having their stores open. Some examples like cd stores do not even have a facade, this to easily attract new customers, but it costs a lot of energy and money.

The test will advize the concept of separate stores throughout The Netherlands. They do not only make a energy saving plan for the facade but will also look at other points in the store to advize a sustainable and green store.

The storefront

The first impression of the store. The image it projects to the outside world. Managing to find the right balance between surroundings and concept. Transparency to the outside world. Showing who you are. Also has to succeed in getting the consumer to come inside.

Recognisability, attractiveness and quality are the core concepts here. Proper presentation at the design stage is necessary to convince.

Other sites of interests are:

www.jdv-trc.blogspot.com

www.faitraderetail.blogspot.com

www.greensupermarket.blogspot.com

Spanish shoe chain VOGUE LV opens first sustainable store of Galicia

The galician shoe company Calzados Vogue LV opened its first sustainable store in Galicia. This green store reduces almost with 3 tons the emision of CO2.

To achieve this objective they changed all the lighting in the store, using different types of low energy lighting, like the LED lighting (the placement of the LED recudes the consumption of electricity with 40% compared to the other stores).

The creation of the sustainable store was realized by using ecological materials. They used ecological paint and the bambu what is placed on the floor comes from plantations which have been checked. The airconditioning placed is a second hand airconditioning to reduce the level of garbage.

The ecological part of the store is not only limited to the store design, but also includes the shopping process. After their purchases the clients will leave the stores with bags of biodegradable material.

Please check their website for further information on this green store concept. http://www.voguelv.com/

Eco Store Leroy Merlin offers clients environmental-friendly solutions

The French DIY-retailer Leroy Merlin, multinational present in several countries is commited to the environment. The products and service are meant to help the customer to decide for sustainable products when they build or renovate their houses. The customers are taught and motivated to choose an environmental-friendly solution in water and energy consumption and an eco friendly garden.

The aim of Leroy Merlin is to involve customers and to motivate them to choose environmental friendly solutions.

To select the suppliers and products Leroy Merlin uses a IDDEE program (Initiatives for Sustainable Development and Energy Conservation). For over 4.000 products already have replaced former products while the impact of the new products is lower on the environment. Leroy Merlin divides all products in 5 different groups: healthy housing, natural gardening, forest conservation, energy savings and water savings.

The information to the consumers has been improved. Inside th estores of Leroy Merlin and at their website Eco Opciones (Spanish) consumers can check how environmental-friendly their house is and which steps they can take to decorate an environmental-friendly and beautiful house and garden. This sustainable guide can be downloaded via this link: http://www.leroymerlin.es/guias/eco-opciones.htm

After the opening of several Eco Stores, Leroy Merlin also opened their first Eco Store in Spain. The eco-commitment starts entering the store, the signing and sections focus on eco-commitment. There is an organic garden, renewable energies are highlighted and information and special products are given to get a more concerned customer with respect to the environment.
www.leroymerlin.fr
www.leroymerlin.es