IT was opening day at the Marks & Spencer store in Bournemouth, and a throng of elderly ladies with curled perms and smart handbags were cheerfully clamouring to grab free glasses of buck’s fizz.
But for Richard Gillies, an M&S veteran of more than 20 years, there was a different cause for celebration the Bournemouth shop had become the first store in the retailer’s 550-plus portfolio to enjoy a “green” makeover, making it one of the most environmentally friendly stores in Britain.
The shop, which has been a fixture in Bournemouth for more than 70 years, has been a labour of love for Gillies, the man in charge of store design, development and procurement at M&S.
He had spent more than a year painstakingly working on ways to make the company’s eco-aspirations a reality translating the green spin into practical ways to rework the floors, fridges and shelves to consume less energy.
If it is successful, Gillies expects the format will be rolled out across the group’s portfolio.
“We are trying things that we believe are economically viable that we are able to transfer to the rest of the chain,” Gillies said.
Apart from the M&S colours, it is not immediately apparent from the outside what makes the store so “green”. It does not even boast a wind turbine.
It would have been easy to conclude that its “greenness” was a cynical PR stunt a suspicion compounded by a bad start to our guided tour. We hadn’t even entered the store before it became clear there were teething problems the daylight sensors in the store windows that are designed to switch off automatic spotlights in sunshine did not work.
To be fair to the M&S design team, this was never going to be a simple task. The Bournemouth store was picked precisely for its ordinariness. A mishmash of building styles, part prewar, part postwar, M&S decided it was representative of the type of old-fashioned, provincial high-street shop that makes up much of its portfolio.
It would have been easy to develop a brand-new store with lots of flashy eco-features; but refurbishing an old shop with all its complexities and design quirks well, the theory went, if you can make this green, you can make anything green.
Once inside, things started to look up. It was quickly apparent that the store’s greenness had been reprogrammed into its DNA. For a start, the entrance now has two sets of doors to help save heat.
Infra-red sensors have been fitted in the fitting rooms so the lights switch on only when someone is present. The lights dim automatically once the customers have left, and when the burglar alarm is set for the night, the lights turn off.
The air-conditioning has been revolutionised; posts have been installed that chill the air only to head height radically reducing energy usage. The electricity supply is sourced from a green provider, which makes power from landfill waste, sewage and wind.
The freezer cabinets have small LED lighting strips rather than fluorescent bulbs and they have fully shut doors to save power.
The escalators run at reduced voltage when they are empty.
Even the store shelving units are made from a product called enviro-wall, a substance that is similar in texture to a washing-up bowl which is lighter, easier to transport and a lot more scratch-resistant than the old multi-density fibreboard.
In the toilets there is a dual-flush system, where you can press the small button to save water if you choose. It clearly wasn’t working with all the customers “Mummy can we press the big button?” said one little girl on our visit.
Out of immediate sight, the roof is covered with green plants, specially adapted so they need little watering.
On the shopfloor the products themselves are greener. Tucked away next to the M&S bedding range was a wormery for the garden, retailing for £89.
Store staff are decked out proudly in Plan A T-shirts the company’s slogan for its sustainability drive (Plan A because there is no Plan B).
Some were sporting fleeces adapted from a range on sale in the store made from recycled plastic bottles.
About 80% of the waste from refurbishing the store was recycled the old flooring was turned into traffic cones, one of which sits proudly in the “green room”, a staff room emblazoned with missives from chief executive Stuart Rose and equipped with DVDs explaining the company’s green mission.
M&S estimates the store will use 25% less energy than before and 90% of its carbon output will have been eliminated.
Trucost, an independent envi-ronmental consultancy, estimates that if M&S rolled out the format across its store portfolio it would save the company 53,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
But why no wind turbine? Mike Barry, head of corporate and social responsibility at M&S, laughed at the question.
“We are not into creating trophy green buildings. It is about creating test beds that we can roll out across 550-plus stores and our warehouses. We could have put up a wind turbine on the roof for people to take a picture of, but it was not economically viable at this store. It would have produced only 1% of the energy we need.
“The programme is an investment in the brand. We believe we have to do it and our customers want us to do it. Sometimes you just have to be brave and go for it. But we believe we will prosper on the back of it.”
He believes that 80% of society is interested in green issues, and increasingly customers expect retailers to become more green on their behalf.
Such initiatives are regularly denounced as greenwash, but Plan A is costing M&S about £200m over the next five years and the company has no firm idea of what economic return it will generate.
“There isn’t a black box that will spew out a number which tells you how much money you will make from going green. I’ve seen countless people try to create models which say if you invest £1 you get back £1.50, but this is more about a long-term investment in the future,” Barry said.
Peter Bonfield, chief executive of BRE, the sustainability consult-ants, has worked with M&S on developing its green stores.
“M&S has started off doing it the hard way,” he said. “It is much more challenging to achieve true sustainability in an existing building than a new store, where it would be much more visible.
“The public care now about sustainability and it is important for retailers to show they are doing it. M&S has seen the writing on the wall and is future-proofing its business. It is approaching sustainability in a very pragmatic way.
“The company knows that it isn’t just about having a roof bristling with micro wind turbines it can be about using the right flooring or ceramic tiles or using lighting, controls and monitoring systems to reduce energy usage,” Bonfield said.
Simon Thomas, chief executive of Trucost, agreed.
“M&S is nicely realistic in its approach and it is actually doing pretty well,” he said.
“It is taking a different tack to Tesco. M&S is saying we are one of the most trusted brands in the country and you, the customer, should trust us to make decisions on your behalf.
“Tesco is saying we will allow people to make green choices by having a green product available as an option. It’s quite a different approach.”
