Tesco, the U.K.’s leading supermarket chain, has won the prestigious Global Convenience Format of the Year Award in the 2008 Retail Industry Awards for its Express environment store in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Tesco's Express environment store in Hinckley, Leicestershire
The new format beat competition from rival the Co-operative Group, Rutter’s Farm Stores in the U.S. and South Africa’s Fruit & Veg City.
The Tesco Express convenience store opened in June 2008 and is the first example of the retailer’s eco-blueprint that is similar to the larger grocery formats. It follows the opening of environmental trial sites in the core supermarket chain in Wick, on the Scottish coast, and Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
Speaking at Insight’s Future of International Convenience Retailing Conference in London last month, Willie Hamilton, Tesco Express commercial director, said the Hinckley store is already exceeding the retailer’s environmental targets.
Tesco has calculated the store will reduce carbon emissions by 31 percent but it is on track to deliver 50 percent, said Hamilton. It is targeted to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent but is already achieving 40 percent and using 15 percent recycled materials.
“Hinckley is an important step in evolving our store design,” said Hamilton.
Key features of the store include:
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A deep roof overhang to provide summer shade
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Underfloor heating provided by waste heat from the refrigeration plant
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Roof cowls for natural air ventilation
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CO2-based refrigeration with just a small charge of refrigerant
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Sky lighting for natural lighting
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A dimmable lighting system
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Doors on all of the coolers to improve refrigeration efficiency
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A rooftop water reclamation system for watering planted areas
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Car park lighting sensors to reduce energy consumption
The store has a timber frame construction made from Glulam spruce beams and features Latvian birch in the interior for a warm, eco-friendly feel.
“You have to be brave,” said Hamilton, urging delegates at the conference to ask shoppers for their points of view on environmental initiatives such as these. “We can learn from this and take it forward,” he added.
The Global Convenience Format of the Year Award was sponsored by Insight/NACS and was presented to Tesco in London last month.