Aldi, the German discounter that has recently overtaken Morrisons to become the UK’s fourth largest supermarket, is set to open an eco-friendly concept store.
Designed to reduce carbon consumption by up to two thirds, the new store in Royal Leamington Spa, will open on Friday, 29 September.
With a new building design that uses sustainable materials, the store is designed to help reduce overall energy demand by 57% compared to normal stores of the same size, with solar panels and chiller doors that will also save energy.
Shoppers will apparently also find it easier to reduce, reuse and recycle in the new store, the company said, thanks to new plastic-reduction initiatives being trialled, including a ‘hard to recycle unit,’ for items that are not collected by local authorities.
Chief executive officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, Giles Hurley, said “Now more than ever, we must do our bit for the environment,” adding “that many of the changes made to this store could allow us to put even more money back into the pockets of our customers.”
The store is also designed to allow Aldi to learn which characteristics work best in the new store in order to roll these successful elements out across its other UK shops.