Aldi are introducing a new way of shopping starting with a concept store.
The supermarket giants said they are "continuing to explore new initiatives all the time" while doing their bit for the environment and trying to put money back into the pockets of their customers. Today, on September 29, the retailers have introduced a new concept store and said that "elements may be rolled out to other stores across the country."
The new eco concept store opened its doors in Royal Leamington Spa today and has been designed to significantly reduce carbon consumption, with sustainable building materials and design changes estimated to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions by up to two-thirds. It also aims to help make it easier for shoppers to reduce, reuse and recycle, with numerous plastic-reduction initiatives being trialled.
READ MORE: Aldi makes price promise to every shopper after cost of living warning
Aldi will use the store to test and learn which elements work best, both for customers and in reducing carbon consumption. If successful, these elements may then be rolled out to other stores across the country.
Features in the store include a "hard to recycle" unit to allow customers to recycle items not collected by local authorities, such as coffee pods, medicine packets, batteries, soft plastics and cosmetic packaging. There will also be a nuts and coffee refill fixture to help customers shop more sustainably, using their own containers or a free paper bag.
The car park has dedicated Electric Vehicle Charging Ports, with capacity to expand these in the future as demand for the spaces increases. The store has solar panels and uses chiller doors to reduce energy consumption, while redesigning the building structure has also helped reduce overall energy demand by 57% compared with a normal store.
Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Now more than ever, we must do our bit for the environment and this store offers us the ability to easily explore new in-store initiatives and low carbon store designs. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact in any way we can and are continuing to explore new initiatives all the time.
“What’s even better is that many of the changes made to this store, whether it be the energy-saving initiatives or our latest packaging-free trial, could allow us to put even more money back into the pockets of our customers. We’re focusing on continuing to deliver our longstanding price promise by offering the lowest possible prices in Britain, every single day.”
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