GS Stands for Greener shopping
You can keep up to date with all things Greener Shopping on this page!
We’ve had a tree-mendous idea to off-set our carbon footprint!
We’re planting 60 trees around Warrington with the help of our tree buddies.
Plus we’re holding biodiversity workshops at 7 local schools.
Small steps make a big change and we’re determined to make a difference. ?
#OurWarringtonOurWorld
GS stands for Sustainability
We have a dedicated and passionate team of sustainability champions at the centre who work hard to ensure we are meeting the targets of our sustainability charter. Below are some of the projects we have either implemented or are in progress:
– Our amazing cleaning team at GS now use chemical-free cleaning products, allowing us to be friendlier to the environment.
– We’re constantly working to reduce single-use plastic. We’ve installed mains fed water machines across our staffing areas and provided all 80+ of our dedicated staff with branded reusable water bottles, with plans to extend this to our customers by installing mains fed water machines on the mall.
– We’re also implementing plastic free vending by changing plastic bottles to aluminium cans
– Working with our retailers, we are implementing a waste strategy to allow retailers to recycle more effectively by having a better understanding of segregation of waste. We’re also Implementing waste recycling bins throughout the mall to allow our customers to get involved in recycling responsibly.
– We are working with our independent retailers to improve their EPC ratings; this allows us to ensure each retailer has an EPC rating above the national minimum standard. We have an improvement plan in place to assist retailers who fall below the minimum requirement. We also assess new retailer shop-fit proposals to ensure any tenant works contribute to improving the energy rating.
– We are implementing a green travel plan for staff and retailers, working with local public transport providers, as well as looking at the feasibility of having electric charging points in our car parks
– We’re dedicated to responsible consumption, installing LED lighting across the whole building, PIR sensors in all back of house areas, changing controls for energy consumption equipment for more efficient use and reducing our water consumption by harvesting rainwater and isolating little-used taps.
– We are working with our suppliers to support our sustainable vision for the future by understanding and discussing with them sustainable options for products and services
– We are looking to add more biodiversity to the centre by introducing pollinator plants within our existing garden terrace and flower beds on Midland Way, building bird and bat nests and bee and bug hotels, planting pots on the roof areas for bees and butterflies and incorporating biophilia to the inside of the building (oxygen generating plants within staff offices and greenery on the mall).
Steps our retailers are taking towards Greener Shopping:
– Accesssorize sells cotton reusable bags which are £5 and only offer paper bags
– Beaverbrooks have recyclable gift bags and tissue, have stopped using single-use water bottles for customer refreshments, and do not use a store dish washer to save water
– Read Lush’s environmental policy here
– H&M collects and recycle unwanted clothes on a global scale
– River Island eliminate waste to landfill from all of their operations, and increase recycling
– Holland & Barrett recycle all materials used in stores, store support centres, and distribution centres
– Costa’s new cups have a 26% lower carbon footprint than a standard takeaway cup when recycled, which you can do at any Costa Coffee store nationwide – just hand them over to your barista or pop them in a cup recycling bin
– Greggs cut 350 tonnes of single-use plastics from their operations in 2019 and, by 2025, want to eliminate all unnecessary single-use plastic from their shops and manufacturing sites
– Schuh is proud to be a Carbon Neutral organisation, meaning that they completely offset all of their emissions. They are always looking for ways to further reduce their emissions too and are targeting a 70% reduction in their measured carbon emissions by 2022
– Caffe Nero has got KeepCups (recyclable) available in every single store. They also switched to paper straws in 2018, removing at least 7 million plastic straws a year from entering UK waste streams
– Starbucks coffee is 99% ethically sourced, and the company is on a mission to make coffee the world’s first sustainably sourced agricultural product
– New Look are kind to the core, check out their sustainability pledge via: https://www.newlook.com/uk/sustainability
– Pandora sell lab manufactured diamonds
Small steps you can take to help make a big difference:
– Save petrol by shopping local
– Go meat-free one day a week (or more)
– Swap single-use packaging for refillable
– Don’t leave your electricals on stand-by
