M&S is the world’s first carbon neutral major retailer, and our Cheshire Oaks store is our most carbon efficient major store. In its first year Cheshire Oaks was 42% more energy efficient, producing 40% fewer carbon emissions than an equivalent store.

Here are some of the innovative features that make Cheshire oaks so energy efficient:

• The building uses hemp and lime external wall panels and is partly sunk into the ground with earth mounding around the perimeter. These features assist in keeping a stable temperature by improving the building’s insulation resulting in the store loosing less than 1°C of heat overnight compared to 9°C in other store environments.
• “Free cool” air is delivered to sales floors via displacement air columns and below ground air distribution ducts.
• A biomass boiler provides 72% of all the space heating for the store.
• We’ve maximised the natural light throughout the store and our sales floor lighting has automated daylight control, which dims the lights when possible. We’ve also used LED lighting in our car park and external spaces.
• 100% of electricity is supplied via a green electricity supply contract.