Greggs launches first eco drive thru

Greggs has launched its first ever ‘eco drive thru’ fitted with a range of new sustainability initiatives focused on reducing the environmental impact of operations, by reducing waste, using less water and lowering energy use. 

The new site, which builds on the company’s leading sustainability credentials, is located at Easton Lane, Winchester. The aim of the shop is to test new eco features, including materials used for elements of the build and in-shop operational initiatives, for successful trials to then be rolled out across other Greggs’ shops.

Sustainable initiatives in the new shop include:

• Sun tubes to direct sunlight from the roof, into the store to reduce artificial lighting.

• Low energy light fittings and daylight harvesting technology, with a wireless control system which adapts to lighting in real time through smart sensor nodes. 

• Solar panels to power all of its in store digital signage throughout the year.

• Rainwater harvesting unit which has capacity of 3000 litres, expected to reduce water use by around 13%. 

• Heat pump air conditioning and overdoor heater systems which work in conjunction to balance air temperature, as well as a heat recovery system which utilises warm air from refrigeration extraction to warm the air, and a heat pump system that uses surrounding air to warm water. 

Whilst this shop is the first of its kind in drive thru format, the Winchester site marks the second eco shop for Greggs. The company launched its first eco shop in Northampton in 2022, to trial initiatives including knee operated sinks, undercounter water heaters, energy efficient ovens and more sustainable refrigerant gas, but as new technologies developed – a new testbed was required to explore innovative sustainability initiatives. 

In its sustainability report – The Greggs Pledge – the company set a target for more than a quarter of its shops to feature eco shop elements by the end of 2025. Greggs exceeded this target a year early, with more than 700 shops (27% of its estate) encompassing elements from its first eco shop by the end of 2024. 

Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, commented: ‘We are so excited to have launched our first ever eco drive thru. As a leader in our sector, we take our responsibility to do right by the planet and communities we operate in seriously, and we do all that we can to make changes for the better. I am proud of what we have achieved with our first eco shop, ‘our shop of the future’, which means we can now test further materials and initiatives in this new unit, bringing us another step closer to reaching our net zero carbon objective.’