A new Ikea store in London’s Greenwich, built by contractor McLaughlin & Harvey, has become the first retail unit in the UK to achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) of over 90%.
The store is also the first Ikea branch to receive an ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM certification (for which a score of 85%+ is required).
BREEAM measures buildings against a range of variables, including indoor air quality, water usage, and innovation initiatives and Ikea Greenwich is only the second retail unit in the world to receive the sustainability rating with a score of over 90% – held by just 320 buildings around the world.
The branch incorporates a range of sustainable technologies such as solar power, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting and renewable construction materials, while maximising the use of renewable electricity with a solar array and a geothermal system supporting the heating and cooling.
It also makes use of natural light throughout, reducing dependence on artificial lighting and features three landscaped gardens including a roof garden with a sedum roof to support insect life and raised beds, all accessible to customers and the community.
Shamir Ghumra, director of BREEAM at BRE said: “Congratulations to IKEA Greenwich for achieving the highest BREEAM UK New Construction Outstanding rating by a retail unit to date. BREEAM is the world’s leading building design certification and our aim is to drive excellence in sustainable building practices. Ikea’s 90.44% score reflects this.”
Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager at IKEA UK & Ireland said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and through our combined efforts across the business and in partnership with others, we have been able to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM UK New Construction rating. This is a prolific milestone in our journey to becoming a more sustainable and circular business, and also how we hope to inspire change beyond our own business. The many new sustainable technologies and initiatives allow us to meet the needs of our customers, whilst staying within the limits of one planet.”
