Press release:
B&Q launches its greenest ever store

11 February 2009

50 per cent less carbon emissions and the biggest range of One Planet Home products in London

Today (11 February 2009), B&Q is celebrating the opening of its greenest ever store, at New Malden, Surrey.  The 159,000 sq ft store will be at least 50 per cent more efficient in its carbon emissions than the rest of the chain's stores through innovative developments such as the biggest single wind turbine on a building and 108 underground bore holes, 100 metres deep which heat and cool the store with energy from the earth.  The store will become the latest benchmark for meeting B&Q's objective of a zero carbon store by 2012.

B&Q is one of twelve organisations from across the country to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard and its One Planet Home range of over 2,000 eco products helps customers make a difference in their homes.  To celebrate the opening of New Malden, customers across the estate will be able to buy a roll of loft insulation for just £1 enabling an average sized house to be insulated for just under £25 and saving an average of £200 per year on heating bills.

The New Malden store builds on B&Q's commitment to social and environmental responsibility. B&Q was a founder member of the Forest Stewardship Council in 1991 to ensure its timber comes from a sustainable source, introduced a paint labelling scheme in 1998 to encourage sale of low VOC paint which is now industry standard and has been working on a peat dilution programme since 1991.  In 2008 charges for carrier bags were introduced and have reduced usage by 57 per cent already.

The store employs 320 people; 200 new jobs have been created and 120 employees have transferred from B&Q's former Wimbledon and New Malden sites.  The store staff are aged from 17 to 94, including Sid Prior who transfers from the Wimbledon store and is B&Q's oldest worker.  Seventeen "shop within shops" will provide customers with everything they need under one roof with friendly expert advice from the store team which includes interior designers, plumbers, carpenters and electricians. Shopping will be made easy with the new Reserve and Collect Service allowing customers to reserve online and collect in store and demos in store will give advice and aid product choice.

The store has the chain's largest lighting department, a garden centre, trend-led style pods which show customers how to get the latest look in their homes and the full range of One Planet Home products; a range designed to help customers make their own homes more sustainable including energy saving light bulbs, water butts, insulation products, low VOC paints, sun tunnels and propagators.

The building will achieve almost a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions, when compared with a traditional unit of similar size, and will be B&Q's most sustainable store to date. It features many energy saving technologies including:

• a 20KW wind turbine situated on a 35m tower on the top of the store will help generate energy for the store - it's the largest integrated turbine yet installed on a building in the UK
• FSC certified timber has been used throughout
• Ground source heat pumps heat and cool the store with geothermal energy which takes energy from the earth using 108 bore holes at 100 metres deep
• Rainwater harvesting - rainwater is collected from the store's roof and used to water plants in the roof top garden centre and for flushing the toilets
• A photovoltaic system; which converts light into electricity will provide shade for the coffee shop and convert solar radiation into electricity to run appliances and lighting
• Solar thermal water heating panels will generate hot water for the WCs and the coffee shop
• Insulated to the highest levels reducing loss of heat and CO2 through walls and roof
• A green roof planted with sedum; an herbaceous plant, will absorb CO2 and provide added value to biodiversity as well as reducing rainwater run-off
• North-light roof provides higher natural lighting levels and reduces reliance on artificial lighting. All lighting throughout the store will use energy efficient light bulbs
• Automatic lighting dimming control system will reduce energy consumption
• Natural ventilation from the roof vents help to make the store more comfortable in summer

But green isn't the only colour, the store will have the largest selection of B&Q's home accessories and decorative materials and trend-led style houses have been created at the front of the store to help customers get the look in their own homes - Oriental Boudoir, White Romantic or Made by Nature are just some of the current looks and the new Spring Summer range will launch in March.  Seventeen "shop within shops" from dedicated kitchen, bathroom and bedroom showrooms to the paint shop and power tool corral bring together everything customers need for improvements both inside and outside the home.  Lighting from £10 to £300, tiles from £1 to £500, kitchens from £1,000 to £6,000 and a seasonal grow your own department with everything you need to prepare your garden for Spring/Summer and enjoy fresh, organic produce all year.

Euan Sutherland, CEO of B&Q and Kingfisher UK said: "The New Malden store design enables us to showcase best practice for both sustainable and stylish homes.  Over 2,000 products from our One Planet Living range, seventeen flagship "shop within shops" from the largest lighting department in the chain to state of the art bedroom, bathroom and kitchen show rooms ensure our customers can create a sustainable environment for their families without compromising on style or blowing the budget."

Making simple changes and adjustments in our homes can help customers save money and ease our eco-consciences at the same time.  New Malden will have over 2,000 products from its One Planet Home range along with simple hints and tips for customers to try.  These will include advice on reducing food miles by growing your own food, information on the savings gained of switching to energy saving light bulbs (around £45 over one bulb's lifetime), advice on fully insulating homes as more heat is lost through walls and roofs than any other route, or choosing paint with minimum levels of VOC's (volatile organic compounds). 

With all this knowledge, advice and value on their doorstep it's never been easier for Britons to make a difference.

Customers across the country can design their own eco-action plan by going on line at www.diy.com/oneplanethome.

- ends -

For more information please contact Zaria Pinchbeck or Jenny Hill on 0207 896 3404 or email bandq@z-pr.com

About B&Q

• B&Q is the largest home improvement and garden centre retailer in the UK and Europe employing over 34,000 people nation-wide, 28% of whom are over 50 years of age. Across the UK, B&Q has 323 stores, including 118 B&Q large Warehouse stores.
• B&Q is part of Kingfisher plc, Europe's leading home improvement retail group and the third largest in the world, with over 800 stores in eight countries in Europe and Asia.'
• For more information about B&Q please go to www.diy.com/aboutus.
• For more information about B&Q's social responsibility Key Performance Indicators, please see www.kingfisher.com, B&Q's parent company.
• B&Q is one of twelve organisations from across England and Scotland to receive the Carbon Trust standard - a certificate launches to help organisations prove they are tackling climate change and have made genuine reductions in their carbon emissions
• B&Q works with sustainability experts at BioRegional, a charity which invents and delivers practical solutions for sustainability