Hammerson announces that it is bringing Costa’s carbon neutral Eco Pod concept to Parc Tawe in Swansea, South Wales. The initiative reflects Hammerson’s objective to reduce carbon emissions to less than zero as part of its ambitious Net Positive target.
Working alongside Costa, the 186 sq m store will be the second Eco Pod that Hammerson has delivered to its retail park portfolio following the successful debut of the award winning concept at Wrekin Retail Park, Telford in 2015.
The Eco Pod, which uses environmentally-friendly building design and innovative energy saving technologies, will open in the Autumn.
Initiatives used to create this building, which is carbon neutral, excluding energy consumed by internal operating equipment, include:
- A special timber frame constructed using sustainably sourced timber as an alternative to a traditional steel frame, reducing the embodied carbon footprint of the building.
- A super-insulated facade using wood with excellent energy retention properties (keeping more heat in during the winter and also helping to keep the interior cool in summer)
- Intelligent orientation of the building to achieve optimum levels of sun and shade, impacting on overall energy requirements for heating and cooling
- Photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof
The development will be delivered in line with Hammerson’s Positive Places strategy, which recently launched a bold new objective to become Net Positive across four key areas: carbon, water, resource use and socio-economic impact by 2030.
Richard Haynes, Development Manager at Hammerson, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Costa once again to deliver the innovative Eco Pod concept at Parc Tawe. Together, we have a track record of creating award winning buildings, which reduce costs and limit carbon pricing risk to our businesses, whilst at the same time delivering the environmental benefits which are so vital to our future and integral to our Net Positive ambitions.”
Ollie Rosevear, Energy & Environment Manager at Costa Coffee, says: “We’re delighted to be opening another Eco-Pod. Costa continuously looks to explore ways of serving our high quality coffee to customers whilst managing our environmental footprint in the most effective way possible. This partnership with Hammerson has continued to enable us to develop an outstanding building design and integrate sustainable options such as on site renewable energy, greater levels of comfort for our customers and reduced operational utility costs.”
ENDS