Marks & Spencer has announced plans to open its most sustainable UK store at Ecclesall Road in Sheffield.

The store will be the first of a number of planned 'Sustainable Learning' stores, which will further increase M&S' understanding of sustainable construction techniques and processes.

The new 12,400 sq ft Simply Food store, due to open in April and built from scratch on a former brownfield site, incorporates a host of sustainable and innovative design and construction features. The store is set to achieve a BREEAM rating of Excellent, and has received a Considerate Constructors Scheme score of 37.5 out of 40, making it one of the most sustainable retail outlets in the UK.

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All employees at the store will be fully trained to understand its environmental features and will be encouraged to share this information with customers.

Clem Constantine, Director of Property & Store Development at Marks & Spencer said: "This store represents a big milestone in our sustainable construction programme as we are installing a host of unique technologies and features. Each of these sustainable features is remarkable in its own right, however by bringing them all together in one development, something that is rarely done by retailers, we will achieve a whole that is worth far more than the sum of its parts. The learnings we have taken from building the store, coupled with those we will make over its lifetime, will help us achieve our goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer by 2015."

(CD)