Countdown’s greenest store yet, the brand new Countdown Richmond, is now open with future-focused and planet-friendly features that will be music to the ears of Richmond, Stoke and Nelson locals.
The new 3450m2 supermarket has been built with sustainability firmly at the heart of its construction and design. The store will be New Zealand’s very first supermarket to be accredited by Green Star, an internationally-recognised rating system for the design, construction and operation of buildings, fit-outs and communities.
Countdown’s General Manager Property, Matt Grainger said he’s excited for customers to experience what the future of supermarkets will look like.
“We’re really determined to make sure we’re building not just a Countdown of the future, but stores that help protect that future too,” said Matt Grainger. “Countdown Richmond is the first of many steps we’re taking to meet our ambitious sustainability goals, including a goal to achieve a 4 Green Star design and as-built rating for all of our new property developments, and a 5 Green Star minimum standard by 2025.”
Matt Grainger says working towards the Green Star accreditation hasn’t just been about new features - the whole construction process was equally important.
“We’ve made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill - in fact, we reduced construction waste to landfill by a massive 83 percent. We’ve recycled demolition waste where possible, and used more sustainable and recycled products within the build including using fly ash in the store’s foundations and recycled aggregate in the asphalt.
“Constructing and delivering a store like this was not as easy or as cheap as a typical build, but it’s an investment that our business was willing to make to drive meaningful change for our environment."
Some of the emissions, water, paper and energy saving features in the new store include:
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Solar panels that will generate 10-15% of the store’s total energy
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Transcritical refrigeration systems that use natural refrigerant gases
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LED lighting which is 35% more efficient than traditional lighting
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Water-saving taps to reduce water use
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An Energy Management System, which provides regular updates on store energy and water use
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Doors on fridges and freezers to reduce energy use - Every 10 doors saves enough energy to power a NZ home for a year
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Digital shelf labels to reduce paper use
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EV chargers for customer cars
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Electric online delivery truck
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Plenty of bike parks to help reduce short car trips to the store
“Richmond locals are well known for their love of the environment and passion for forward thinking and it’s fantastic to have Countdown see that passion and reflect it in how they’ve chosen to build their new store. It’s been a pleasure working with Countdown throughout the construction of their greenest ever store right here in Richmond and it’s wonderful to now have the community welcomed in and able to enjoy shopping in the new space," said Mayor of Tasman, Tim King.
The Richmond store is on track to be the first of many Green Star builds for Countdown, as it works to achieve a 4 Green Star design and as-built rating for all of its new property developments, and a 5 Green Star minimum standard by 2025. Meeting this goal will significantly contribute to Countdown’s goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 63 per cent by 2030 versus its 2015 baseline.
For more information on Countdown’s 2025 Sustainability Strategy, Kia pai ake te āpōpō, visit: https://www.countdown.co.nz/media/1659431/countdown-nz-sustainability-2025-plan.pdf
