Retailer becomes founding member but admits it does not have all the answers

Marks & Spencer has become the first retailer to join the UK Green Buildings Council.

The company has joined as a founding member. Paul King, chief executive of the UKGBC, said the support of the retail sector was vital.

He said: “Retail property accounts for 17 per cent of commercial buildings and 24 per cent of new commercial building each year, so without the support of the retail sector, the UK GBC will not fulfil its remit.”

Richard Gillies, director of store design at M&S, said the company didn’t yet know how it would fulfil its Plan A eco plan. He said: “When we launched ‘Plan A’, our five-year, 100-point eco plan in January this year, we set ourselves some deliberately ambitious targets, some of which we don’t yet have all the answers to.

“Joining the Council will allow us to work with other members and use their knowledge, expertise and experience to help us identify the right solutions to some of our challenges.”

There are currently over 100 members of the UK GBC, which launched in February this year, including 38 founding members.

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