Lidl Sweden aim to be the leading sustainable retailer. We wanted to be a forerunner and push the market in a sustainable direction by building the store of the future. BREEAM helped us see new opportunities and find better solutions” says Johan Augustsson, real estate director at Lidl Sweden.

He added “Lidl Sweden has developed a new store concept with a strong environmental focus. To be able to achieve our ambition to be market leaders in Sweden within the environment and social responsibility, all coming stores are going to be certified. Since we are both owners as well as tenants in the store it is even more important for us to create a sustainable building from a facitily management point of view”.

Lidl Sweden has the ambition to be market leaders within environmental and social responsibility. To be able to achieve this we have ambitious goals within every aspect of sustainability, among many for example:

• We aim to certify our stores according to the energy management system ISO 50001

•  We have an award-winning waste management system, taking into consideration and minimizing the waste from the stores all the way to central warehouses.

• 100 % of the electricity consumption is generated from renewable green sources.

As a global retail chain all around the world with a high international profile, BREEAM was the natural choice for Lidl Sweden. It is known around the world and covers all aspects of sustainability, matching Lidl’s ambition to be market leaders in Sweden within sustainability.

Focus on sustainability

BREEAM has contributed to the company’s dedication to and focus on sustainability. Internally information campaigns are carried out in order to involve all employees. This has created a strong commitment within the entire organisation, resulting in a higher focus on sustainability in the daily operation as well as an increased sense of pride towards and for the organisation.

Reputation among customers and employees

Externally the BREEAM certification has been central in communication, marketing and job advertisements. The WOW factor is high: The unexpected fact that Lidl’s first BREEAM certification is the first retail project in Sweden reaching BREEAM Outstanding has contributed to a curiosity about the company among customers and job applicants as well as in the media, real estate companies and municipalities.

Long term operational considerations

One of the focus areas in the certification process has been long-term operation and management. The project team has actively worked with the BREEAM related feasibility studies to question and test whether choices made in the past are the most favourable.

The building developed in Växjö will be copied and repeated in many locations around Sweden in the near future. Solutions developed in the project must, therefore, be wise and thoughtful to avoid poor choices being duplicated. Thereby the BREEAM certification has created conditions for better solutions in the rollout of the new stores.

Relationship with local communities

The BREEAM certification has also contributed to a very good relationship with the municipality of Växjö. Their commitment and interest has benefitted both ways: The location of Sweden’s first Outstanding retail building in Växjö has contributed to the cities sustainability profile with the claim of being “Europe’s greenest city”: The municipality will arrange national and international study visits to the Lidl store as an Outstanding example of sustainable building.