Greggs has opened its first Eco Drive-Thru at Easton Lane, Winchester, as part of a trial for new sustainability initiatives aimed at minimising the environmental impact of its operations.
The drive-thru follows the success of Greggs’ first Eco-Shop, which launched in Northampton in 2022.
The Eco-Shop concept introduced features like knee-operated sinks and energy-efficient ovens. Since its launch, elements of the Eco-Shop have been implemented in over 700 stores—accounting for 27% of Greggs’ estate—achieving this milestone a year ahead of the company’s original 2025 target.
Greggs said its Winchester site features multiple eco-friendly elements, including sun tubes that channel natural light into the store, low-energy lighting with daylight harvesting technology, solar panels powering in-store digital signage, and a rainwater harvesting system with a 3,000-litre capacity, expected to reduce water consumption by approximately 13%.
Additional features include a heat pump air conditioning system and a heat recovery system that recycles warm air from refrigeration to heat the store, contributing to Greggs’ broader net zero carbon ambitions.
Greggs property director Tony Rowson said: “We’re so excited to have launched our first ever Eco Drive-Thru. As a leader in our sector, we take our responsibility to do right by the planet and communities we operate in seriously, and we do all that we can to make changes for the better.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved with our first Eco-Shop, ‘our shop of the future’, which means we can now test further materials and initiatives in this new unit, bringing us another step closer to reaching our Net Zero carbon objective.”