The coffee chain, owned by UK-GBC Gold Leaf member Whitbread, will open the “Eco Pod” at Wrekin Retail Park on Saturday.


The shop’s zero energy is achieved through passive ventilation and innovative construction techniques. The energy required to heat and cool the building is minimised and the low amount of energy required for building temperature control will come from solar PV cells embedded in a specially curved roof.


The building features an FSC sourced timber frame to reduce embodied carbon, an insulated facade using soft wood, intelligent orientation to achieve optimum levels of sun and shade, and an under-floor heating system and passive ventilation, in addition to the solar PV.


The 150 sq m building, which can seat 58 people inside and 20 outside, took 13 weeks to complete and was designed and fitted out in partnership with Hammerson.


Jim Slater, Managing Director of Costa UK and Ireland, said: “This is an exciting first for coffee shop and retail design here in the UK and has the potential to transform not just how we build new stores at Costa but the industry far more widely.”


The lessons learned from the Eco Pod store will be incorporated into future new build Costa shops, helping to drive down energy consumption across the business.