Stores & Warehouse

Store Design

When building new stores, London Drugs works with the architect and design team to ensure our building design and construction materials are environmentally efficient. This includes conserving energy and using sustainable lighting and energy solutions.

One of our newer stores at Broadway & Vine in Vancouver, represents the environmental standards to which we aspire. As we continue to upgrade and open new stores, we hope to continue to push our own standards for energy efficiency, reducing our environmental footprint.

The Vine Store design includes:

• Green roof technology enhancing the insulation capacities
• Water use reduction through drought-tolerant plantings and drought-resistant native planting, reducing irrigation demands
• Reduction of hard, heat reflective surfaces, slowing down surface runoff and sediment into city storm system
• Generous planting to reduce solar loads through shading
• Access to transit and proximity to residential area, which promotes walking, cycling and use of public transit
• Storage and collection of recyclables
• The use of locally manufactured materials such as brick and concrete
• Zero use of CFC-based refrigerants in all new HVAC. HVAC and refrigeration does not contain HCFCs or Halons
• Improved indoor air quality through use of low VOC adhesives, sealants, paints and composite woods for interior finishes
• Trees and landscaping provide shade, a bird and pollinating insect habitat and an improvement in air quality

Internal Recycling

Each London Drugs store has a dedicated internal recycling area, where cardboard, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, metals, plastics and containers from store operations are collected in master bins for pickup and return to the warehouse, where they are separated and sent for recycling.

Warehouse Redesign and Efficiency

In the Lower Mainland, industrial space is in short supply. As a result, London Drugs has chosen to increase density within our existing warehouse, rather than increase space and move farther away, which would entail greater energy use.

This increased warehouse density means more products are housed with less environmental impact from heating and energy use.

One innovation that works especially well is our Carousel Picking system. Rather than arrange products along a traditional shelf, with aisles between each, bins are arranged on rotating carousels which store products much more efficiently. They are rotated to an access point as needed.

With this system, the same number of products that used to occupy 12,000 square feet can now be stored in just 2,000 square feet.