B&Q is to open its first eco shops in its flagship stores in New Malden and Sutton this Friday.
The shops will offer homeowners everything they need to live a more sustainable home life, including DIY products for people to make their own improvements and a range of installed services, including boiler, solid wall and solar thermal water heating installations.

From May the company will be offering 'home eco audits' which it says will help homeowners understand the changes they can make to dramatically cut their home's environmental impact and running costs.

In a further 63 stores, B&Q will pull together all their key energy saving products into one area at the front of the store so people can easily find everything they need to improve their carbon footprint and slash their energy bills.

Next week, the retailer will also re-launch its One Planet Home pages on its website, which will display products, hints and tips, interactive tools and links to useful sites for those wanting to go green at home.

B&Q is also introducing two new in-store roles: eco advisors and eco experts. The company's eco adviser qualification, the UK's first eco NVQ, will train staff to advise customers on eco products for their homes. B&Q eco experts will be qualified to offer in-store and at home consultations, and provide homeowners with an Energy Performance Certificate to understand how energy efficient their home is. Both eco advisers and eco experts will start in the Sutton and New Malden stores, with the eco adviser role being rolled out across the UK by September.

The Sutton store is also pioneering the new government scheme to finance home energy makeovers with the Department of Energy and Climate Change.