Tesco PLC

From Lauraibm

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==Tesco PLC & Emissions==
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===Vehicle Efficiency===
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Although our transport fleet accounts for under a sixth of our carbon footprint, we have made substantial progress in reducing its impact.  Our vehicles now rarely travel empty after making a delivery, and we have invested in double-deck trailers which carry more products per load.  As a result, last year we cut by 10% the amount of CO2 emitted to deliver a case of goods.  Over the next five years we will reduce by 50% the CO2 emitted per case of goods delivered.
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We are also investing in alternatives to distribution by road.  We have already switched from road to rail for transporting goods from our Daventry depot to Scotland and are looking to do more of this, depending on future development of the rail freight network.
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In April 2007, after the end of the reporting year, we opened our latest environmental store, in Shrewsbury, which reduced carbon emissions by 60% compared with a standard store.  We will also run our Tesco.com home delivery fleet there on electric vans, saving 100 tonnes of CO2 per year, in addition to the 6,000 customer car journeys each van saves annually.
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===Biofuels===
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We are already the UK market leader in biofuels and during 2007 we aim to double the proportion we sell.  This means that customers will be able to buy a 5% bioethanol mix at over 300 petrol stations in the UK.  This helps our customers reduce their emissions, as a car driven with our bioethanol mix petrol is responsible for 4.5% less CO2.  We were the UK's first major retailer to incorporate biofuel into our standard petrol and diesel, with no price premium.
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We also use a 50:50 biodiesel mix in our own vehicles - the highest percentage blend used by any major distribution fleet.  We have a 25% stake in biofuel supplier Greenergy, which has opened the UK's largest single-line biodiesel plant, on the Humber estuary, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes.  Greenergy buys rapeseed for conversion to biodiesel from around 1,500 farmers contracted through Grainfarmers, a large agricultural co-operative in the UK.
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===Green Transport & Travel===
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Since the beginning of 2003, green travel plans for staff have become an integral part of our new store and store extension development proposals.  We are committed to reducing the number of employees coming to work by car, through initiatives like walking buddies and car sharing.  Where employees take part in these schemes, we guarantee them a ride home in the event of emergenicies.      Staff can share lifts by registering at our dedicated website - www.tescocarshare.com  and can take a bus between our main offices to help cut emissions and congestion. 
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==Sources==
==Sources==
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*4. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/refrigeration2.htm Refrigeration]
*4. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/refrigeration2.htm Refrigeration]
*5. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/waterconsumption2.htm Water Consumption]
*5. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/waterconsumption2.htm Water Consumption]
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*6. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/vehicleefficiency.htm Vehicle Efficiency]
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*7. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/biofuels.htm Biofuels]
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*8. [http://www.tescocorporate.com/greentransportandtravel.htm Green Transport & Travel]

Revision as of 09:32, 19 July 2007

Contents

Tesco PLC and Climate Change

There is now an overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is happening. Scientists tell us that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are a key factor, and that urgent action by governments, businesses and individuals is needed to combat it. This means there needs to be less reliance on fossil fuel, and that we must nurture the idea of a low-carbon society.

As a result, many customers now want to play their part. However, they need to help overcome some key barriers: a sense that their individual actions won't make a difference; a lack of information about what to do and a worry that buying products that help the environment is expensive.

Tesco is working to tacke these barriers so that we can help deliver a revolution in green consumption - with the fight against climate change at the very heart of it. We also want to set an example by reducing CO2 emissions in our business throughout the world, and by sharing information with other organisations, businesses and Government to stimulate a low-carbon economy.

Our approach We recognise that we need to do more than list a series of enivironmentally-friendly actions, although those do play their part. We are changing our business model so that the reduction of our carbon footprint becomes an important business driver. We have a comprehensive plan that has three key objectives:

  • Helping our customers by making green choices easier and more affordable
  • Setting an example by measuring and making big cuts in Tesco's greenhouse gas emissions around the world
  • Working with others to develop new low-carbon technology throughout the supply chain

Customers: Green Choices

We will make it easier for customers to make green choices by:

Improving information: Working in the widest collaboration, we have begun the search for a universally accepted and commonly understood measure of the carbon footprint of our products covering their lifecycle from manufacture through to use. This will enable us to label all ouor products so that customers can compare their carbon footprint as easily as they can currently compare prices or nutritional profiles.

We are, for example, working with the Energy Saving Trust to develop stronger energy-efficiency labelling for our electrical products, from light bulbs to televisions.

As an interim measure, we have put an aeroplane symbol on all air-freighted products because this method of transport results in far higher carbon emissions than any other. We will also restrict air freight to no more than 1% of our imports with a bias in favour of sourcing from developing countries.

Lowering costs: We will offer more energy-efficient products through our Value range to help customers on tight budgets. We have begun by halving the cost of energy-efficiency light bulbs.

Inspiring children: With DEFRA and the Royal Society of Arts, we have launched Carbon Control to help educate children about the importance of a low-carbon lifestyle. It shows children how simple everyday choices for example, sharing a car for the school run or buying seasonal fruit can make a big difference. To find out more information visit www.carboncontrol.org.uk.

Rewarding 'green' choices: We are developing our Green Clubcard scheme to promote energy-efficient and other 'green' products, such as intelligent plugs that switch off appliances when they are not being used. We also use Green Clubcard to encourage customers to reuse and recycle. Last year, we began offering Clubcard points to people for reusing carrier bags, and our customers have responded by taking over 400 million fewer free plastic bags by the end of April 2007.

Increasing the use of biofuel: We are already the UK market leader in biofuels and during 2007 we aim to double the proportion we sell. This means that customers will be able to buy a 5% bioethanol mix at over 300 petrol stations in the UK. This helps our customers reduce their emissions, as a car driven with our bioethanol mix petrol is responsible for 4.5% less CO2. We were the UK's first major retailer to incorporate biofuel into our standard petrol and diesel, with no price premium.

We also use a 50:50 biodiesel mix in our own vehicles - the highest percentage blend used by any major distribution fleet. We have a 25% stake in biofuel supplier Greenergy, which has opened the UK's largest single-line biodiesel plant, on the Humber estuary, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes. Greenergy buys rapeseed for conversion to biodiesel from around 1,500 farmers contracted through Grainfarmers, a large agricultural co-operative in the UK.

Promoting 'green' consumerism: We are setting up a Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) to bring together experts from many different areas of environmental work: climate science, technology, economics and consumer behaviour. The SCI will help us to take forward our work on carbon footprinting and labelling, to identify particular pressure points in the supply chain, and to guide our business and our customers towards a low-carbon future. As a first step towards developing the Institute we have commissioned work from the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University.

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Tesco PLC and Resources

Energy Efficiency

Over the next five years we will spend more than £500m on low-carbon technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our business. We are also working with our suppliers to reduce emissions throughout the supply chain.

In May 2006 we established a £100m Sustainable Technology Fund to suport low-carbon technologies that are not yet fully economically viable, in the hope that we can make them so. we are investing in - or examining seriously - a number of technologies, including renewable energy such as wind turbines and biomass, combined heat and power, and gasification to turn food waste into power. we also consider opportunities for direct investment to make sure that firms with promising technology get the capital they need.

We have a target of halving energy use (kwh/sq ft) in our buildings by 2010, against a baseline of 2000. We will meet this target two years ahead of schedule, in 2008 - largely as a result of investing heavily in energy-efficient technologies such as low-energy fans, cold air retrieval systems, timers on lights and high efficiency refrigeration. Superstore managers have been given accountability for energy consumption, and our staff awareness campaigns include an energy training video produced with the Carbon Trust.

Our verified carbon footprint includes all our existing stores and distribution centres worldwide. We will reduce emissions from these buildings by at least 50% by 2020. We will also ensure that all new stores built between now and 2020 will emit, on average, at least 50% less carbon than an equivalent store built in 2006.

We have to date built three model 'environmental' stores in the UK, which we use as a test bed for the energy-efficient technologies we hope to roll out in all our stores. Our first such store, in Diss, reduced energy consumption by 29% compared with a standard Tesco store of similar size. At Swansea we achieved a 36% reduction. And our most recent environmental store, which opened at Wick in November 2006, has a carbon footprint 50% lower than similar stores.

In April 2007, after the end of the reporting year, we opened our latest environmental store in Shrewsbury, which reduced carbon emissions by 60% compared with a standard store.

(2)

Renewables

We want to find cost effective ways to reduce emissions by generating our own energy through renewables and low carbon technology. In 2006/07, our £100 million fund will enable us to develop wind turbines, solar panels, gasification, trigeneration and combined heat and power.

We are working with the Carbon Trust and Brunel University to develop trigeneration combined heat and power (CHP) technology for our stores and distribution centres over the coming year with the aim of saving over 10,000 tonnes of CO2. These units enable us to capture and reuse heat created through power generation to reduce our overall carbon footprint.

(3)

Refrigeration

As a food retailer, refrigeration currently accounts for over a third of our direct carbon footprint in the UK. The vast majority of large refrigerators in the food industry currently use HFC refrigeration gases - introduced as a replacement for ozone-depleting CFCs and HCFCs but which are now known to be extremely potent greenhouse gases.

Tesco is leading a programme to phase out HFC-based refrigeration. We have so far installed two alternative systems - one based on CO2 and one based on CO2 and hydrocarbon refrigerants. We are sharing what we learn with all interested parties to speed up and promote the use of natural refrigerants.

(4)

Water Consumption

Last year we missed our target of reducing water consumption by 5% per square metre in our UK businesses. We are putting measures in place to achieve our long-term goal of cutting water consumption in the UK by 15% by 2008/09.

(5)

Tesco PLC & Emissions

Vehicle Efficiency

Although our transport fleet accounts for under a sixth of our carbon footprint, we have made substantial progress in reducing its impact. Our vehicles now rarely travel empty after making a delivery, and we have invested in double-deck trailers which carry more products per load. As a result, last year we cut by 10% the amount of CO2 emitted to deliver a case of goods. Over the next five years we will reduce by 50% the CO2 emitted per case of goods delivered.

We are also investing in alternatives to distribution by road. We have already switched from road to rail for transporting goods from our Daventry depot to Scotland and are looking to do more of this, depending on future development of the rail freight network.

In April 2007, after the end of the reporting year, we opened our latest environmental store, in Shrewsbury, which reduced carbon emissions by 60% compared with a standard store. We will also run our Tesco.com home delivery fleet there on electric vans, saving 100 tonnes of CO2 per year, in addition to the 6,000 customer car journeys each van saves annually.

(6)

Biofuels

We are already the UK market leader in biofuels and during 2007 we aim to double the proportion we sell. This means that customers will be able to buy a 5% bioethanol mix at over 300 petrol stations in the UK. This helps our customers reduce their emissions, as a car driven with our bioethanol mix petrol is responsible for 4.5% less CO2. We were the UK's first major retailer to incorporate biofuel into our standard petrol and diesel, with no price premium.

We also use a 50:50 biodiesel mix in our own vehicles - the highest percentage blend used by any major distribution fleet. We have a 25% stake in biofuel supplier Greenergy, which has opened the UK's largest single-line biodiesel plant, on the Humber estuary, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes. Greenergy buys rapeseed for conversion to biodiesel from around 1,500 farmers contracted through Grainfarmers, a large agricultural co-operative in the UK.

(7)

Green Transport & Travel

Since the beginning of 2003, green travel plans for staff have become an integral part of our new store and store extension development proposals. We are committed to reducing the number of employees coming to work by car, through initiatives like walking buddies and car sharing. Where employees take part in these schemes, we guarantee them a ride home in the event of emergenicies. Staff can share lifts by registering at our dedicated website - www.tescocarshare.com and can take a bus between our main offices to help cut emissions and congestion.

(8)

Sources

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