Memorandum by Tesco (Waste 76)
We are committed to minimising the amount of
food waste that we produce and in our supply chain. All of our
stores measure and monitor food waste against specific targets,
which allows them to identify problem areas and deal with them
and allows us to help stores where food waste is a particular
problem. We therefore perform regular code checks and rotation,
proactively reduce products as they near their sell by date and
have a dedicated training programme on managing waste for our
fresh food managers.
Our approach means that we are particularly
efficient in minimising the amount of food waste from our stores.
As a result, we have not been able to form a partnership with
Fareshare or other similar charities to provide food for local
organisations, as our stores do not provide enough food waste
on a regular basis to make it viable. However, we continue to
be in dialogue with Fareshare about other ways in which we might
help.
We perform quality assessments of products at
our Distribution Centres on a range of issues to ensure that they
meet the agreed quality standards. We are currently working with
our suppliers to undertake a trial in our Doncaster Distribution
Centre where products that we cannot transport to store are collected
by Company Shop for use in their network of retail outlets in
companies throughout the UK. As well as helping suppliers who
do not otherwise have to pick up several tonnes of food from our
distribution centres, we have raised nearly £30,000 for a
range of charities, including Fareshare.
We have recently announced a new approach to
help customers manage the amount of food they buy while being
able to take advantage of our offers. In a speech announcing our
intention to become a zero-carbon store by 2050, Sir Terry Leahy,
our Chief Executive also explained that we will shortly by launching
"Buy One Get One Later" so that customers can pick up
the free item in such deals at a later date when it suits them.
Further information is enclosed separately. We are also a signatory
to the Courtauld Commitment and we are supporting WRAP in meeting
the targets, including on food waste.
Our trial in Ilminster and Guildford was designed
to understand whether there are further reductions we can make
on packaging that are particularly important to customers. We
have already reduced the weight of packaging by 15% since 2008
and currently have over 3,000 projects in place to deliver further
reductions.
Our findings from the trial, was that far less
packaging was left behind than we were expecting, and when customers
were asked what they would remove, most felt that actually the
packaging that was present played an important role and removing
it would cause negative impacts eg cooking instructions lost,
food label information lost, protective qualities lost etc. While
we are continuing to reduce packaging, we do not currently have
plans to roll out the trial further.
News release... For immediate release:
Friday 16 October 2009
TESCO INTRODUCES
"BUY ONE
GET ONE
FREE—LATER"
IN GLOBAL
ZERO-CARBON
PUSH
Tesco today pledged to introduce "Buy One
Get One Free—Later" and to help households lower their
energy bills among a string of new measures to help consumers
and suppliers reduce their carbon emissions.
Customers using "Buy One Get One Free—Later"
will be able to pick up their free product when they need it,
helping to keep waste down. And they will be able to use a new
complete home energy service from Tesco to get advice on insulation
and renewable sources of energy in their homes, and to carry out
the work needed.
These latest initiatives continue Tesco's groundbreaking
work to introduce clear low-carbon choices for the consumer, giving
them the power to reduce their carbon footprints.[196]
Speaking at the launch of a new report—Consumers,
business and climate change published by Manchester University's
Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI)[197],[198]—Tesco
CEO, Sir Terry Leahy, warned that targets and technology alone
will not achieve the low-carbon transition the world needs and
that consumers must be part of the solution.
Sir Terry was speaking alongside leaders of
some of the World's most influential consumer businesses including
Unilever, Coca-Cola, SC Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser, who together
have today agreed to collaborate on helping consumers reduce emissions
created by their products. Conservative leader David Cameron was
the keynote speaker at the conference in London.
In a clear message to world leaders before they
gather in Copenhagen in December Sir Terry said:
"It is only by releasing our potential—as
people, as consumers, as users—that we can turn targets
into reality. It will be a transition achieved not by some great
invention or a grand act of Parliament, but through the millions
of choices made by consumers every day all over the world.
The answer to climate change lies in this and
succeeding generations finding ways of living that are satisfying,
rewarding, and exciting, but that do not degrade life for our
children and our grandchildren.
"People will always seek a better life.
We now know that a better life must mean a low-carbon life. So
we must take that universal desire for a better life, and that
awareness of climate change, and build on the immense power of
both. We must decouple economic growth from emissions growth by
creating a second consumer revolution: building and fulfilling
a demand to live a low-carbon life."
Sir Terry committed Tesco to becoming a zero-
carbon business by 2050 without purchasing offsets. He announced
a raft of new initiatives to achieve this, to work collaboratively
to reduce emissions in the supply chain and to help customers
to reduce their own emissions.
These include:
— a challenge to achieve a 30% reduction
by 2020 in the carbon impact of the products in Tesco's supply
chain, starting in the UK;
— spreading green systems and technology
pioneered by Tesco businesses in developed countries to its operations
in developing countries;
— working with others, to identify and
communicate clear ways in which customers can halve their personal
and domestic carbon footprints by 2020;
— the creation of a Tesco Home Energy and
Emissions Service to provide a trusted one-stop solution for customers
seeking to cut emissions and bills at home through energy saving
and use of renewable energy;
— extending green Clubcard points to encourage
environmentally friendly, carbon-conscious purchasing; and
— support for a universal accountancy standard
for carbon in products and services which will provide a basis
for carbon co-operation between businesses and promote carbon
numeracy among consumers.
Explaining why it was important for Tesco to
take a lead on climate change Sir Terry concluded:
"Of course, we are taking action because
it is the right thing to do, because we don't want our children
and grandchildren to face the chaos of climate change. A low-carbon
strategy is also vital if we are to minimize the risk to our business:
the physical threat of climate damage to our supply chains, the
resulting economic damage; and the serious effects of rushed and
inefficient regulation if we fail to act in time and governments
are forced to take draconian action.
But this is about more than just mitigating risk.
For Tesco a revolution in green consumption is a fantastic opportunity:
once and for all to break the link between consumption and emissions,
and in doing so to satisfy a new consumer need, and grow our business.
That is the goal of a sustainable business."
196 Tesco was the first major retailer to introduce
carbon labelling on products. Currently there are labels on 114
everyday products with plans to work out the carbon footprint
of 500 products by the end of the year. Tesco also introduced
green Clubcard points earned by recycling carrier bags. In 2009
Tesco announced that they would trial the use of electric car
recharging points in stores. Back
197
The Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) was established at
the University of Manchester in 2007 with £25 million of
support from Tesco. Its purpose is to research solutions to help
the move towards low-carbon consumption. Back
198
This is the first major conference of the SCI at which it will
launch its report on the role of consumers and business in tackling
climate change. The Rt Hon David Cameron MP will give the keynote
speech. There will be a discussion with a panel of Chief Executives
of major global businesses. Paul Polman of Unilever, Muhtar Kent
of Coca-Cola, Bart Becht of Reckitt Benckiser and Fisk Johnson
of SC Johnson will be on the panel with Terry Leahy. Delegates
will be invited to debate the issues with them. Also speaking
will be David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF and international academic
experts including Prof Robert Putnam, the Harvard-based political
scientist and Prof Mohan Munasinghe, SCI Director General. Back
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