Grocery supply chain carbon reduction events

As part of its sustainability strategy, Tesco has set targets to reduce the carbon footprint of its supply chain as well as tackling emissions from its own operations. To support the supply chain targets, Tesco commissioned 3Keel in partnership with ETANTE to design and run a series of supplier events around the UK on opportunities for achieving carbon reductions.

The first stage of the project was to recruit suppliers to host three plenary events, and the team secured Unilever in London, Nestle in Newcastle and Heineken in Edinburgh. Each supplier host welcomed peers to their sites and shared their approaches to embedding good practice in their businesses. At each plenary, the Tesco sustainability team presented their updated strategy, and introduced Tesco colleagues to share experiences on low-carbon distribution, energy efficiency, refrigeration and sustainable commodities sourcing. The second part of each plenary was a series of roundtable sessions chaired by other Tesco suppliers, including Diageo, Muller Wiseman, Greencore, Park Cakes and Coca-Cola.

In addition to the successful plenaries, smaller workshops were delivered at supplier sites focussing on issues identified as being of particular interest. Examples included a one-day training session on carbon footprinting, hosted by APS Salads, and a site visit to Samworth Brothers to learn more about the installation of and returns from rooftop solar PV.

The final element of the programme was the provision of one-to-one support by project partners to Tesco suppliers. Availability of this confidential support was promoted through the Tesco Supplier Network, with our team then providing targeted support to suppliers on particular issues, to improve their sustainability knowledge and ultimately help Tesco’s mission to selling more sustainable products.

Kené Umeasiegbu, Head of Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture at Tesco said: “3Keel have been a key partner in launching our environmental sustainability strategy, contributing valued expertise in communicating our strategic principles and practical guidance to our suppliers and colleagues”.

Photo credit: “SolarPanelAndSky” by Mark Dixon – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons