Environment

Progress 2007 cont...

Helping customers make green choices

Customers tell us they want to make green choices, but only if they are affordable, convenient and of high enough quality. Our goal is to make that possible.

Green Clubcard points

One way we encourage customers to make green choices is to award Green Clubcard points to customers who recycle mobile phones and inkjet cartridges and reuse carrier bags. In 2007, customers gave a total of 305,000 mobile phones in return for 300 Clubcard points per working handset. We gave 100 points for each of the 765,000 used inkjet cartridges submitted in 2007. In addition, customers brought over 1,000 tonnes of Christmas cards to our stores for recycling, under our partnership with the Woodland Trust.

Product packaging

We are helping to reduce product packaging and to make recycling easier. Our targets in the UK are:

to reduce the amount of packaging on own-brand products and branded items by 25% by 2010; and
to provide recyclability information on all Tesco own-brand products starting in 2008, which, together with expanding our recycling facilities, will help customers to recycle more.

We have developed an online database to support our packaging reduction programme. Suppliers enter information about their packaging, enabling us to identify opportunities for improvement.

In 2007 we reduced packaging on some own-brand products, such as electrical items and some clothing lines, by as much as 40%. Our commitment to reducing packaging resulted in saving almost 6,000 tonnes of glass on own-brand wine bottles, over 3,000 tonnes of paper board on our flower boxes and 2,000 tonnes of plastics on our fresh produce.

1bn

fewer carrier bags
used in just 36 weeks

Reducing packaging

We have a target to reduce packaging by 25% by 2010. This year we have worked hard to reduce packaging on a variety of different products. For example, we have developed our fabric conditioner to be more concentrated so that less packaging is needed for the same number of washes. Point-of-sale signage helps give customers the information they need to make greener choices.

Through our new Greener Living website and brand we want to make environmentally friendly choices more affordable and accessible for our customers.

Recycling facilities

In Ireland we responded to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive by hosting collection days across the country for customers and local communities to return old electronic equipment free of charge. Customers returned 15 tonnes of televisions and monitors, two tonnes of PCs, laptops, printers and scanners, as well as hundreds of other electrical items at just one such collection day. We are well ahead of EU targets for electrical and electronics recycling and are hosting more events across the country this year.

We estimate that our customers recycle approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste each year at our facilities in the UK. In 2007, we aimed to increase this by installing 30 automated recycling units, known as 'reverse vending machines', which separate different kinds of recyclable materials and compact them ready for recycling. This brings the total number installed to 45. Tesco is the first UK supermarket to provide automated recycling units, investing millions to install and maintain them.

FSC accredited Tesco tissues.

Reusable green trays help us save packaging.

Poster encouraging staff to save energy in Japan.

Reserved parking for hybrid cars in the USA.

Recycling facilities in Hungary.

Sustainably sourced salmon in UK stores.

These units are a 'one-stop shop' for recycling, accepting everything from carrier bags and plastic to glass and metal, making recycling quick, easy and convenient for customers. These machines have exceeded all expectations and customers have recycled more than double the amount compared with the previous facilities, recycling on average 8.3 tonnes each week compared with four tonnes previously. The automated units can hold roughly four times more than an equivalent standard unit, which means they have to be emptied less often, saving in transport and CO2 emissions. We plan to have over 100 machines installed at our sites by March 2009.

Carrier bags

We want to inform, encourage and empower customers to use fewer carrier bags. We believe that the right approach is to encourage customers to reuse bags rather than penalise them for taking single-use bags.

In Poland, we are reducing the 400 million carrier bags our customers use per year by extending our 'bags for life' range. New options include a popular jute bag which is selling at a rate of 30,000 per month. We were also the first retailer in Poland to introduce free degradable single-use bags as our standard carrier bag.

We met our UK target to reduce carrier bag use by 25% from the 2006 level of four billion by 2008 - over a year early. After just 36 weeks we achieved a 27% reduction - equivalent to over one billion bags saved. Our new target is to cut the number of carrier bags we give out by 50% by the end of February 2009 compared with May 2006.

We offer customers one Green Clubcard point for each carrier bag saved, and awarded over 700 million points for reusing bags last year. We have ensured that our customers have a wide selection of accessible and affordable reusable bags in our stores. We encourage customers to buy high-quality, reusable 'bags for life', giving customers a new one for free when they wear out. In 2007 we sold over 26 million reusable bags.

KPI

2007/8

Landfill avoidance

To divert 75% of waste from landfill, as part of our long-term commitment to divert 80% from landfill between 2006 and 2009.