TESCO aims to become carbon neutral by 2050

Yorwerth highlighted IT as a key driver of Tesco’s carbon reduction targets, adding that while IT only accounts for around 2-3% of the grocer’s carbon emissions, it plays a role in reducing the carbon footprint of the other 98%. “Technology can play right the way through the supply chain, whether it's providing information to our suppliers so that they produce less and they ship less [meaning] we store less [and] ship less to our stores.”

Yorwerth said consumers also played a role, adding that it was important for Tesco to provide the information to help shoppers go green such as adding carbon footprint labels to certain products. “We see the role of our customers, consumers of the world, as playing a huge role in moving us towards a more sustainable economy and more sustainable consumption in a world where by, in 30 or 40 years' time, people will need to live on possibly a fifth of the carbon they use today,” he said. Tesco is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050, with a 50% reduction in emissions on 2006 levels by 2020.