Leahy Announcement Leaves Competitors Green With Envy

Posted on Tuesday, March 20 by Registered CommenterRichard Edwards in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) | CommentsPost a Comment It may only be March but it’s already been a busy year for Britain’s most successful supermarket chain. Not only have Tesco expanded their operation in the Far East, and the US (the company opened its first store in Arizona in February), but they’ve also been blamed for damaging countless cars after their petrol was found to be contaminated with silicon. The company now though has stolen a march on its competitors by announcing it intends to become the first supermarket to assign a new “carbon rating” to every item it sells. The company’s chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, announced the move at a Green City Initiative conference last week, as Tesco look to cash in on the growing environmental concerns of their customers.

Leahy said he believed economic growth and environmental sustainability must come hand-in-hand, and warned: “Without growth we would end up living in an economic stone age, which would be a different kind of unsustainable future.” Under the new plan Tesco will identify the “carbon footprint” of their products by measuring the energy required for its manufacture, packaging and transportation. “It’s a complicated task, but the goal is simple,” Leahy said. “I want us to come up with a clear system of labelling so in future customers will be able to compare a product’s carbon footprint just as easily as they can currently compare its price or nutritional value. “When millions of customers a week have this information and start using it to exercise green choices, believe me, it will send very powerful economic signals through the supply chain – shock waves that will change behaviour.” If he’s right – and lets face it, Leahy has done a pretty good job of getting most things spot-on so far – the implications on the supply chain will be there for all to see. Tesco have made a habit of leaving their competitors in their wake when it comes to green issues. In December, for example, the company announced they would begin running their fleet of 2000 trucks and vans on a 50% biodiesel mix to cut the greenhouse gases they produce. But their initiatives are far from unique in an ultra-competitive industry. Wal-Mart announced as far back as December 2005 they intended to cut greenhouse gas output at its existing global network by one fifth by 2012, and are currently spending $500m a year to develop environmental technologies. How many supermarkets will now follow Tesco’s lead now remains to be seen, and how much impact it will have on the spending habits of consumers only time will tell. But looking at the bigger environmental picture, Tesco, it seems, is determined to do all it can. And as the company itself never tires of telling us - “every little helps”.