More than 50 large stores have been equipped with solar panels that only require daylight. Image Credit: Courtesy of Tesco
Environment EnglandCarbon Neutral By 2035: Major Store Sets a Trend
The British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer Tesco plans on becoming carbon neutral across its operations by 2035, an achievable target that could influence other companies to follow suit.
Tesco has managed to achieve a 61% reduction in emissions from its own operations against a 2015 baseline. The company’s efforts will help the UK to achieve its pledge of reaching net zero by 2050.
To reach its goal, Tesco plans to operate a fully electric home-delivery fleet across the United Kingdom by the end of 2030. Many of Tesco’s products are already transported by rail, and a 10th “Tesco train” service now connects its distribution centre in Daventry, Northamptonshire, to Manchester, saving more than 6,000 tons of CO2 yearly. The retailer has been hard at work to take “energy” pressure off the national grid: the majority of its convenience store refrigerators now have doors, solar panels, wind turbines and LED lights are being installed, and heat pumps are replacing gas boilers. The company has already switched to using 100% renewable electricity across its estate.
