Tesco and the low carbon economy

Hot on the heels of the opening of Tesco's first low-carbon store, its director of government affiairs David North took part in a lively debate at The Carbon Trust's stakeholders' meeting. Tesco last week opened the first store built from its new low-carbon blueprint, which uses energy-efficiency measures to operate with 70% less carbon emissions than traditional stores built only a couple of years ago.


David North argued that there is little incentive for business to focus on low carbon technology when energy prices are falling and there are no tax incentives for making green investments. Customers say that their values don't change in a recession but their ability to exercise them does. They need financial incentives advice and encouragement. For example, when Tesco offered 4 energy efficient lightbulbs for £1, they sold 2.36m.

In order to meet the 2020 target of 15% of energy from renewables, community generation will need to be developed. This requires feed-in tariffs and an overhaul of the planning laws. Tesco is keen to incorporate renewable energy generation into its new stores, and to become a net contributor to the national grid, but the current planning legislation is a barrier.

Something old, something new

I loved the story in Metro this week about the bride and groom who paid for their honeymoon flight with rubbish. They spent three months picking up 60,000 items of litter and taking it to their local Tesco store to claim one Club Card point for every four items they recycled. By converting the Club Card points to 36,000 air miles they paid for their BA flight from Atlanta Georgia to Gatwick at the end of their honeymoon touring the United States - having sailed there on Queen Mary 2.

I wonder if they offset the carbon for the flight?

Shake powered torch

Most of my travel accessories are old and dearly loved - I don't really like new things, I much prefer old objects with a story to tell. I was disappointed to realise that my ancient maglite didn't make it back from my last trip, but took the opportunity to replace it with something more sustainable. My new torch is powered by shaking it; I got it in Tesco but there's one just like it at shop.com. It's really very effective, you don't have to shake it for long to get a light and unlike a battery-powered one you can revive it very quickly if it does run out, even if you have nothing else with you.

Waterways revival

As a river and canal enthusiast, I've always wondered why they fell out of favour as a means of transport. So I'm delighted by news that Britain's waterways are emjpoying a renaissance as some of the UK's biggest transport firms migrate from tarmac to water. Many of our major towns and cities are located on rivers or canals - indeed the canals were created to link major industrial centres during the industrial revolution - so there's a readymade infrastructure there. And thanks to the efforts of volunteers and enthusiasts, most of the canals that had fallen into neglect and decay have already been restored to a navigable state. Companies already moving some goods by water include Sainsbury, Tesco, DHL and even the nation's favourite trucker Eddie Stobart. Tesco expects to to have saved an estimated 3,500 lorry movements by the end of 2008.

However, the rejuventation of water freight won't all be plain sailing. A proposal to build a commercial wharf near Heathrow, which would have saved tens of thousands of lorry journeys around the M25 or through central London, was recently shelved. Meanwhile, former wharves are being sold off for waterfront homes. In fact, so many of London's wharves have been sold off to developers that those that do remain have protected status; a plan to extend this protection to the rest of the country is awaiting government's response. The regulatory body which oversees the canal network, British Waterways, was founded to support their use for leisure and heritage use and a revival of their use as a transport network would require a major change of its focus and remit. In short, whilst the freight companies recognise the opportunity to cut their carbon - and their costs - by moving goods on water, the government and regulatory bodies are not rising to the challenge. Whilst we continue to subsidise the road network, the potential to revive the waterways as a transport network will probably never be realised.