Climate change

Energy & CO2 Reduction

"I commend Tesco Ireland for the effective action taken on its path to becoming energy efficient. Tesco Ireland is to be congratulated for its foresight and I have no doubt that many more businesses will follow suit."
- Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Tesco Ireland achieved energy savings of €1.7 million in 2007 Over 11,000 Tesco Ireland staff members have attended energy awareness briefings Our target is to reduce carbon emissions in our distribution chain by 50% in the next five years

Our energy management system builds on current practices to incorporate energy thinking into everything we do. Energy efficiency is now built in.

This initiative will see us introducing energy-efficient technologies in all our stores – including energy efficient ovens, refrigeration units, light timers and motion detectors.

Tesco Ireland has already achieved significant energy savings through taking an integrated approach to energy management across the whole business. For an investment of €1 million, energy savings of €1.7 million were achieved in 2007.

Energy management standard

Tesco Ireland is working with Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) to achieve IS393 certification – Ireland’s official energy management standard.

Energy managment structure

Tesco Ireland’s Energy Manager leads the company’s energy policy and manages energy reduction initiatives. Our Energy Manager is supported by an Energy Specialist and an Energy Administrator, and also works closely with external bodies such as SEI, which is leading the national energy agreement programme.

Among our energy management initiatives:

• All store managers are given targets for improving energy efficiency in their stores
• Our energy monitoring and targeting system helps to control energy consumption in all our stores and generates a set of easy-to-read reports for our energy team and senior management
• We have appointed Energy Champions in all our stores across the country. They monitor energy use, complete energy audits and provide staff with energy awareness information
• Besides energy awareness briefings for all store staff, energy awareness is now part of staff induction training

Performance in our stores 2007

Every Tesco store in Ireland has an Energy Champion. These Energy Champions are trained to offer the crucial link with staff by identifying simple, positive steps we can all take to save energy across our stores. They are supported by posters, stickers and videos encouraging behavioural change, such as switching off lights and turning off taps. When we all work together, these small changes can make a big difference.

Energy efficient design and technologies

All our stores are built to the highest energy efficient standards and, in the case of our new stores, feature cutting edge energy efficient technologies including the following:

• Combined Heat and Power Units - We installed our first Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit at our store in the Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Dublin in August 2007.
  The gas burning unit generates electricity for the store while simultaneously recycling the waste heat used in the generation process.
  This recycled waste heat is then used to provide central heating and hot water for the store. It is estimated that the CHP will save 656 tonnes in carbon emissions each year. We plan to roll out more CHP units in the future.
• Lexan Film – This is being installed on fridge glass doors in our frozen food aisles to reduce the energy usage of the refrigerated cabinets. Fan motors are also being replaced with energy efficient motors that use 80% less energy.
• PIR Lighting – Lighting in all our stores is being changed from wall switch-controlled lighting to PIR lighting. PIR (Passive InfraRed) lighting has motion detection sensors and is installed in all staff areas. The lights automatically switch off when no one is in the room.

Case study: Energy saving initiatives at our Celbridge store

Sales floor lighting – a Whitecroft dimmable lighting system to control the lighting level throughout the store Daylight control – daylight control is used on the first two rows and switches off lights when there is sufficient daylight Lux levels in offices – the offices are designed to maintain 300 lux Bulk store lighting – bulk storage areas are designed to maintain 150 lux Energy sub metering - the store is sub metered to allow identification of the areas where energy is being used and wasted Cold air retrieval – this takes cold air from refrigerated aisles and redistributes it in other areas Rainwater harvesting system – uses collected rainwater to flush staff and customer toilets Air handling units – switched off at night to conserve energy

Tesco Ireland Eco-Store

Tesco Ireland is building a new store in Tramore, Co Waterford, which will incorporate many eco initiatives.

When completed this autumn, the Eco-Store will use 45% less energy than a supermarket of a similar size. It will set a new benchmark for green technology and construction in retail in Ireland.

Key features include ecologically sound construction materials, new technology to create self-sufficiency for heating and hot water, solar panels to generate electricity, air retrieval and recycling measures.

Transport/supply chain

We aim to reduce CO2 emissions in our distribution transport operations. To meet this target, we have introduced 'Cases Delivered per Kg CO2' as an operational KPI (key performance indicator) at all our distribution centres. Our target is to achieve a 50% cut in CO2 created per case of goods delivered by 2012. In 2007, we reduced carbon emissions from our distribution centres by 18% per case delivered.

The initiatives Tesco Ireland is taking to reduce carbon emissions in our transport and supply chain include:

• An improved centralised distribution network, reducing the number of journeys needed to take products to our stores
• 'Double Deck' trailers, introduced during 2007. We will be increasing their usage during 2008-09 – these trailers are used in deliveries to selected long-distance stores and carry almost 45% more cases of goods than conventional trailers
• Increased supplier collections: we are increasing the number of cases collected from our suppliers on Tesco vehicles by 25%. Instead of travelling back to distribution centres empty, our trucks – where possible – pick up goods from our suppliers en route, saving a journey and reducing the overall food-miles of our products
• We have introduced the Isotrak vehicle tracking system on our entire fleet to monitor key environmental KPIs (key performance indicators), including fuel usage
• We have introduced 5% biofuels across our entire fleet
• We have increased our local supplier base to reduce our food miles/carbon footprint