Managing corporate responsibility

Corporate Responsibility is a fundamental part of our business planning and strategy for growth.

Our objective

Corporate responsibility is central to the way we run our business. This is evident in our relationships with customers, local communities and the environment.

Corporate Responsibility Committee

Corporate responsibility leadership is provided by a cross functional committee of CEO Tony Keohane and other senior directors. The committee meets monthly to review relevant policies and practices, identify opportunities to improve the sustainability of the business, agree and monitor our KPIs (key performance indicators) for CR, and engage with internal and external stakeholders on CR issues to raise awareness.

Community plan

This annual plan has been one of Tesco Ireland’s strengths in recent years. It is based on our "Steering Wheel" model, where we set out specific projects which we will deliver over the following 12 months.

In 2006 we launched our first annual Community Plan. This added a Community segment to the existing four business drivers – Customers, People, Operations and Finance.

Integrating this new segment into the Steering Wheel underlines our commitment to being a good neighbour and being responsible, fair and honest in the way we do business.

Community plan priorities

Putting the community and sustainability at the heart of what we do is one of our core priorities.

Our Community Plan responds to the changing expectations of our customers and suppliers, and helps shape our business for the future. The plan focuses on several key areas, including:

  • Climate change and the environment
  • Community involvement
  • Our people
  • Supporting our economy
  • Health and wellbeing

Corporate responsibility KPIs

Each segment of the Steering Wheel has a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). These set demanding targets, with quarterly reports to the Board here and in the UK. Our corporate responsibility KPIs reflect:

  • Customer priorities including recycling, local sourcing, organics and healthy eating
  • Staff concerns such as training and charitable giving
  • Government requirements such as energy efficiency and packaging reduction
  • Business concerns including labour standards and ethical trading

Since our 2006/07 corporate responsibility KPI review, we have:

  • Reported on our first externally verified KPIs – these include vehicle efficiency and energy saving in our buildings
  • Introduced our first long-term Group KPI – to halve the carbon footprint of our existing stores globally by 2020
  • Increased the number of KPIs with major long-term targets
 
KPI's 2008 >