- As the largest supermarket retailer in the UK, Tesco, which has over 3,600 stores across the country, is in a prime position to decarbonise its operations – particularly when it comes to the transportation field.
- Tesco has remained committed to sustainability, and kicked off a major transport decarbonisation process back in 2020, when it introduced the first fully-electric home delivery van to its fleet – with a goal of having all such vehicles electrified by 2030.
- With the retailer hoping to achieve carbon neutrality across all its own operations by 2035, what other steps are Tesco taking to become a greener grocer?
Where Tesco’s green journey is so far
Tesco made two significant decarbonisation moves in 2020. It switched to using 100% renewable energy across all its operations, and also kickstarted its electric home delivery van fleet, with the first joining its Greater London fleet in the same year. Its electric home delivery fleet has now expanded across the country – with the Scottish city of Glasgow achieving an all-electric Tesco home delivery fleet back in 2021.
The retailer now operates well over 500 electric home delivery vans nationwide, and has continued that expansion with the addition of the IVECO eDaily electric van. The company estimates that, once all its home delivery vans are electrified, as planned by 2030, it’ll be equivalent to taking 22,000 ICE cars off the road each year.
Back in October, the company also announced a ‘Power Purchase Agreement’ with Cleve Hill solar park, which upon completion will be the largest solar and battery storage project in the UK. Under the agreement, the solar park will provide up to 10% of the retailer’s annual energy demand.
The salary sacrifice opportunity
The company already participates in the salary sacrifice-based Cycle to Work scheme, further enabling its 330,000-plus employees to take greener journeys. It doesn’t currently operate an EV salary sacrifice scheme for its employees, but extending its employee benefits to include electric cars could be an opportunity for Tesco to further push its sustainability objectives. Even if just 10% of its employees joined such a scheme, it could save up to 1.32 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, Fiona Howarth, said:
“Salary sacrifice helps thousands of drivers make the switch to electric, however the benefits are not exclusively for drivers, but for their employers too. Companies are able to make a real dent in their net zero targets, retain staff by offering a brilliant perk, and save money.”
Charging ahead
Beyond its own operations, Tesco has also aimed to encourage its customers to switch to greener transportation methods. An ongoing partnership with Vauxhall means that owners of a new Vauxhall EV can grab one year’s worth (£500) of charging credit, to use at the 2,700 PodPoint charging bays scattered across over 600 of Tesco’s supermarkets. Beyond these Vauxhall-specific benefits, the chargers are open to all EV brands, with Tesco hoping that as 70% of the country lives within a ten minute drive to a Tesco supermarket, this partnership could help overcome the charging barrier to EV ownership, particularly for the estimated 44% of the country unable to charge an EV at home.
Insuring success
Furthermore, Tesco’s Insurance arm offers EV-specific insurance policies, which are available to drivers as young as 21 – an age group that has traditionally struggled to find affordable car insurance for electric cars in particular.
Conclusion
Tesco has significant consumer reach across the country, with a reported 22 million active households in its Clubcard scheme, and a UK supermarket market share of approximately 28%, making it the largest such retailer in the country. With this position, and its 330,000 plus employees, the retailer is in a unique position to encourage EVs to an early mainstream market – and not just simply from exposing customers to electric vans through its home delivery service.
