Tesco has revealed that it has now removed more than two billion pieces of plastic from its UK business since the launch of its 4Rs – Remove, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle – packaging programme in 2019.
In the last 12 months alone, 500 million pieces of unnecessary plastic have been identified and removed. The most recent annual savings include more than 30 million plastic yoghurt lids removed, over 29 million pieces of plastic removed from limescale tablets packaging, and nearly 24 million plastic windows removed from doughnut packaging.
Kené Umeasiegbu, the retailer’s Responsible Sourcing Director, said: “We all have a responsibility to take care of our planet and removing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact. As well as taking action in our own operations, we want to work with the whole industry to continue to build on the progress we’ve made to Remove, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more.”
Based on learnings from the progress its made so far, Tesco has just published a new strategic report, detailing efforts needed by retailers, industry and government to help transform the UK’s approach to packaging. The retailer’s ideas include creating a level playing field when it comes to removing packaging in produce, supporting government efforts to introduce consistent kerbside recycling, ensuring a deposit return scheme is viable and sustainable, and creating industry movement on reusable packaging solutions.
Tesco’s 4Rs strategy has seen a business-wide programme that assesses every piece of packaging and removes all unnecessary and non-recyclable material. The retailer initiated action by giving its suppliers a list of preferred materials that are easier to recycle and stated that it reserves the right to no longer stock products in excessive packaging or hard-to-recycle materials. The retailer then supported its suppliers to develop more sustainable packaging solutions.
NAM Implications:
- Big company, big results, big impact.
- Whilst this process starts with own-label…
- …branded suppliers need to anticipate the changes required.
- In order not to lose ground to more agile rivals…
