Tesco has revealed that it brought together key suppliers at an event this week to discuss new ways to accelerate the elimination of plastic waste from its product offering.
As a part of the supermarket group’s 4Rs packaging strategy – Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – suppliers have been asked to go “further and faster” in removing plastic where alternatives are possible. Tesco is putting a particular focus on areas that can make the greatest difference at scale, as well as tackling packaging which is most at risk of ending up in the natural environment.
To address the challenge, Tesco stated that was seeking alternate solutions such as an increase in loose or unpackaged products, greater use of concentrates and reusable and refillable packaging.
At the event, Tesco set out a new aim to work with suppliers in order to remove plastic from 5 billion own brand and branded products sold each year, by 2025.
Further detail on the retailer’s packaging strategy will be published later this summer.
“We’ve already made progress to minimise the environmental impact of our packaging, but we know there is more we can do with suppliers on the issue of plastic waste,” said Sarah Bradbury, Tesco’s Group Quality Director.
“We’re bringing suppliers together to work solutions because we are determined to go further and accelerate our progress, with a focus on the areas of greatest impact.
“We’re really grateful for the support and partnership of our suppliers on this important agenda, and we look forward to sharing more detail on our packaging strategy in the months ahead.”
Since its 4Rs strategy was established in 2019, Tesco has improved the packaging for more than 1,500 different products and removed 1.6 billion pieces of unnecessary plastic, including multipacks, additional lids, films, and bags.
Tesco makes holistic decisions on the materials that suppliers can use in its packaging through a Red/Amber/Green list of Preferred Materials and Formats. The ‘Green’ list stipulates nine easy-to-recycle materials that can be used in its packaging. Tesco has previously insisted suppliers stop using ‘Red’ materials as customers cannot easily recycle them in the UK.
NAM Implications:
- The savings ramp up when factored into Tesco’s scale:
- i.e. ‘to remove plastic from 5 billion own brand and branded products sold each year, by 2025’
- Suppliers need to anticipate this ‘invitation to partner’ to morph into ‘obligatory’
