Carbon Trust Standard provides independent recognition of a company’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. Tesco has received the accreditation thanks to its plans to build the world’s first zero-carbon store in the UK. The supermarket giant has revealed that it will introduce electric car charging points in some of its stores on a trial basis soon.
Tesco achieved a reduction of 0.7% in absolute footprint between 2006-07 and 2007-08. Tesco is planning to build its first zero-carbon store in Cambridgeshire, UK. The zero-carbon store is expected to be a wood-framed facility and will be powered by an on-site combined heat and power plant. This will enable it to sell surplus energy back to the National Grid.
Tesco is considering plans to install electric car-charging points at stores in Kensington and Vauxhall in London, and to implement it at other stores after its success.
The company has managed to cut waste heading for landfill to zero. It brings the total number of Tesco stores diverting 100% of their waste to landfill to 1,700. Tesco is aiming to achieve zero-waste to landfill across the country and is expected to reach 95% diversion rate by 2010.
The Carbon Trust was set up by the UK government to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy. The Carbon Trust Standard Company was set up by the Carbon Trust in June 2008.
