Tesco CSR

From Joe Ferrara:

Tescos

ENVIRONMENT
As a global business they have an important role in helping to minimise climate change. To achieve this, in 2009 they committed to:
• becoming a zero-carbon business by 2050
• reducing the emissions of the products we sell by 30% by 2020
• helping our customers to reduce their carbon footprint by 50% by 2020
• halve emissions from our 2006/7 baseline portfolio of buildings by 2020
• new stores built between 2007 and 2020 to emit half the CO2 of a 2006 new store
• reduce emissions per case delivered by 50% by 2012



COMMUNITIES
At Tesco, they believe in society – the idea that people depend on each other and that, working together, we can support each other and achieve much more than we can alone.
They also believe that we can make a major contribution to society. Their shops are in local communities in the UK and around the world. We employ hundreds of thousands of people and they and their families depend on tescos success for their livelihoods. Their suppliers depend on us, and we on them. Moreover, in these hard economic times, our customers look to us to make their money go further, and they do this by offering quality products at affordable prices.

BUYING AND SELLING OUR PRODUCTS RESPONSIBLY
We have high expectations of our suppliers wherever they are in the world. We aim to:
• build strong relationships with our suppliers
• get the best value for our customers
• give our customers confidence that we maintain good standards throughout our supply chain
At Tesco they aim to buy and sell our products responsibly – so there customers know that everything they buy is produced under decent conditions, and everyone involved is treated fairly. They are committed to this not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is in there business interest. They know that if you treat people decently they perform better. This approach also helps to improve the sustainability of there supply chain; when we encourage there suppliers to invest properly in a good, stable workforce, we know that the relationship will last much longer than if we dealt with cheap, fly-by-night operators. It also means we are working with people who understand their needs, and who – because they feel more secure about their relationship – can offer us better products at better prices. As a result of their efforts, a third of their suppliers have been with them for at least five years and they are seeking to increase this proportion.


HEALTHY CHOICES
They aim to make it easier for customers to live more healthily by:
• providing better information about nutrition
• making healthy options more accessible
• making it more attractive to lead an active lifestyle
they are committed to helping their customers and staff lead healthy lifestyles. However they know that any measures that try to force people to adopt healthier ways of living or to take the decisions out of their hands would be counter-productive. Voluntary choices are much more likely to be effective.
For example, research published in 2009 by a UK-based organisation, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), shows that reducing the size of portions in packaged food does not necessarily mean that people eat less. Customers mostly decide on portions based on whether they feel there is sufficient food for a meal, and if they consider that the sizes are too small they simply buy more.


OUR PEOPLE
Their 472,000 employees serve millions of customers around the world. We look after and develop them so they can look after their customers. No one tries harder for customers. They :
• work as a team
• trust and respect each other
• listen, support and say thank you
• share knowledge and experience
they treat people how we like to be treated. They set out to work as a team, trust and respect each other, listen, support and say thank you, and share knowledge and experience. Above all they want everyone at Tesco to enjoy their work. We have these values, created by our people, because they believe they are right, but also because they make good business sense. They know that if you treat people well they will give great service so their customers enjoy their shopping trip.