Tesco Goes Green
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.15.06
Tesco is the largest U.K. supermarket chain and has become one of the most reviled. Across the country they have bought up small, local chains and replaced them with Tesco Express stores which have put neighbourhood shops out of business, clog the streets with delivery trucks and sell standard fare which doesn’t respond to local demands. In response to public anger they have announced a new green programme. They will be building the “greenest store in the world”--a supermarket made from entirely recyclable materials. All carrier bags will be biodegradable by the autumn and shoppers will be able to return excess packaging to stores for recycling. They will encourage healthier lifestyles by promoting healthy eating in deprived communities, and sponsoring exercise-oriented events. The local Express stores are going to become more “neighbourhood friendly”—including blending them into streetscapes and reducing deliveries and truck noise. They will also push to get more locally sourced food into their stores. Their community plan, unveiled last month, is a £100m environmental fund which plans to power stores' lighting with wind turbines, add solar panels and geothermal power. Response to the announcements has ranged from positive to cautionary. Ethical Consumer magazine has noted that “one green superstore, a vague aim to reduce plastic bag use and sponsorship-read advertising-of healthy events does not constitute a multi-national taking its impact seriously”. :: Guardian
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- The Clog Free Rake - A Human-Powered Leaf Blower?
- Business Enraged at Toronto Proposals for Reducing Waste
- Ten Things to Eat Before They Die
- Jargon Watch: Ecotarian
"return excess packaging to stores for recycling" hmmm, do you think their missing the obvious solution?.
Unless everything else is closed I use our local Tesco Metro to take money out of the in-store cash machine and then go and buy stuff from the local shops down the street.
'Tesco...has become one of the most reviled.'
Is that so? To that degree and in that quantity? By whom? Certainly not the huge numbers of people who shop there. It seems to me it's the eco-friendly affluent middle classes who have a problem with Tesco. Which is to be frank not a huge number of people. It's quite simple; if they weren't so good people wouldn't shop there. So perhaps you ought to lament the people who keep this awesome (in many senses) company in business, which is frankly the majority of the population, before casting aspersions on the company as if it was some kind of devil corporate.
And stop pretending that until Tesco came along we all lived in pretty towns and villages with unique, chirpy shopkeepers who sold us good honest foodstuffs at decent prices. It's a powerful image because it's so attractive. But it's wrong.
why not use paper bags decompes in under 1/4 of the time better safer for animals whats probs with that ???
if you have any more information about tesco greener