Tesco has unveiled a raft of sustainability initiatives, including plans for an all-electric delivery fleet, as part of its plan to become Net Zero by 2035.

The measures, which bring forward the retail giant's Net Zero ambitions 15 years before they had originally planned, involve several partnerships to help the company join the fight against climate change.

The company has struck a new agreement with renewable energy investor Low Carbon, that will see the creation of three new solar farms in the UK. The solar farms in Essex, Anglesey and Oxfordshire will generate up to 130GWh (Gigawatt hours) of energy per year, enough to power 44,828 three-bedroom homes, said Tesco.

The move is part of the retailer’s commitment to use 100 per cent renewable electricity across the Tesco Group by 2030, and will save 30,308 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking 14,457 cars off the road, it said.

The project follows the supermarket’s announcement last year that it would begin sourcing renewable energy from five on-shore windfarms. This is in addition to fitting thousands of solar panels across its UK store network, with 60 stores fitted out already.

Tesco has also revealed that it has put 30 electric delivery vans on the road in Greater London, with plans to have a fully electric home delivery fleet by 2028.

To support the wider adoption of electric vehicles across the UK, Tesco is also rolling out 2,400 charging points for customers across 600 stores, with 400 stores due to be fitted with the chargers by the end of 2020.

“By the time the charging programme has concluded, Tesco will have boosted the UK’s electric charging network by 14 per cent,” the company said.

The initiatives will put the business on course for net zero in its UK operations 15 years ahead of UK government targets of 2050. In 2009, Tesco set out its ambition to become a zero-carbon business by 2050.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and Ireland chief executive, said: “In 12 months’ time, the UK will host the most critical climate change summit of the decade - COP26. We want to play our part, bringing forward our ambition to reach net zero in our UK operations by 15 years.”

Share Story: