New sustainability network partnership enables Tesco to reduce carbon footprint

Tesco, the U.K.'s largest retailer, has chosen 2degrees, the world's largest online community of sustainability professionals, to help the retailer achieve the ambitious target of reducing its supply chain carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2020.

Through the dedicated Tesco Carbon Reduction Knowledge Hub set up by 2degrees, Tesco is encouraging hundreds of its suppliers to engage and collaborate with each other more effectively to share best practice and find solutions to challenges, without raising costs or wasting time.

Tesco recognise that their overall supply chain footprint is at least ten times greater than their direct footprint, that's why the company is determined to work in partnership with their suppliers to reduce this. The Tesco Knowledge Hub allows its suppliers to talk to each other and share learnings within the supply chain, a step beyond the traditional retailer-supplier relationship.

After observing and studying a selection of Tesco's key suppliers during the pilot stage of the project, 2degreesdevised a detailed content and engagement plan and launched the Tesco Carbon Reduction Knowledge Hub—an area within 2degrees' online platform which is exclusive to Tesco suppliers—set up specifically to help them collaborate more efficiently.

The Tesco Carbon Reduction Knowledge Hub became a vibrant space for education and peer-to-peer learning for Tesco's suppliers and equipped them with useful ideas and tools through webinars, case studies and forum discussions to help reduce carbon emissions. Issues discussed ranged from voltage optimisation, waste contracts to refrigeration energy loss and on-site energy generation.

The Knowledge Hub is run and facilitated by 2degrees, whilst Tesco is actively involved in the online discussions, sharing its expertise and experience to help drive carbon emissions though the supply chain with its suppliers.

Following the six-month pilot test, the programme has now expanded, with more than 200 suppliers (mainly U.K-based) having recently joined the Tesco Knowledge Hub.

So far, more than 85 percent of members have attended or downloaded webinars; more than 30 percent of members have participated in 30+ specific problem solving discussions; 500+ case studies and documents have been downloaded and more than 75 percent have found solutions to other problems within other 2degrees working groups.

Martin Chilcott, founder and CEO of 2degrees, says, "Our work with Tesco is a fabulous example of how the 2degrees' Community (a special blend of social media and program management) can deliver levels of collaboration and problem-solving within a company's supply-chain which is unsurpassed. The Tesco Knowledge Hub on 2degrees runs 24/7, day-in-day-out, providing Tesco and its suppliers with easy access to vital expertise and peer-to-peer insights on how to reduce carbon and costs."

Andrew Hill, climate change manager, Tesco, says: "The 2degrees Knowledge Hub has worked really well and we are looking forward to rolling out the programme to many more of our U.K. suppliers.

"Tesco is leading the way in sustainable best practice, by finding solutions to real-life problems and sharing knowledge and innovation with our suppliers to reduce costs both financially and to the environment. We are very excited about developing the partnership with 2degrees in the future."

2degrees will be working with Tesco to help bring on board more supplier members, build a larger library of information within the Hub, evolve the programme of activities to cover more suppliers' requests and help develop a series of offline events.

Source: 2degrees

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