Tesco has invited around 400 suppliers in the UK and Ireland to join a data-sharing platform to standardise reporting and speed up decarbonisation.
The UK’s largest retailer said the vendors represent more than 80% of its grocery supply chain by value.
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Companies will log emissions figures through the OpenClimat platform as Tesco looks to hit its target of “achieving net zero across its full value chain by 2050”.
Set up in 2022, OpenClimat operates as a centralised exchange for climate data for the FMCG sector. More than 15 European grocers, including Carrefour E.Leclerc and Metro, have signed up.
The France-based business said food and drinks companies using its system include General Mills, McCain Foods and JDE Peet’s.
Data collection across the supply chain has been fragmented, with manufacturers subjected to different requirements from retail customers.
According to survey data published by UK grocery research organisation IGD last month, more than 95% of suppliers said they receive multiple different requests from customers for similar sustainability information.
Using OpenClimat would “streamline” the sharing of data and “help build a clearer understanding of emissions”, Tesco, which is the first UK-based retailer to use the platform, said.
For major grocery chains, Scope 3 typically accounts for more than 90% of emissions. Tesco had a target of lowering its Scope 1 and 2 emissions against a 2015/16 baseline by 60% by the end of 2025.
In a progress report published in May, the retailer said it had lowered those emissions by 68%. However, in the report, it noted Scopes 1 and 2 now account for around 1% of its total emissions.
“We know reaching net zero across our full value chain by 2050 will require collaboration with all our suppliers to drive emissions reductions,” Tesco quality and sustainability director Claire Lorains said yesterday (12 November).
OpenClimat co-founder Elsa Chai added: “Manufacturers asked us to bring our collaborative model to the UK. Tesco has made it happen. Climate data should drive progress, not paperwork.”
