UK grocery retailer Tesco PLC has won an award from Carbon Trust for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and Environmental Performance’ for reducing emissions from its transportation network. Tesco’s transportation emissions per unit of goods have been cut by 14% in the UK in the last two years, on top of a 50% reduction achieved between 2006 and 2012.

Measures taken by the Company include:

• using trains and ships instead of trucks to move goods. For example, Tesco is using more sea routes – like Gdynia in Poland to Teesport in North Yorkshire, a move which has reduced road miles by over 80% and produced savings of EUR 300k (CDN $450,000) per year.
• in the UK, Tesco operates five trains that pick up and deliver goods from suppliers including Highland Spring, Coca-Cola and Red Bull.
• more than 50% of the goods moved from its rail-enabled National Grocery Distribution Centre at Daventry are transported by rail.
• Tesco ensures that delivery trucks are as full as possible before they set off and by careful planning has cut over 8 million miles a year from its trucking. 
• the Company has introduced what it describes as cutting-edge technology, like aerodynamic trailers and dual-fuel (diesel and biogas) trucks.

Tesco’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2012/13 totalled 5.75 million tonnes of CO2e.

The Tesco announcement is at http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=17&newsid=960