Tesco has pledged to label every product with a “carbon calorie counter” in the latest bid for green retailing.
The UK’s largest supermarket chain will pour £500 million into its latest green initiative, which includes the introduction of labels detailing the amount of carbon dioxide generated during a product’s development and distribution.
The company has also agreed to halve the cost of energy-efficient light bulbs, reduce its commitment to airfreighted produce and install more wind turbines onto store roofs.
Tesco ceo Sir Terry Leahy detailed the plans yesterday during a speech on climate change, just days after M&S’s unprecedented £200m commitment to become carbon neutral by 2012.
Commenting on the green issue, Leahy said: “There aren’t many things that keep me awake but this is one…The market is ready. Customers tell us they want our help to do more in the fight against climate change. We have to make sustainability a significant, mainstream driver of consumption.”
