Own-brand tomatoes will come under the spotlight

Own-brand tomatoes will come under the spotlight

Tomatoes, potatoes and orange juice are to come under scrutiny as Tesco and the Carbon Trust team up to measure the carbon footprint of 30 of the retail giant's own-brand products.

The 30 products - split into five categories, namely tomatoes, potatoes, orange juice, light bulbs and washing detergent - will be assessed using the draft standard currently being developed by the Carbon Trust, Defra and the British Standards Institute (BSI) to measure the embodied greenhouse gas emissions from products and services.

The announcements marks the latest step in Tesco’s quest to offer customers better information about the potential impact on climate change of every product they buy.

Climate change minister Joan Ruddock said: “Measuring the carbon footprint of the products we make, buy and sell is a complicated process. As businesses increasingly look for ways to reduce their effect on the environment there is a growing need for a reliable, consistent way to measure these impacts.

“That's why Defra, the Carbon Trust and the BSI are developing a standard for measuring the carbon footprints of products and services with a range of partners, and I warmly welcome Tesco's involvement in this work. What we learn from this project will be invaluable to our efforts to help companies make informed decisions about what they produce and offer to consumers.”

Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of Tesco, said: “We want to help our customers deliver a revolution in green consumption, and this work with the Carbon Trust will bring us a step closer to providing the type of information customers need to make greener choices based on good science.

“While there’s still a long way to go, mapping the carbon footprint of these few products will yield invaluable data that will benefit all those retailers and producers who are working towards combatting climate change.”

This project will provide information on how the standard, called the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050, can be applied in a simple, cost-effective way to a wide range of products and services. Where relevant, the information will be fed back to the steering group overseeing the development of the standard for its consideration and use.

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