Supermarkets plan to be greener in 2010
Asda and Tesco, have announced their intention to reduce their environmental impact next year in moves that have been welcomed by the packaging industry.
In October, Asda said that it would launch its packaging scorecard in 2010, at the same time, Tesco unveiled plans to cut the carbon footprint of its entire supply chain by 30% in the next ten years.
Wal-Mart started using a packaging scorecard in the USA in February 2008, after a twelve month trial. It was then due to be launched in the UK this year, but the retailer has now said this will be in early 2010.
A spokeswoman from Asda has advised told Packaging News that they were still finalising and testing the version that will be used in the UK.
The scorecard looks at packaging against a range of criteria, which include greenhouse gases, substrate material choices and chemical composition.
Tesco Chief Executive, Sir Terry Leahy, announced earlier in the month that the supermarket would focus on consumer behaviour as it aimed to become a zero-carbon operation by 2050.
Tesco will require a 30% reduction in the carbon impact of the products in Tesco's supply chain by 2020.
Jane Bicker-Staffe, Incpen Director, welcomed the targets saying that is has to be a good thing that retailers are paying attention to the environment.
Already publishing the carbon footprints of 114 products on its labels, Tesco is aiming to work out the carbon footprints of 500 products by the close of the year.
Sir Leahy said "For Tesco, a revolution in green consumption is a fantastic opportunity to break the link between consumption and emissions once and for all, and in doing so satisfy a new consumer need and grow our business."
