Tesco deny 'misleading' bag report
Tesco has denied accusations in The Times newspaper that an academic report condoning their policy of rewarding shoppers with 'green' points for re-use of carrier bags uses "misleading figures".
The University of Manchester's Sustainable Consumption Institute's (SCI) research into carrier bag use did not mention the Irish carrier bag tax and used "misleading figures". The SCI received £25m in funding from Tesco in 2007, The Times claimed.
Five Tesco directors - David North, Director of Community and Government - are reported to have made an "important contribution to the report". Their names were included in the published report but their association with Tesco was not.
The Times were advised by a Tesco spokesperson that the Directors did not unduly influence the report and insisted that it was independent.
The research endorses Tesco's policy of rewarding consumers with points for every bag that they re-use, and say that it is more effective than charging consumers for carrier bags. Tesco has reduced the number of carrier bags it gives away by just under 50% since the scheme was introduced three years ago.
The report does not however, mention that since launching its charge on carrier bags, Ireland has cut their use by 90%.
Director General of SCI, Professor Mohan Munasinghe, who is also the report's lead author, confirmed that the reports omission of Ireland's successful scheme had been unfair, but added that the authors took sole responsibility for the report's conclusions.
The Times article can be read here
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