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Vehicle efficiency

This year we exceeded our target to increase the volume of goods delivered per litre of fuel consumed by 2.5%. This means that 22.5 cases of goods are being delivered per litre of fuel this year, compared with 19.9 cases last year. This reduces mileage, emissions and congestion.

We have achieved this by using lorries returning from our stores to our distribution centres to collect goods from suppliers and recycling waste. By collaborating in this way, we have helped reduce the miles travelled by suppliers to our distribution centres by 23% and reduced fuel usage by 14%.

We have also opened three regional consolidation centres. Where previously, stores would receive deliveries from many different regional distribution centres, goods are now moved to fewer regional consolidation centres.

We have continued to fit Continuously Regenerating Traps (CRTs) to our vehicles. These units typically reduce air pollution by cutting carbon monoxide emissions, hydrocarbons and particulate matter by 90% compared with standard exhaust systems. Some 39% of our 1,723 vehicles now have these units fitted, up from 30% last year.

GlobalDiesel is available at 23 of our stores.

Biofuels We were the first major retailer to bring biodiesel to our customers. Since April 2004, we have been selling biodiesel at 23 stores, and to date have sold 5.4 million litres of GlobalDiesel. This ultra low sulphur diesel is blended with 5% biodiesel from rapeseed. The biodiesel cuts particulate emissions by 20%, improves fuel efficiency by 1% and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 5%. In total, the inclusion of 274,000 litres of biodiesel in the GlobalDiesel has led to saving the equivalent of 818 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

Tesco has a 25% stake in Greenergy, the GlobalDiesel supplier. This has enabled Greenergy to invest in the UK’s largest single-line biodiesel plant, located on the Humber estuary. It is scheduled to open in early 2006 with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes. Greenergy aims to buy rapeseed from around 1,500 farmers through a contract with Grainfarmers, a large agricultural co-operative in the UK.

Rail transport

Tesco remains committed to exploring all possible alternatives to road haulage, and we are testing the viability of rail distribution in two projects at Edinburgh and Inverness stations in Scotland. Both trials will be reviewed by the end of 2005.

Green travel plans

Since the beginning of 2003, green travel plans for staff have become an integral part of all our new store and store extension development proposals. Travel plans are required for new large-scale developments by national planning policy guidance.

These green travel plans outline the measures that we take to reduce the number of store employees coming to work by car, including staff travel surveys and schemes such as car sharing and walking buddies. Where employees participate in car sharing or ‘walking buddy’ schemes, we offer them a guaranteed ride home in the event of emergencies. To date, we have produced travel plans for 49 new stores and store extensions, up from 29 last year.