- Progress during first year of the Tesco Nature Programme revealed: 130 farms engaged alongside more than 30 key suppliers
- Retailer announces two further partnerships – to encourage seagrass restoration in the NE Atlantic, and promote regenerative agriculture practices in Cote d’Ivoire
Tesco has today reaffirmed its aim to protect and restore nature across key sourcing regions in its supply chain, as it revealed the progress it’s made during the first year of its Nature Programme initiative.
The retailer launched its Nature Programme in 2023, with five projects now established in partnership with Forestry England, delivered in the Blackdown Hills; RSPB; the Rivers Trust, alongside beef and lamb supplier, ABP; Herefordshire Rural Hub; and ANSE (Asociación de Naturalistas del Sureste) and key fruit supplier AMFRESH in Spain.
As part of the programme, land linked to the production of 18 high risk commodities is already benefiting from a range of initiatives, including creating habitats for key species, increasing pollinators, improving soil health and reducing erosion, and improving water quality and quantity. The retailer is currently working with 130 farms across its five established projects, with each farm benefiting from a bespoke action plan.
Tesco’s suppliers are playing a key role on the projects, with more than 30 of Tesco’s leading produce suppliers, representing a significant proportion of the retailer’s UK-based sourcing volume, playing an active role in supporting farmers and producers. These include potato supplier, Branston, G’s Fresh, British Sugar, Heygates, United Oilseeds, and Allied Bakeries.
To further bolster the programme, Tesco is now launching two new projects to protect nature in its supply chains. It will work with respected non-profit organisation, Earthworm Foundation to put in place regenerative agriculture practices in Cote d’Ivoire, a country known for its cocoa production, and where the retailer sources much of the cocoa used in its Finest chocolate range. The retailer’s block chocolate supplier, Baronie-Cemoi is also partnering on the project.
The supplier, alongside other actors in the cocoa sector, runs the Transparence Cacao programme, which promotes sustainability in the cocoa sector. Working with Tesco, the programme now incorporates environmental measures as well as its focus on livelihoods, traceability and quality.
Tesco has also launched a new partnership with the social enterprise Sea Ranger Service to restore seagrass in the Northeast Atlantic, off the coast of the Netherlands – an area used to source several species of wild caught fish, including plaice, cod and haddock.
Speaking about the Nature Programme, Christine Heffernan, Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer at Tesco said:
“It’s vital we play our part in protecting and restoring nature in our supply chains, so it’s great to see the progress we’ve made across our Nature Programme in the first full year of the initiative, including engaging so many of our key suppliers in regions across the UK that are experiencing some form of nature loss.
“We know we have a lot more to do to ensure we protect the soils, water and biodiversity in the supply chains we rely on, so I’m delighted to announce two new partnerships with Earthworm and the Sea Ranger Service, to help protect nature.”
Gerome Tokpa, Director Africa region at Earthworm Foundation said:
“We are very pleased to partner with Tesco and Baronie-Cémoi in our shared ambition to improve farmer livelihoods and protect local ecosystems in a key cocoa-sourcing region of Côte d’Ivoire. Through this partnership, we will work closely with cocoa farmers in the Tonkpi region to support the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices that strengthen their resilience while reducing environmental impact. Starting with two cooperatives, this collaboration is designed to grow in the coming years, broadening its scope to include additional livelihood-enhancement initiatives for farmers as well as robust forest conservation measures.”
Wietse van der Werf, Founder and CEO at the Sea Ranger Service said:
“I am excited to see Tesco stepping forward and showing such leadership to restore coastal ecosystems. This is a big boost to our existing efforts in restoring seagrass. We are particularly proud of this partnership as it regenerates the coastal environment whilst at the same time giving young people unique skills training and entry-level career opportunities.”
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