Tesco Uses New Software to Find New Green Technology Innovations

July 19, 2012

Tesco, the U.K.’s largest retailer, is partnering with iVeridis to identify the best new innovations in environmental technology.

Tesco zero carbon store image iVeridis Greensourcing Software Solution provides a platform that allows businesses to input their exact green-tech requirements, and are then matched to the best solutions available across iVeridis’ global network of more than 50,000 organizations.

Tesco said it plans to primarily use the software to identify technologies that can further improve the efficiency of its stores, with the corporate goal of becoming zero carbon by 2050.

Tesco and iVeridis completed a successful pilot in 2011, in which Tesco ran a search for a number of environmental solutions including LED lighting for Express stores and small-scale energy from waste generators. iVeridis examined more than 800 potential products and technologies, and working with Tesco produced a shortlist of five that met the project-specific criteria.

The technologies are now being assessed by Tesco’s engineering team and, if successful, will be trialed in several stores, according to a joint company statement.

“Tesco prides itself on being a leader in sustainability, and the partnership with iVeridis is further evidence of our commitment to meeting our carbon reduction targets,” said Tim Brooks, environmental program manager at Tesco. “This is a big step forward on our sustainability journey, and we are excited at the prospect of unearthing new environmental technologies which can be applied to our stores over the next two to three years.”

To achieve its zero carbon goal, Tesco has undertaken various initiatives to curb energy usage and carbon emissions at its 2,979 U.K. stores in recent years. In 2009, Tesco opened the world’s first zero-carbon supermarket in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. It has since opened six more such stores, the most recent one in Cefn Mawr in Wales.

Tesco uses its zero-carbon stores to trial new technologies, which if successful, are implemented across the chain. Tesco also announced it is accelerating its store ‘Refresh’ program, which will add energy efficiency technologies to hundreds of stores that will also be aesthetically upgraded and modernized.

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