2degrees Enterprise: Sample Press Coverage
IGD Convention, 9th October 2012
How can retailers win in today’s tough markets?
Extract from speech by Philip Clarke, CEO, Tesco “Retailers, however, cannot deliver
innovation on our own. No company has a monopoly on good ideas. If any company thinks
that, it won’t be making the most of the expertise and knowledge that exists through the
supply chain.
Instead, we need to create a new spirit of partnership, building on what exists, but going
much deeper and becoming much stronger than anything that has existed before.
Tesco has, down the years, forged many strong links with our suppliers. Let me just give you
one example – APS Salads. We’ve been working with APS Salads, who are based in
Cheshire, since 1989. Our three year supplier strategy gives them the confidence to invest in
new plants and to undertake initiatives like reducing their carbon footprint. A member of the
Tesco Knowledge Hub, we share customer insights and work hard together to improve
their products’ quality, freshness and flavour.
That’s just one of the myriad of cases I could cite. But now I am determined to forge even
closer links. The reason for this is very simple: the pace of change is so fast, and the
customer offer needs to be so personal, that we need to work with suppliers – be they
providing us with goods or services – even more closely.
So we have set up a new dedicated Tesco online community for our international
producers, farmers and growers.
Its aim is simple: to forge more productive relationships with Tesco and other producers right
across the globe, and right down the supply chain.
With blogs, discussion forums and – crucially – invaluable insight about our customers, I
want this to make Tesco much more transparent and accessible to our suppliers.”
Walmart Daily News, 4th October 2012
Asda extends sustainability drive
Asda has unveiled plans to extend its sustainability partnership with suppliers after the
group’s investment in sustainability generated an 85 percent increase in cost savings, which
rose to GBP13m (U.S. $20.9m) last year.
The Asda Sustain & Save Exchange is an online portal that allows Asda and its suppliers to
share best practice, knowledge and innovations in energy, waste and water efficiency. The
initiative will now be extended to include all of Asda’s fresh, frozen and chilled suppliers.
Through the scheme, over 300 suppliers - including Youngs Seafood, Warburtons and
Cranswick - will all be able to share best practice across a range of sustainability issues.
Asda said it is “on track” to deliver energy savings of GBP800m by 2020. “At Asda, our
approach to sustainability is based on the belief that protecting the environment and saving
people money go hand in hand. After all, wasting resources means wasting money – and we
hate waste of any kind,” Julian Walker-Palin, head of corporate sustainability at Asda, said.
“Since 2005, our work to minimize the environmental impact of our operations has delivered
over GBP80m in savings – which we have invested in delivering lower prices for our
customers. Now, through our exchange program, we can go even further, helping over 300
suppliers find efficiencies in energy, waste and water that can also help keep prices down."
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The Grocer, 29th September 2012
Asda extends supply chain sustainability with 300 companies
Asda has expanded its supply chain sustainability programme to more than 300 companies
and is introducing a new tool to measure their efforts to reduce their environmental impact.
A sixth of its supplier base had already signed up to its Sustain and Save Exchange
programme, which launched last year. The retailer said that its entire roster of fresh, frozen
and chilled suppliers had now agreed to join the programme, which it claimed had so far
saved £13m through sustainability innovations.
The collaboration, overseen by sustainability experts 2degrees, will see companies including
Arla, Warburtons and Young’s share ideas on sustainability via an online portal. 2degrees is
also launching a new tool next month that will report on the companies’ performances on
energy, waste and water usage.
“This is all about collaboration,” said Asda’s head of corporate sustainability Julian WalkerPalin. “We can now help over 300 suppliers find efficiencies in energy, waste and water.”
Retail Gazette, 17th April 2012
Tesco creates world’s largest supply chain group
The UK’s largest retailer Tesco has expanded its co-operation with leading business
community 2degrees to launch the world’s largest on-line collaboration between retail
suppliers, it was announced today.
In an effort to reduce energy costs, waste & the environmental impacts of the products it
buys, Tesco has decided to increase its Knowledge Hub which is already used by 750
members from 380 different organisations across more than 20 countries.
By the end of 2012 the grocer will have brought 1,000 of its suppliers into the hub and
ultimately the company hopes that the move will cut 30 per cent of the carbon emissions
from its supply chain by 2020.
Helen Fleming, Climate Change Director at Tesco, said: “With hundreds of suppliers in many
countries, many with expertise in different aspects of sustainability, the best way to make
progress is to share knowledge through our supply chains, across the industry, and across
national boundaries.”
Problem-solving discussions, sharing best practice and webinars form some of the
Knowledge Hub’s activity and Tesco is looking at ways to enhance co-operation further.
The supply chain management solution provided by 2degrees tries to achieve meaningful
reductions in energy, materials, waste and water use, and the company has over 20,000
professionals from over 100 countries within its wider community.
Martin Chilcott, Founder and CEO of 2degrees, said: “The remarkable results of the
Knowledge Hub on 2degrees in its first year means we can expand the programme to
enable all Tesco’s top 1,000 suppliers to benefit from the best practice sharing and
collaborative problem-solving it enables.”
Tomorrow Tesco will announce its full-year results and publish an update on strategy which
is expected to focus largely on improving UK operations which have been performing below
the wider market in recent months.
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Bloomberg Online, 8th May 2012
How to Scrub Carbon From 40,000 Products at Once
Tesco Plc expects that by working more closely with its suppliers the U.K.’s largest
supermarket owner will by 2020 cut 30 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions associated
with products it sells.
With operations in 14 countries, Tesco is encouraging the makers of an estimated 40,000
products sold in its stores to share ideas on pollution reduction measures via a private web
portal managed by 2degrees, a sustainable business network based in Oxford, U.K. About
500 Tesco suppliers have joined the group so far.
The network is “changing the way” Tesco works with suppliers, says Martin Chilcott, chief
executive of 2degrees, by broadening discussions beyond what’s required of typical
business transactions. The network provides a shared space to discuss sustainability
initiatives, which can cut costs across the supply chain.
Tesco also plans to halve emissions from its own stores by 2020, from a baseline set at its
2006-2007 CO2 levels. The retailer estimates energy-efficiency measures implemented
since 2006 have saved the group 200 million pounds ($323 million) a year, according to
Helen Fleming, climate change director at Tesco. Chilcott and Fleming spoke with Siobhan
Wagner of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Q: Tesco’s “Knowledge Hub,” the online portal managed by 2degrees, will help reduce CO2
from products. What’s the incentive for suppliers to get involved?
Helen Fleming: I think the incentives are really very clear in many ways. Energy efficiency is
always going to be a big part of reducing emissions, and anything you do on energy
efficiency is going to go straight to your bottom line in terms of decreased energy costs. Our
suppliers increasingly see the medium-, long-term risks in terms of decreased resources.
We’ve had a lot of price volatility for some basic commodities in recent years. People are
beginning to more actively manage their supply chains and have longer-term strategies.
Q: How have suppliers responded?
Martin Chilcott: One of the reasons why the Tesco Knowledge Hub is on 2degrees -- and
the managed service is delivered by 2degrees people -- is [Tesco] wants to create some
neutrality about the community. While it is the Tesco “Knowledge Hub,” it wants suppliers to
feel they own it as much as Tesco. John Scouler, a U.K. commercial director, and the cosponsor of our work along with Helen, said he thought this was changing the way Tesco
related, at least in part, with its suppliers. It was learning how to collaborate and work with its
suppliers in a different way. Whereas in the past, it had simply been transactional. When
you’re a retailer like Tesco, that transactional component is always going to be there, but
that’s also now alongside something which is genuinely collaborative.
Q: Who’s signed up?
MC: One example is, APS Salads. APS has an anaerobic digester which takes vegetable
waste and produces natural gas, which it then uses to power its fleet of lorries. It produces
electricity, which is used in the plant. It produces heat and CO2, which goes into the
greenhouse to help grow the tomatoes. You’ve got a whole range of other producers with
similar problems like vegetable waste to deal with, and we share through online discussions
and case studies what APS Salads is doing. And then we arrange for a visit to the site and a
dozen or so companies go along to the visit. We know of at least one case where, as a result
of the visit, the person who went brought their CFO and CEO along and they’re now building
a business case for installing their own anaerobic digestion plant.
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