Around the world

Latest news

Tesco staff help to clean up Britain

Tesco has given its support to the Daily Mail’s national ‘Spring Clean’ campaign, which aims to clean up Britain ahead of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Already over 1,300 of our staff are involved, with more than 150 stores organising litter picks in their local areas.

Tesco opens 42^nd regeneration Store

In March 2012 we underlined our commitment to supporting long-term unemployed people from some of the UK’s most deprived areas back into work with the opening of our 42^nd regeneration store in Widnes. Over the last 12 years, since the opening of the first Tesco regeneration partnership store in Leeds, the stores have provided 14,270 jobs in total, 4,900 of them going to the long-term unemployed people. You can watch a video about our Widnes regeneration store here

Tesco announces Cancer Research UK as 2012 Charity of the Year

Our Charity of the Year for 2012 will be Cancer Research UK, with whom Tesco has partnered for 10 years to support Race for Life. We are aiming to raise £10 million this year, to be spent on research and awareness to improve early diagnosis and detection of the disease, help more people survive cancer and keep more families together.

Tesco partners with RSPB to help save rainforests

In February 2012 we launched our ‘Together for Trees’ partnership with the RSPB to help save over 238,000 hectares of the world’s most endangered rainforests. Customers can donate their green Clubcard points and Clubcard vouchers, and give money directly to the RSPB. So far 150,000 customers have signed-up to donate their Green Clubcard points to help save rainforests.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

We now have four zero carbon stores in the UK, including our new Cefn Mawr store which opened in March 2012. We continue to reward our customer’s environmentally friendly behavior by offering them Green Clubcard points when they reuse carrier bags, recycle mobile phone or inkjet cartridges, choose bagless delivery when ordering groceries online, use our recycling centres and purchase renewable energy, windows or doors from Tesco Home Efficiency.

Actively supporting local communities

We have over 300 Community Champions in our stores who work closely with community groups such as schools, hospitals and local charities, and lead local fundraising activities. This year we raised £7.5 million for our UK Charity of the Year, the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Scotland, making it our biggest-ever UK partnership.

Providing customers with healthy choices

In March 2012 we signed up to a pledge to work with the UK Government, industry and healthy professionals to help the nation reduce its calorie intake. As part of this we have committed to reducing the calories sold in our soft drinks by over 150 million in the coming year.

Helping our customers and staff get active

2011 marked the 10th anniversary of our support for Cancer Research UK and Race for Life. 650,000 women took part including more than 22,000 Tesco staff. The FA Tesco Skills coaching programme has now brought football skills training to three million five to eleven year olds since it launched in 2007. We have also been encouraging children to get active through the Tesco Great School Run.

Supporting local suppliers

In the UK we sold over £1 billion of local products this year. We launched a new-look fleet of lorries to highlight our local product lines and ran a competition called ‘Best in the British Aisles’ where customers voted for their favourite local foods.

Creating good jobs and careers

In March 2012 we announced that we will create 20,000 new jobs in the UK over the next two years, through a significant investment in customer service, refreshing existing stores and opening new ones. Tesco will also give young people the opportunity to carry on learning by expanding its apprenticeship programme to provide 10,000 apprenticeships, with a significant proportion for new starters.

Download the UK's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Tesco hosts Sustainable Development Forum with Chinese Government

In April 2012 we hosted the ‘2^nd Retail Sustainable Development Forum’ in Suzhou, China with the support of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). The Forum brought together over 150 representatives of retailers, suppliers, government organisations and industry associations to share best practice on reducing carbon emissions. VIP guests also visited our green distribution centre at Jiashan, and our energy efficient store at Xindong.

Tesco scoops coveted Green Supply Chain Award in China

In November 2011 we were awarded the prestigious ‘Green Supply Chain Award’ by The Global Supply Chain Council in China, for demonstrating strong environmental leadership and a firm commitment to promote green in China. The judges were particularly impressed by our Jiashan Green Logistics Centre, whose innovative design uses 45% less electricity and 40% less water in comparison to a normal warehouse and has reduced carbon emissions by at least 35%.

Work on our Community Promises

Our Community Promises are brought to life in China through our ‘We Care’ programme focusing on the environment, community, health and food safety.

We care for our planet

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and have signed a Letter of Intent with the Ministry of Commerce to help promote a sustainable retail industry in China. We have installed an environmentally friendly CO₂ refrigeration system at two of our stores, which has helped them to reduce their energy consumption by 25%. To help customers be green we have launched a ‘Greener Living’ website with information, advice and quizzes.

We care for our community

We support needy people in over 90 communities by donating essential supplies such as rice and oil. Since 2008 we have donated supplies worth over £300,000. Our stores also organise regular fundraising activities for charities and good causes.

We care for our health

Since 2008 over 170,000 customers and staff have taken part in Tesco sponsored community sports activities in China. In 2012 we began running Tai Chi activities and contests for local residents at selected stores to promote national fitness.

We care for our food

Food safety is a key focus for the Tesco China business. We are committed to improving direct sourcing and ensuring high standards in our stores, so that we are able to provide fresh and quality food for customers. 80% of our fresh produce is sourced from local farms in China.

Download China's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Helping senior citizens navigate the Net

Volunteers from our service centre in India took part in workshops to help senior citizens understand the internet better. We organised the programme alongside the Nightingale Trust for Elders. During the  session participants had the opportunity to learn and develop basic computer skills including email navigation and internet search.

Putting rainwater to good use

In August 2012 our service centre in India introduced rainwater harvesting technology to collect surface run-off and rooftop water. This water will be used to meet the centre's water requirements as well as helping to replenish the water table which will benefit the local community.

Work on our Community Promises

Actively supporting local communities

Most of the staff at our Hindustan Service Centre in Bangalore are locals and want to give back to their communities. In November 2011 we started a ‘Give as you earn’ scheme, allowing staff to make a donation from their salary to support grass roots charities. So far 700 people have signed up. Our staff have also participated in fundraising initiatives including a silent auction, raffle draw, coin collection, clothes donation drive and charity sale.

Helping our staff lead healthy lives

In 2011 we launched ‘Get healthy with Tesco HSC’, starting with a Dance Fitness workshop. We appointed a Sports Committee and held a month long sports event with more than 800 employees taking part in a variety of sports. We have also held events to offer eye tests and BMI measurement to employees.

Latest News

Greener Earth Tree Planting Programme launch

In December 2011 over 400 volunteers of all ages joined our Tesco team in Taman Wawasan, Putrajaya to kick-start our Greener Earth Tree Planting Programme. Over the course of the day more than 1,000 trees were planted. We are working with the Malaysian Timber Industry and have an ambitious three year target to plant 500,000 trees throughout Malaysia.

Taking the lead on supporting local businesses

Tesco has been appointed as one of the Malaysian Government’s consultants on the modernisation of small family owned businesses. So far we have been able to support 118 shops which on average have seen a sales increase of 28%. We have also developed guidance for potential new store owners.  We aim to help transform 200 shops by the end of 2012.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

In our efforts to reduce carbon emissions, we have set up an energy league to benchmark our stores and track their progress. In 2011 we opened our Kalim store which is the first to be part powered by onsite solar power generation. To help our customers reduce their environmental impact we provide recycling facilities and offer Green Clubcard points to reward customers for reusing carrier bags.

Actively supporting local communities

Last year our staff and customers raised over £300,000 for charities and good causes through a nationwide ‘No Bag Day’ campaign and local store donations.  During the Chinese New Year celebrations we donated food, products and funding to charity homes for the elderly and disabled, and helped to bring the celebrations to life with decorations and entertainment.

Supporting local suppliers

We seek to champion local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and last year took on 50 new local products and increased our SME sales by nearly 40%. As well as growing sales in our own stores, we organised an SME conference to share information on market opportunities in China and showcased Malaysian products during a ‘Taste of Malaysia’ event in Beijing.

Download Malaysia's KPI performance and targets 

Our business in South Korea is called Homeplus.

Latest news

Taste of Korea

In July 2012 we launched our Taste of Korea event in our New Malden store in the UK. This event will help Korean SMEs to promote their products oversees. over 150 Korean products will be featured for five weeks and the 49 most popular items will be permanently available from September.

Homeplus launches Save Young Lives campaign

In February 2012 we launched a national fundraising campaign working with suppliers to raise money to support 100 children with cancer and 1,000 foster children. Throughout the year, Homeplus and 200 of our suppliers will donate a percentage of the sales of over 1,100 products to the charities, Children with Leukemia and Cancer and the National Foster Care Centre. This campaign is supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

Through our eParan 'Green Leaders' programme we have educated 30,000 children about the importance of saving the environment and have a target to create 100,000 of these ‘Green Leaders’ by 2020. Working in partnership with the South Korean Government, we have also launched a green credit card that enables customers to earn green points every time they purchase designated green products.

Actively supporting local communities

Last year we helped our staff and customers raise over £540,000 for charities and good causes in local communities. Our 113 Schools of Extended Education offer over 400 courses such as well-being, art and English to our one million members.

Helping customers and staff get active

Last year we helped almost half a million people get active through Homeplus events. Following its success in the UK, we have launched an FA Skills programme in Korea, giving children the opportunity to learn football skills from professional FA qualified coaches.

Supporting our suppliers

In April 2011 we established a Shared Growth Division to look at how to support our suppliers. From a survey of suppliers we identified the following six areas in which to offer support: fair trade, funding, technology, export, education and skills, and management support. We are now rolling out programmes to deliver tailored support.

Download South Korea's KPI performance and targets

Our business in Thailand is called Tesco Lotus.

Latest news

40,000 staff given special leave to support their communities

We have introduced the 'Community Day' for over 40,000 full-time staff in Thailand. Our people will be able to use this special leave of one day to volunteer in the local community. This builds on the '1 million hours' project which has run for three years to encourage our people to volunteer their time for good causes.

Tesco UK launches ‘Taste of Thailand’ promotion

For the fifth year running we have helped to promote Thai produce in our UK stores. In May 2012 we held a ‘Taste of Thailand’ event in over 200 UK stores to create greater awareness and sales of exotic fruit from Thailand. Taste of Thailand is a joint initiative between Tesco and the Thai Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP).

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

We have already given customers over 44 million Green Points and have saved over five million plastic carrier bags. This is the fifth year of our “Plant 9 Million Trees” project and we have planted over seven million trees so far.

Actively supporting local communities

Last year our staff dedicated more than 2.3 million hours of volunteer work as part of our “1 Million Hours” project. The "Tesco for Thais" Foundation, founded in 2003, has contributed almost £780,000 to charities and social projects and awarded 19,000 scholarships to needy students.

Helping our customers and staff get active

Since 2007, we have encouraged more than 16 million people to join our “Get Healthy with Tesco Lotus” programme. This programme includes the Tesco Lotus National Aerobic Competition, Football Clinic, Coronation Day Walkathon and the Mother’s Day Aerobic Marathon. We also recently launched the Tesco Lotus Football Cup for children.

Supporting local suppliers

Since 2003, our support for the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) programme has generated almost £27,000 in sales for local producers. Our Business Excellence Awards celebrates our best SME suppliers.

Creating good jobs and careers

We employ over 51,000 people across Tesco Lotus. The vast majority of jobs we create are for locals living in the surrounding areas of our Tesco Lotus stores. Since 1998 almost £1 billion has been invested in our staff, including in training and development.

Download Thailand's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Tesco Run for Life raises money for children with cancer

In 2011 over 10,000 customers and staff took part in our charity fun run, Run for Life, which raised over £126,000 for the Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

In 2011 we opened our first overseas zero-carbon store in Jaroměř in the Czech Republic. The store has a distinctive timber structure and roof, with wooden cladding to minimise the carbon associated with building the store. In 2011 we introduced a charge on plastic carrier bags to encourage customers to re-use them. Part of the money raised will go directly to the Tesco Foundation to support charitable activities.

Actively supporting local communities

Our Tesco Foundation in the Czech Republic supports local NGOs working in health and social care. In 2011 the Tesco Foundation allocated over £105,000 to 45 primary and secondary schools for new technical and sports equipment. We also organised Easter and Christmas charity collections to raise money for children with disabilities and children’s homes.

Supporting local suppliers

We continue to focus on supporting local bakers, working with almost 60 local businesses who supply our stores with around 700 bakery products. We have also held a number of regional roadshows throughout the country to meet local producers. Following our regional roadshow in South Bohemia we were able to launch seven new local products in our stores.

Download the Czech Republic's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Tesco opens first ‘Regeneration Store’ in Hungary

In May 2012 Tesco we launched our first ‘regeneration store’ in Hungary at Debrecen, with an opening ceremony attended by VIP guests. 100 of the 165 jobs created by the opening of the store have been filled by long-term unemployed candidates.

Tesco Hungary receives community award from Sir Alex Ferguson

In January 2012, Tesco Hungary received the Ferenc Puskás and Sir Alex Ferguson Award.  The award recognises the long-term contribution that Tesco has made to local communities across Hungary through the Robert Burns Foundation - supporting the recovery of severely ill children.  It was presented by Alex Ferguson in front of 75,000 spectators in Old Trafford Stadium, the home of Manchester United.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

We have introduced a range of technologies to reduce our carbon emissions including solar panels on stores, natural refrigeration systems and energy efficient lighting systems. To help our customers be green we have installed innovative recycling units at around 50 of our stores.

Actively supporting local communities

We regularly organise collections to support charities and local communities.  Through our partnership with the World Food Bank we collected 78 tonnes of food donated by our customers at Christmas, which was used to create food parcels for 15,000 families.  We also took part in Interchurch Aid’s Christmas fundraising campaign, donating over £60,000 and raising another £60,000 from customer donations.

Supporting local suppliers

We run a programme of regional buying events, inviting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to present their products to Tesco buyers. Following these events we have launched 280 new local products in our stores.

Creating good jobs and careers

We employ over 21,000 people in Hungary and are committed to providing job opportunities for local people. That includes helping people back into work who have struggled to find employment. We recently opened a store in Debrecen where over half of our new recruits were previously long-term unemployed. 

Download Hungary's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Tesco opens first zero-carbon supermarket in Ireland

In November 2011 we opened Ireland’s first zero-carbon supermarket.  Our new Cabra store uses a host of cutting-edge carbon saving features including natural CO2 refrigeration to cool fridges and freezers and a bio-diesel fuelled CHP plant that heats the store and generates electricity.  The opening of the store created 150 jobs, and supported a further 250 Irish jobs in the green technology and construction companies that helped to build it.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

We now have energy champions in all of our stores who help us identify ways to save energy.  We are also helping our customers to be greener. Last year we held 40 waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling days through which we collected over 380 tonnes of electrical equipment from our customers.

Actively supporting local communities

Thanks to our customers and staff, in the last two years we have raised over £1.6 million for the Irish Cancer Society. This money has helped to fund the roll out of the Society's ‘Care to Drive’ programme to 12 additional locations nationwide.  This year our Charity of the Year is ‘Aware’, which with our support aims to educate an additional 16,000 secondary school students across Ireland about depression among young people.

Providing customers with healthy choices

We are committed to helping our customers and staff make healthier choices.  We have launched the Tesco Goodness range in Ireland, including nutritionally balanced snacks, meals and lunch box fillers developed especially for children.  So far this year, 2,000 staff have taken part in Operation Transformation, a company-wide campaign to get fitter, healthier and slimmer in 2012. 

Supporting local suppliers

We are one the biggest supporters of the Irish food industry.  Over 11,000 Irish farm families supply us with produce and 100% of our fresh milk, beef, pork and lamb comes from Irish farms.  Every year we help to export almost £570 million of Irish food to our stores around the world.

Download The ROI's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Tesco Poland launches 'Healthy Appetites'

In July 2012 we launched a new campaign to provide our customers with information on healthy eating. There is a new website where customers can develop a personal nutrition plan and find out about healthy products. They can also download a smartphone app which gives healthy eating reminders throughout the day. We're also putting information in stores and will be holding cooking demonstrations.

Foundation for Children

In April 2012 we launched the Tesco Children’s Foundation in Poland, to support projects for children focusing on health, social welfare and education, as well as other local community initiatives. Customers will be able to support the Foundation every time they shop with Tesco, as all profits from a new charge on single use carrier bags will be donated to the cause. 

Work on our community promises

Caring for the environment

We have been working hard to help our customers be green. We have launched Green Clubcard points, which reward green behaviour and purchases. So far we have given away over 1.5 million Green Clubcard Points to our customers. Our Tesco for Schools programme is also helping to educate children about environmental issues through an eco-film competition, which in 2011 was entered by 360 teams for schools across Poland.

Actively supporting local communities

Since 2008, Tesco has collaborated with The Happy Kids Foundation in Poland to support foster children and create new family units.  We have raised almost £730,000 during this time which has supported five foster homes and cared for over 30 children. To support local communities our stores also organize food collections, fundraising for local charities and events to support animal shelters.

Providing customers with healthy choices

We have introduced a permanent price cut on 50 types of fruit and vegetables to help customers live healthily.  We also organise regular healthy living events for our customers and staff with advice on healthy eating and the chance to speak to health experts.

Supporting local suppliers

We help to support our suppliers by sharing knowledge on customer trends, and providing training on product safety and quality and reducing carbon emissions.  Last year almost 300 suppliers took part in these workshops.  We also help to promote Polish products by telling customers about them when they receive their Clubcard vouchers in the post.

Download Poland's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

New healthy range for kids

In August 2012 we launched a new range of healthy snacks and lunchbox fillers called Vitakids. There are around 30 products to choose from; each one is nutritionally balanced and specially designed for kids. We are also introducing ‘Vitafit corners’ into three of our Extra stores where children can learn about healthy living through fun activities such as painting, crafts and games.

Tesco Slovakia recognised for supporting charitable causes

In October 2011 Tesco Slovakia was awarded second place in the Best Philanthropic Company of the Year Awards 2011 in the big companies category. The award recognises the contribution Tesco Slovakia has made through financial and in-kind donations to charitable causes. The majority of the funds raised were donated to the Slovak Red Cross and charities supporting people in need following natural disasters in Slovakia.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

In 2011 we introduced Green Clubcard points to Slovakia for the first time, to reward customers for bringing a re-usable bag rather than taking a free plastic carrier bag. This resulted in a 30% reduction in the use of single use plastic carrier bags saving over 30 million bags. In February 2012 we announced that we would extend our Green Clubcard points scheme to the purchase of reusable bags and energy saving products.

Actively supporting local communities

Our staff are helping to support communities by volunteering for local charities and good causes. All our staff can take paid time out to volunteer for a good cause. We also run a Tesco charity grant scheme – ‘Tesco for Healthy Cities’- which funds projects to improve the local environment, promote healthy living and educate people on environmental issues.

Helping customers and staff get active

Our 2011 Run for Life was a great success with over 12,000 runners in five cities raising over £60,000 for the Slovakian Cancer Research Foundation. In 2012 we also launched a new get active event for winter - Skate for Life – which we will be taking to more cities next year.

Supporting local suppliers

We held four local roadshows this year, from which we launched over 70 new local products. We also continue to support local bakers by stocking their produce in our stores.

Download Slovakia's KPI performance and targets

Latest news

Fresh & Easy gives £1.25 million through Shop for Schools programme

Fresh & Easy has raised £1.25 million to donate to schools through its 'Shop for Schools' progamme.  Now in its fourth year the programme has been very successful with over 2,700 local schools taking part in 2011. Since its launch, ‘Shop for Schools’ has raised £2.5 million for schools throughout Arizona, California and Nevada.  For every $20 spent at a Fresh & Easy store during the program, participating schools receive a $1 donation.

Work on our Community Promises

Caring for the environment

We have pioneered the use of environmentally friendly refrigeration technology in our Fresh & Easy stores and this has been recognized by an award from the US Environmental Protection Agency.  Our Riverside Distribution Centre boasts one of California’s largest roof-mounted solar installations and this year we installed solar panels at 10 of our Arizona stores.  To help our customers be greener we have introduced a range of environmentally friendly products called ‘Green Things’. 

Actively supporting local communities

We continue to open in areas where customers previously had little or no access to fresh, affordable food.  Our Bay View-Hunters Point store was the first grocery store opened in the neighborhood in 20 years.  In Sacramento we developed a derelict site that sat empty for decades.  Our recently opened Central and Adams store in South Los Angeles has brought fresh food options and new jobs to a deprived neighbourhood. 

Providing customers with healthy choices

We are always looking at ways to give more healthy options to our customers. In 2011 we extended our ‘eatwell’ range – these products contain no more than 25% of the recommended daily values of sodium, calories, fat and saturated fats.  We also offer ‘Goodness for Kids’, a range of convenient and tasty yet wholesome meals and snacks for children.  Our 98-cent Produce Packs provide customers a variety of affordable fresh fruit and vegetable options every day.

Creating good jobs and careers

Local hiring is essential to keep our stores local and vibrant.  We have set up local hiring agreements and held job fairs to make it easy for local communities to apply for our jobs. As a result more than half our store employees live within walking distance of our stores.

Download the USA's KPI performance and targets