Tesco Has Opened The Worlds First Zero Carbon Supermarket in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
The UK’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco this week opened what it claimed to be the first zero carbon supermarket in the world.
The new store is the first step on the ladder in Tesco’s bid to be a carbon neutral company by 2050.
The shop, which has been opened in the town of Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, is timber framed rather than steel and it uses sky-lights and sun-pipes to reduce the need for artificial lighting. The store also features a combined heat and power plant powered by renewable bio-fuels, exporting surplus electricity back to the national grid. The refrigerators – which are notorious black-spots for retailers trying to boost their green credentials – have doors to save energy and the harmful hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant gases previously used have been replaced.
Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said: “It shows that you can dramatically alter how much carbon you use and life can go on”.
The new store, he said, “cost 30% more to build, but it uses 50% less energy, and with oil at $70 a barrel it is a business case in itself”.
Tesco Chief Executive Sir Terry Leahy
To coincide with the Ramsey store opening, Tesco announced plans to spend over £100m with green technology companies.
Tesco have been at the forefront of the grocers’ race to be green. The supermarket giant has already given the University of Manchester £25m to set up a new sustainable consumption institute, and has a 10-point community plan, with pledges to increase local sourcing and to consult local communities in an attempt to be viewed as a good neighbour.
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