Scope 1 Emissions
2022 Communication on Progress
Tesco PLC
Published date
July 1, 2022
No. of questions
72
Supplemental files
CEO Statement
Signed
Governance
Policies and Responsibilities
1. Does the Board / highest governance body or most senior executive of the company:
2. Does the company have a publicly stated commitment regarding the following sustainability topics?
Optional commenthttps://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759057/tesco-annual-report-2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759054/climate-change-and-energy-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/756681/code-of-business-conduct.pdf3. Does the company have in place a code of conduct regarding each of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentOur Codes of Business Conduct applies to employees, suppliers, other business relationships. Our policies covering human rights and environment states the standards that all of our stakeholders are expected to meet. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/756681/code-of-business-conduct.pdf4. Has the company appointed an individual or group responsible for each of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentWe have a strong governance framework in place to ensure sustainability areas including human rights and labour rights, environment and anti-corruption are embedded in our business strategy. Sustainability-related risks and opportunities are a key consideration and the board has delegated responsibility to the Group's Corporate Responsibility Committee to oversee the Group's sustainability obligations. This Board-level committee includes five Board-level directors and an independent non-exec director to chair meetings. Our Executive Committee oversees delivery of the Group strategy and members include our Chief Product Officer and Group General Counsel who lead our sustainability and responsible sourcing agenda on social and environment matters and governs our legal, regulatory and compliance functions, respectively. Our Group Risk and Compliance Committee is a sub executive committee, and chaired by our Group CEO. The committee's remit includes the annual review and monitor of performance against our policies and commitments including anti-corruption, human rights and labour rights. This group also review specific issues on an ongoing basis as they arise during the year. To reflect the importance of tackling the climate emergency, we have created a Group Climate Committee chaired by our Chief Product Officer. Its aim is to enable the Group to accelerate decarbonisation initiatives and further embed climate in our strategy. The Committee comprises representatives from business functions that materially influence our ability to achieve our climate targets and fulfil regulatory obligations.5. Does the company have a formal structure(s) (such as a cross-functional committee) to address each of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentOur board-level CR Committee is responsible for overseeing the Group's social and environmental matters including assessing the performance of our sustainability strategy, reviewing and approving changes to ensure they contribute to our long-term objectives and monitoring changes to the external environment. We have a Group Climate Committee chaired by our Chief Product Officer, to enable the Group to accelerate decarbonisation initiatives and further embed climate in our strategy. As a Group function, our General Counsel is responsible for matters including legal, company secretarial, regulatory and compliance across Tesco PLC.Prevention
6. Does the company have a process or processes to assess risk?
Optional commentEffective risk management is core to our management practices that help deliver our strategy and our commitments to our customers, colleagues, community, and the planet. We identify the most significant risks as principal risks that have the potential to affect our strategic ambitions, future performance, viability, and/or reputation. Responsible sourcing (including human rights and labour rights), climate change and corruption are recognised as principal risks and are given considered attention during the course of Board and Executive meetings. Further information is provided in our Annual Report, including specific climate-related risks as detailed within the TCFD section. https://www.tescoplc.com/investors/reports-results-and-presentations/annual-report-2022/6.1. During the assessment of risk, which business relationships are reviewed?
Optional commentA complete view of our risk universe starts with the analysis of our Tesco business, the external environment within which we operate, the regulatory landscape and our internal operations. This includes the impacts on and of our strategy, initiatives, governance, and processes. We identify and assess risks across the Group, along with horizon scanning for emerging risks to Tesco, our colleagues and our operations, as well as our impact on society and the environment. There is regular formal oversight through clearly defined governance structures.7. Does the company have a due diligence process through which it identifies, prevents, mitigates, and accounts for actual and potential negative impacts on sustainability topics?
Optional commentWe are committed to taking action on managing our environmental and social impact and we take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption. For each of the topic areas our due diligence and expectation of colleagues and suppliers is clearly set out in each of the respective policy and our Codes of Business Conduct. Sustainability, including risks associated with exploitation of workers, human rights breaches, climate change and anti-bribery, form part of our Group principal risks and is monitored and assessed as part of our risk management framework. We focus on tackling climate change through our Group Climate Committee chaired by our Chief Product Officer, Ashwin Prasad. Our anti-corruption, anti-bribery policy requires every Tesco business unit to adopt and implement an effective anti-bribery compliance programme and for the policy to be communicated to all colleagues on an annual basis. More detail can be found on the Tesco Reporting Hub. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub7.1. During the due diligence process, which business relationships are reviewed?
Optional commentOur due diligence covers supply chain, own operations and respective stakeholder relationshipsConcerns and grievance mechanisms
8. Are there any processes through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct related to human rights, labour rights, environment, or anti-corruption?
Optional commentOur Values guide our conduct and decision-making. Colleagues who have concerns about business conduct can contact our Protector Line anonymously. The details of how to raise concerns are published within our Codes of Business Conduct and within our Whistleblowing policy, both of which are available on our Tesco Plc website and via the Our Tesco internal communication platform accessible to colleagues.8.1. Please provide additional detail regarding the process(es) the company has through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct.
Optional commentColleagues can report concerns about any conduct that might be a breach of the law, our Code or Values. This can be done either by raising with a line manager, if this is not possible relevant legal, HR, security or audit functions can be contacted or a director or member of Group Executive. Colleagues can also report their concern anonymously, through the Protector Line, our confidential whistleblowing hotline run by an independent third party in each business unit.9. Does the company provide or enable access to effective remedy to right holders / stakeholders where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact?
Optional commentOur human rights requirements include an expectation for suppliers to ensure remedy. Our Group Environment Policy requires that any form of breach to environmental law or regulation requires immediate action to address and remediate the issue. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-group-environment-policy/Lessons
10. How does the company capture lessons regarding each of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentWe routinely complete analysis of the effectiveness of our sustainability strategy and programmes, including measuring impact and stakeholder feedback. Learnings from this are shared with internal governance groups, including board-level CR Committee and with external partners.Executive Pay
11. Is executive pay linked to performance on one or more of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentDelivery of our sustainability commitments is linked to Executive objectives and remuneration, including through the long term performance share plan (PSP) which links to the performance of carbon reduction, food waste reduction and the diversity of our leadership team. Beyond the PSP, we include sustainability related objectives in individual executive objectives where relevant.Board Composition
12. Percentage of individuals within the company’s Board / highest governance body by:
Optional commentIn addition to reporting our Board level composition, in 2021/22 we introduced new targets relating the diversity of our top global leaders that by 2025, 35% will be female and 14% will be from an ethnically diverse background. We have will report our progress annually. See more detail in our Diversity & Inclusion factsheet www.tescoplc.com/diversityandinclusionfactsheet2022.13. Do you produce sustainability reporting according to:
Data Assurance
14. Is the information disclosed in this questionnaire assured by a third-party?
Optional commentDeloitte LLP was engaged to provide independent limited assurance over selected data relating to our material issue areas, namely climate, healthy sustainable diets and diversity and inclusion. The assurance was completed to the assurance standard ISAE 3000. Deloitte has issued an unqualified opinion over the selected data. Deloitte’s full assurance statement is available at: www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hubHuman Rights
Materiality / Saliency
1. Which of the following has the company identified as material human rights issues connected with its operations and/or value chain, whether based on their salience (i.e., the most severe potential negative impacts on people) or another basis?
Optional commentHuman rights is at the core of our purpose, serving customers, communities and planet a little better every day and our policy outlines the human rights principles governing our business. We fully support internationally recognised principles, frameworks and standards that guide and protect rights at work, as set out in our policy. These include; freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and the rights not to be subject to forced labour, child labour or discrimination. We work to ensure that our business and suppliers adhere to the ETI Base Code, building on this work we have identified four key priority areas of focus where efforts can have a positive, lasting impact. They are, sustainable livelihoods, gender equality, tackling modern slavery and worker representation. Overall we are committed to respecting the human rights of individuals and communities associated with our sourcing and business operations and we are in full support of human rights defenders.Commitment
2. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following human rights issues?
Optional commentAs one of our four key priority areas we require our suppliers to share in our ambition to drive transformational change in areas including tackling issues on gender equality. In order for us to address labour rights abuses, the underlying root cause must be understood. Through our human rights strategy and focus on gender equality, we work to identify, mitigate and remediate issues in this area. Work includes building a collaborative and comprehensive approach with our key suppliers to ensure that effective workplace programmes are delivered for men and women. See our Gender Equality strategy for more information https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/gender-equality-supply-chain-strategy/2.1. For each human rights policy, is it:
Optional commentWe are committed to the internationally recognised principles of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and fully support the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international Labour Organization Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Global Compact. Our commitments to respecting human rights include alignment with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on rights at work, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and the rights not to be subject to forced labour, child labour or discrimination. We work to ensure our business and suppliers adhere to the ETI Base Code, an internationally recognised code of labour practice founded on the ILO conventions. Our work to ensure human rights are respected has Board-level oversight through the Group Risk and Compliance Committee chaired by our Group CEO, and through the Corporate Responsibility Committee, chaired by a Non-Executive member of the Board. Overall accountability for our work on human rights sits with our Chief Product Officer, a member of Tesco’s Group Executive Committee.Prevention
3. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following human rights issues?
Optional commentOur gender equality strategy helps to address human rights issues related to women in the workforce and supply chain. As part of our ambition, in 2019 we signed up to the Women's Empowerment Principles, established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women. The seven principles include ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers and promoting education, training and professional development for women During this reporting period, key actions we have taken include engaging with stakeholders and consulting with internal and external representatives to address sexual harassment and discrimination, increasing women's voice in the workplace, enabling women in leadership and addressing gender stereotypes. Explore our human rights strategy and approach to upholding human rights standards at https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/human-rights/4. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with this human rights issue?
Optional commentOur gender equality strategy has helped identify opportunities to tackle key challenges within our supply chain and as such we have taken action to encourage women’s committees and/or women’s participation in elected worker committees, through the dissemination and implementation of new worker representation guidance and other targeted interventions including addressing gender stereotypes and investing in training and education for men and women.5. Who receives training for the following human rights issues?
Optional commentWe train key Tesco colleagues on human rights to build knowledge and awareness. In our supply chain we provide a range of training to help identify the salient risks and develop their knowledge on Tesco's approach to respecting human rights. See our approach to Human Rights for more details. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights/6. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following human rights issues?
Optional commentOur strategic partnership with the global federation of trade unions, IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers Association), is based on a shared recognition of the challenges faced by workers in global food supply chains, including workers exercising their rights to be in a trade union and to negotiate collectively. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines how Tesco and IUF can work together to support workers’ rights globally, with a specific focus on how women in global food supply chains can benefit from effective grievance mechanisms, freedom of association and trade union representation. Through the partnership we aim to: Work collaboratively to support workers to access effective representation. Jointly create a process for incident reporting that allows for effective resolution of identified issues. Identify opportunities to reduce women workers’ vulnerability and increase women’s voices and representation in the workplace.Response
7. During the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy where it has caused or contributed to adverse impact associated with the following human rights issue(s)?
Optional commentWe take a no-tolerance approach to any incident of harassment and discrimination. Where critical non-conformances are identified we work with suppliers to remedy the issue, for example, where an allegations was raised regarding sexual harassment and discrimination of women workers against one of our tea suppliers, we took immediate action by launching our own investigation including a site visit and interviews with workers. Collaborating with industry bodies as well as the tea supplier in question, we have helped to develop and implement a robust remediation plan and closely monitored progress over the past year. We have robust systems to identify critical non-conformances and non-conformances, backed by clear commercial consequences, where non-conformances remain unresolved to our satisfaction, we have to make the decision to cease working with such sites.8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the human rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.
Over the last year, we have established a number of new commitments and continue to make progress against our human rights strategy, including: Working with our direct suppliers towards the ambition for at least 30% of supervisory and management roles to be occupied by women by the end of 2025. Established a new strategic partnership with the global federation of trade unions, IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers Association). Shared an updated modern slavery strategy that considers the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and labour market changes on workers. Set new commitments to close living wage gaps in our UK banana supply chain. Agreed a timebound action plan with all supply chain actors following an independent Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of Tesco’s prawn supply chain in Vietnam. Published our full list of first tier food and grocery non-food suppliers, including overall supplier names, addresses, countries of origin and workforce numbers. For more details on the actions taken and our strategy go to https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/human-rights/Labour
Commitment
1. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following labour rights principles?
Optional commentOur human rights policy states our commitments on upholding the rights of everyone both within our direct workforce and throughout our value chain. Our approach is aligned to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Global Compact. Along with aligning to internationally recognised standards and principles we have signed up to key commitments in priority supply chains including the Women, Children and Families in Assam Commitment and the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-group-human-rights-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/ensuring-health-and-safety-in-the-workplace/1.1. For each labour rights policy, is it:
Optional commentWe are committed to upholding human rights and fully support the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Core Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, forced labour, child labour and discrimination at work. As a founding member of the ETI Base Code we support our suppliers to comply with the Base Code and seek to use our business for good, helping suppliers to improve, contributing to collaborative initiatives, and providing support for communities linked to our supply chain. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-group-human-rights-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/758348/60585v13en-human-rights-requirements-for-food-and-grocery-non-food-suppliers_for-plc-publication.pdfPrevention
2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following labour rights issues?
Optional commentOur risk assessment framework for Own Brand products looks at five metrics which have the potential to increase the vulnerability of workers. The assessment has enabled us to identify our highest areas of risk and as such child labour was not identified as an area of focus, however through our broader human rights policy and due diligence we are committed to abolishing any form of human rights abuse in our operations and value chain. Through our human rights strategy we have focused our efforts on the four key areas building strategic partnerships with IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers Association) in January 2022. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IUF is a shared recognition of the challenges faced by workers in global food supply chains, including workers exercising their rights to be in a trade union and to negotiate collectively. The joint commitment outlines how Tesco and IUF can work together to support workers’ rights globally, with a specific focus on how women in global food supply chains can benefit from effective grievance mechanisms, freedom of association and trade union representation. (https://www.tescoplc.com/blog/protecting-workers-rights-in-global-food-supply-chains/) Working with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition — Working to end Forced Labour, which brings together retailers and manufacturers to drive meaningful sector-wide change in addressing forced labour. For more examples of the collaborations we are part of please see: https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-and-multi-stakeholder-initiatives-for-responsible-sourcing/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf Tesco is committed to supporting effective grievance mechanisms and remediation of issues in line with the UN guiding principles of Business and human rights (link to our approach: https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights/) https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with this labour rights issue?
Optional commentWe focus on the most serious risks to workers throughout our supply chain, working transparently with NGOs, unions and others to identify and address human rights and labour rights risks. We know that many issues are systemic and that we can’t tackle them on our own, which is why we strive to collaborate with others to find ways to address them. We recognise that, in many cases, we cannot fix labour rights abuses without first addressing the root causes which underlie them. The four themes of our human rights strategy are helping to address some of these underlying issues by adopting a systemic approach to key human rights challenges. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-group-human-rights-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759062/human-rights-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-and-multi-stakeholder-initiatives-for-responsible-sourcing/4. Who receives training for the following labour rights issues?
Optional commentWe train Tesco colleagues on human rights to build knowledge and awareness about human rights. In our supply chain we provide a range of training to identify the salient risks in our strategy and develop their knowledge on Tesco's approach to respecting human rights. See our approach to Human Rights for more details. We continue to require all Tesco suppliers, including service providers such as labour agencies, based in the UK to attend ‘Stronger Together’ training. This requirement also includes the second-tier suppliers of our key UK food suppliers. We also strongly encourage all fruit and wine producers to attend ‘Stronger Together’ training in South Africa. In 2021 we mandated the completion of the Stronger Together Progress Reporting tool for all UK based suppliers. Since 2019 we have engaged general merchandise and apparel suppliers and trained participants to become ‘Tesco Ethical Change-Makers’ in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Tackling modern slavery is an integral part of the training. The training includes mindset orientation (values and mission), knowledge sharing (ethical requirements, solutions and best practices), as well as improving operational skills (effective monitoring and change implementation) through a series of training sessions and on-site support to ensure that suppliers are capable of identifying and making changes where needed. We train Tesco colleagues on human rights to build knowledge and awareness about human rights. In our supply chain we provide a range of training to identify the salient risks in our strategy and develop their knowledge on Tesco's approach to respecting human rights. See our approach to Human Rights for more details. We continue to require all Tesco suppliers, including service providers such as labour agencies, based in the UK to attend ‘Stronger Together’ training. This requirement also includes the second-tier suppliers of our key UK food suppliers. We also strongly encourage all fruit and wine producers to attend ‘Stronger Together’ training in South Africa. In 2021 we mandated the completion of the Stronger Together Progress Reporting tool for all UK based suppliers. Since 2019 we have engaged general merchandise and apparel suppliers and trained participants to become ‘Tesco Ethical Change-Makers’ in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Tackling modern slavery is an integral part of the training. The training includes mindset orientation (values and mission), knowledge sharing (ethical requirements, solutions and best practices), as well as improving operational skills (effective monitoring and change implementation) through a series of training sessions and on-site support to ensure that suppliers are capable of identifying and making changes where needed. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf5. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following labour rights issues?
Optional commentRisks associated with exploitation of workers and human rights breaches forms one of our Group principal risks and is monitored and assessed as part of our risk management framework. Our due diligence process helps to ensure that we are identifying and focusing our resource in areas of highest risk, wherever this is in the supply chain. We track our progress on identified human rights issues across the supply chain in a number of ways including audits, supplier and worker engagement, evaluating the multi-stakeholder initiatives we participate in and independent benchmarks. Our work to ensure human rights are respected has Board-level oversight through the Group Risk and Compliance Committee chaired by our Group CEO, and through the Corporate Responsibility Committee, chaired by a Non-Executive member of the Board. Overall accountability for our work on human rights sits with our Chief Product Officer, a member of Tesco’s Group Executive Committee. See HRs factsheet and Modern Slavery Statement for responsible recruitment targets in Thailand and Malaysia supply chains. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759062/human-rights-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/758485/60593v10en-responsible-recruitment-requirements-non-food.pdfPerformance
6. What is the percentage of employees covered under collective bargaining agreements?
Optional commentWe are the largest unionised employer in the UK and all colleagues across the Group are free to join a trade union of their choice should they wish. We support new member recruitment in a number of ways, including providing slots for union representatives to present in our new colleague inductions, and providing the facility for colleagues to pay their union fees directly from their payroll. Our unions have full negotiation rights over pay and reward and we have extensive discussions with the unions and colleague representatives as part of the agreement of our colleague reward package.7. What is the percentage of employees in a trade union or other workers' organization?
Optional commentWhile over 90% of our colleagues (including non-union members) are covered by collective bargaining agreements, our UK employees are active union members of USDAW, Unite and URTU which are the 3 unions we recognise across our UK business.8. In the course of the reporting period, what was the percentage of women in:
Optional commentWe are committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone has the opportunity to get on. Our commitments to gender equality include ensuring there is equal, balanced female representation across Tesco and in 2021/22 we introduced new targets that 35% of our global leaders will be female and 14% will be from an ethnically diverse background by 2025. We’ve also made a number of voluntary commitments on gender equality. Building on the former Hampton Alexander Review, we have committed to the external FTSE Women Leaders target of 40% female representation at Board and Executive level by 2025.9. What was the average ratio of the basic salary and remuneration of women to men (comparing jobs of equal value) during the reporting period?
Optional commentOur Everyone's Welcome report includes gender pay gap reporting in the UK as well as actions we're taking towards creating a more inclusive workplace irrespective of cultures, beliefs and preferences. For our Central Europe business, we are proud to be the first employer in this market to voluntarily publish individual gender pay gap data for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. More details are available in the D&I factsheet. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759077/diversity-and-inclusion-factsheet.pdf10. In the course of the reporting period, how frequently were workers injured (injuries per hour worked)?
Optional comment11. In the course of the reporting period, what was the company’s incident rate?
Response and Reporting
12. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact associated with the following labour rights issues?
Optional commentAt Tesco, we continue to develop access to grievance mechanisms within our supply chains and own operations. Together with remediation, they are key to tackling human rights exploitation and abuse. Where we identify clear cases of human rights abuses, we work to rectify those abuses and ensure remediation, partnering with charities and NGOs as required. Allegations and reports of human rights abuse are reviewed at Risk and Compliance Committee meetings in each of our business units and, at a group level, by the Group Risk and Compliance Committee chaired by the Group Chief Executive. Our modern slavery statement provides more detail on specific remediation activity. We have set targets to identify and address non-conformances associated with human rights and labour issues in our supply chain. During the course of 2021/22, where critical non-conformances were identified in primary sites issues were resolved within 6-months.13. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the labour rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.
We recognise the importance of having an open, constructive dialogue with workers’ representatives. This enables both colleagues and Tesco to have a better understanding of the issues that each of us face and work together to find ways to resolve them. During the reporting year our Tesco business worked closely with USDAW to raise awareness through Parliament debate, to protect shopworkers safety while at work and prevent any threat of abuse or violence. We have fully established recognition and collective bargaining agreements with independent unions, USDAW, Unite and URTU for all our hourly-paid colleagues across the UK. As such, decisions on reward are negotiated and agreed with colleagues and union representatives. This year we announced a £200m investment in colleague pay, benefits and skills for our UK hourly paid store and Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFC) colleagues. Our agreement with USDAW includes investment in a number of benefits and enhancements that colleagues asked us to prioritise such as offering more contractual hours for part time colleagues in stores. Within our human rights agenda, we have realised a number of milestones, namely: realising key milestones and commitments, including: Working with our direct suppliers towards the ambition for at least 30% of supervisory and management roles to be occupied by women by the end of 2025. A new strategic partnership with the global federation of trade unions, IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers Association). Sharing an updated modern slavery strategy that considers the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and labour market changes on workers. New commitments to close living wage gaps in our UK banana supply chain. Agreeing a timebound action plan with all supply chain actors following an independent Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of Tesco’s prawn supply chain in Vietnam. Publishing our full list of first tier food and grocery non-food suppliers, including overall supplier names, addresses, countries of origin and workforce numbers. Engaging strategic suppliers on the importance of worker representation via the ETI resources on freedom of association, collective bargaining and worker representation. https://www.tescoplc.com/blog/tesco-leads-on-human-rights-in-supply-chains/ https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759062/human-rights-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759060/job-creation-skills-and-reward-factsheet-20522.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759020/tesco_modern_slavery_statement_2022.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/our-approach-to-human-rights/Environment
Commitment
1. Does the company have a formal policy on the following environmental topics?
Optional commenthttps://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-group-environment-policy/1.1. For each environmental policy, is it:
Optional commentOur long-term success depends on the health of the natural environment and we recognise the impact our industry can have on our surroundings. We review our business activities and assess how they impact the environment, developing strategies and mitigation plans to continually improve our performance. We focus our overall Group reporting on our most material issues – those with the greatest potential to influence our business performance and those where our business can make the biggest difference and drive transformative change. Combining colleague input, customer and stakeholder insight and AI data analysis we have identified Climate change, Healthy sustainable diets, Diversity and inclusion, Waste and packaging as our material topics. More detail is available on our reporting hub - https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub/Prevention
2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following environmental issues?
Optional commentWe are committed to ensuring all our activities are genuinely sustainable and strive to care for the environment through any business activity we undertake and expect our suppliers and partners to follow the principles laid out in our Policy. To address the issues inherent to our business operations we must collaborate with a range of stakeholders to identify areas of risk, establish prevention mechanisms and tackle challenges. For example, as part of our efforts to meet our net zero target, our partnership with Direct Rail Services further expands our use of rail to help distribute refrigerated goods. Tesco, alongside WWF, Efeca, Earthworm and Mighty Earth, pledged support to the UK Soy Manifesto in November 2021. The Manifesto sets out requirements to deliver deforestation and conversion free soy to the UK by 2025.3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with these environmental topics?
Optional commentAs a food business, our long-term success depends on the health of the natural environment and we recognise the impact our industry can have on our surroundings. We review our business activities and assess how they impact the environment, developing strategies and mitigation plans to continually improve our performance and help prevent/mitigate risks. We collaborate in a number of areas including working with NGOs, other retailers and suppliers in specific sourcing regions that have been identified as ‘high risk’ to drive sustainable water management and driving transformational change in sourcing and forest governance to achieve zero deforestation and conversion in forest risk commodities through the creation of the Responsible Commodities Facility, a pilot financial facility that will make low interest loans available to Brazilian soy farmers who agree to growing soy without deforestation or conversion.4. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following environmental topics?
Optional commentOur governance framework ensures sustainability areas including environment issues are reviewed throughout the year. The Board has delegated responsibility to the Group's Corporate Responsibility Committee to oversee the Group's sustainability obligations. Chaired by a non-executive director, committee responsibilities include: assessing the performance of our sustainability strategy, ensuring we are making sufficient progress towards goals and targets, reviewing and approving any changes and making sure they contribute to our long-term objectives and monitoring changes to the external environment and how they impact our sustainability strategy and reputation. Our Executive Committee oversees delivery of the Group strategy and members include our Chief Product Officer who leads on environment matters. We have created a Group Climate Committee chaired by our Chief Product Officer, Ashwin Prasad. Its aim is to enable the Group to accelerate decarbonisation initiatives and further embed climate in our strategy. The Committee meets quarterly and comprises representatives from business functions that materially influence our ability to achieve our climate targets and regulatory obligations. From 2022, the Executive Committee will review progress on our climate strategy twice each year and discuss strategic investments needed to achieve our climate objectives. We publicly report our progress towards serving customers, communities and the planet as part of our overall Group reporting – our annual report and financial results and share progress on the full range of issues in our reporting hub, with factsheets, policy documents and progress reports. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub/4.1. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, what kind of targets has the company set?
Optional commentWe have published topic related factsheets which detail our commitments, associated measurable targets to track and disclose our performance against. See our climate change, food waste, tackling deforestation and marine factsheets for more information. Further details on climate change, food waste and sustainable healthy diets metrics which have received external assurance are also available in our reporting hub. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub4.2. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, how is progress against target / goal tracked?
Optional commenthttps://www.tescoplc.com/media/759054/climate-change-and-energy-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759108/food-waste-and-redistribution-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759117/protecting-forests-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759051/farming-and-sustainable-ag_factsheet.pdf5. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy for any actual impacts associated with the following environmental issue(s)?
Optional commenthttps://www.tescoplc.com/media/759117/protecting-forests-factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759041/marine_factsheet.pdf https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759054/climate-change-and-energy-factsheet.pdfClimate Action
6. What were the company’s gross global greenhouse gas emissions for the reporting period?
Scope 2 Emissions
Scope 3 Emissions
Optional commentScope 3 disclosure includes, Third-party logistics that Tesco would otherwise fulfil; transmission and distribution losses and well-to tank; business travel and water consumption. We are currently developing our end-to-end roadmap to net zero that will inform our reporting of Scope 3 emissions going forwards.7. What percentage of the company's revenue was invested in R&D of low-carbon products/services during this reporting period?
Optional commentWe are investing in a number of ways to reach our climate change ambitions and as we develop plans for decarbonisation further insights will be available. Through our WWF partnership we are building supplier base capacity by trialing technologies to test their emission reduction potential, particularly in agriculture. Examples include methane inhibitors, trials for feed additives and alternatives, and more sustainable fertilisers. For our with manufacturers we are trialing fuel alternatives for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), replacing around 65,000 diesel-fuelled road miles with electricity and removing 87.4 tonnes of CO2e per year. We also have similar vehicles serving our businesses in Hungary and the Czech Republic. We are addressing emissions from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) by trialing low carbon alternatives to gas boilers, such as heat pumps and heat reclaim systems and we are improving refrigeration efficiency and reducing refrigerant emissions in our stores and distribution centres by installing aerofoil technology and switching to natural refrigerant systems that have significantly lower emissions and lower leakage rates.8. Has the organization acted to support climate change adaptation and resilience?
Optional commentIn 2017, we committed to implement the TCFD recommendations and we developed our initial scenario analysis based on a materiality assessment of the areas of the business most exposed to the effects of climate change. Our climate strategy focuses on continuing our work to decarbonise our own operations, whilst modelling decarbonisation interventions to address key hotspots throughout our value chain. We are now working to further build our internal capabilities in climate-related scenario modelling, and have partnered with Risilience, part of the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School to create a digital version of our value chain. We will use this to model several warming scenarios across varying time horizons, enabling us to significantly enhance our climate-related risk modelling, develop effective mitigation plans, stress test organisational resilience and improve the execution of our strategy to deliver net zero. Further information can be found in our 2022 Annual Report www.tescoplc.com/ar22Energy / Resource Use
9. Please report the company's renewable energy consumption as a percentage of total energy consumption in the reporting period.
Optional commentIn 2021/22, our energy consumption across the Group totalled 6,263GWh of which 44% related directly to electricity, 100% of which is renewable. In 2015, we set an ambition to reduce our electricity demand and switch to 100% renewable electricity in our own operations. In 2019/20 we achieved 100% renewable electricity across the Group and we have signed an unsubsidised Power Purchase Agreement portfolio in the UK to generate more renewable energy in the UK. Further information on our energy consumption and management can be found in our climate factsheet. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759054/climate-change-and-energy-factsheet.pdfTechnology
10. What percent of the company's revenue came from environmentally friendly products / services during this reporting period?
Optional commentWhilst we do not report revenue from certified products, we are committed to ensuring the environmental and social sustainability of all of the products that we source. Certifications can play an important role in this for certainty of our sourcing - for example, 100% of palm oil is RSPO certified and 63% of our wild fish in UK/ROI is MSC certified. However, certification is only one part of our approach, with the most appropriate methodology varying by product and geography. Our commodity responsible sourcing strategies increasingly focus on delivering landscape-level transformation, such as our UK Zero Deforestation Soy Transition Plan, which focuses on transitioning to sourcing from verified zero deforestation areas, by 2025. Further information on the steps we take to manage environmental and social impacts in our supply chain can be found on our website. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hubSector-specific Questions
11. Which sector(s) does the company operate in? If diversified, choose top 3 by revenue.
Sector-specific: Water
12. Please provide details regarding the company's water withdrawal and consumption (own operations) during the reporting period.
Water withdrawal (volume of water in megaliters):
Water consumption (volume of water in megaliters):
Optional commentWe do not monitor consumption, only extraction from mains water which is where the majority of water used in our stores and distribution centres come from.13. Please provide details about the company’s water intensity of products in regions with high or extremely high water stress.
Optional commentWe have strengthened the environmental standards for our products with the adoption of the global LEAF Marque Standard, a certificaton that includes the management of water use and water quality and requires growers to have a Water Management Plan that measures water use efficiency. Implementation of the LEAF Marque is currently being rolled out across our entire global produce supply chain, with all UK growers to be certified by the end of 2022 and the rest of our global grower base from 2023, with the aim of completing the transformation by 2025.Sector-specific: Forest, biodiversity, and land use
14. Please report the number and area (in hectares) of sites owned, leased, or managed by the company in or adjacent to protected areas and/or key biodiversity areas (KBA).
15. What area (in hectares) of natural ecosystems was converted during the reporting period in areas owned, leased, or managed by the company?
16. Is the company supporting or implementing project(s) focused on ecosystem restoration and protection?
Optional commentThe main focus of the project in South Africa is the clearance of alien, invasive species, improved water management at both the farm and catchment scale; and supporting farmer-to-farmer learning on water issues and best practices through employment of local coordinators. In Kenya, our overall goal is to support improved basin management by providing better data on the condition of rivers in the basin and the key pressures to local water management organisations. We have invested funds in the Responsible Commodities Facility to leverage loans to protect forest areas within soy production farms in South America and ensure their long term protection is sustained. The catchment scale action is progressed through our partnership with WWF.Sector-specific: Waste
18. Please report the company's total weight of waste generated in metric tonnes during the reporting period.
Optional commentResults of our materiality review has identified four key areas of focus, where issues have the greatest potential to influence our business performance and those where our business can make the biggest difference and drive transformative change. Key material areas include the elimination of food waste from our own operations and supply chain. We strive to eliminate unsold food going to waste in our own operations through well-established processes such as continually optimising our forecasting, ordering and reduce to clear processes to reduce food surplus at the end of each day. More detail is available in the Food Waste factsheet, in our reporting hub. https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub19. Please report the percentage of the company's waste that was hazardous waste (i.e., hazardous waste ratio) during the reporting period.
20. Please report the company's estimated metric tonnes of single-use plastic consumed wherever material along the value chain during the reporting period.
Optional commentOur focus is on minimising the use of packaging through our four R's strategy; Remove, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We apply a particular focus on plastics, introducing schemes and initiatives that focus on removing plastic packaging from our products and supporting more recycling. In 2021/22 we installed soft plastic recycling points in our stores and we announced the removal of 1.6 billion pieces of plastic. For more detail on our packaging, including plastics footprint see our Packaging factsheet. https://www.tescoplc.com/media/759064/packaging-factsheet.pdfOverall Environment
21. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the environment principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.
As a food industry, we need to find ways to feed our growing population more sustainably – using less land and fewer natural resources. For Tesco, this is crucial in order to retain the ability to serve customers affordable, healthy and sustainable food. building on our leading approach to tackling climate change in 2009. Last year we announced our goal to be carbon neutral in our Group operations by 2035 and extended our commitment to be net zero across our value chain, aligned to a 1.5-degree trajectory by 2050, covering all indirect Scope 3 emissions. We are committed to our 4Rs strategy: Remove where we can, Reduce where we can’t, Reuse more, and Recycle what’s left. Since we launched our 4Rs strategy in 2019, we have removed more than 1.6 billion pieces of plastic. In our UK and Ireland stores, we have introduced soft plastic recycling facilities and launched a UK partnership with Loop to offer more sustainable packaging alternatives. Working in partnership with WWF, we are on a journey to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket – a partnership which has now been extended to Central Europe. In November 2021, we became proud signatories to WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature. Tesco is the UK’s number one plant-based retailer, and we are aiming to increase the sales of our plant-based products by 300% by 2025 versus a 2018 baseline. We are also reformulating products to remove salt, fat and sugar from products without affecting taste. Leading the industry, we have accelerated our target of halving food waste from our own operations by 2025, five years ahead of the SDG target. In our own operations, we have reduced food waste by 45% since 2016/17 and we are looking for new innovations to go further. For more detail on what we are doing to deliver on our environmental commitments and achieve our goals can go to www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/reporting-hub/Anti-corruption
Commitment
1. Does the company have an anti-corruption compliance programme?
Optional commentThe Audit Committee supports the Board in discharging its responsibilities which include the review of anti-bribery/corruption and other Group compliance statements annually.2. Does your company have policies and recommendations for employees on how to act in case of doubt and/or in situations that may represent a conflict of interest, e.g. with regard to gifts and hospitality, donations, sponsorship, or interactions with public officials?
Optional commenthttps://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/group-anti-bribery-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/group-conflicts-of-interest-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/group-charitable-donations-policy/ https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/documents/policies/tesco-code-of-business-conduct/Prevention
3. Who receives training on anti-corruption and integrity?
Optional commentAll relevant employees are trained annually on anti-bribery and associated policies. Relevant colleagues means all managers and directors in the office along with all other colleagues whose roles require that they receive training e.g. commercial and property teams.3.1. How often is such training provided?
Optional commentOur Anti-bribery training focuses on key risk areas of our business and colleagues with the highest exposure to specific bribery risk, predominantly for those who are office based. For all other colleagues we focus on the standards set out in our Code of Business Conduct.4. Does the company monitor its anti-corruption compliance programme?
Optional commentWe conduct assurance against our anti-bribery at both the second and third lines of defence. Within the second line (compliance), all of our business units are required to confirm implementation of our anti-bribery controls framework at least once annually and provide supporting evidence. Our Internal Audit team conduct anti-bribery or fraud audits periodically, across our business units or build these into other audits. In addition we review key data such as Gifts & Entertainment data and compliance training data on a rolling basis when requirements arise.Response and Reporting
5. Please report the company's total number and nature of incidents of corruption during the reporting year.
6. Within the reporting period, what measures has the company taken to address suspected incidents of corruption independently or in response to a dispute or investigation by a government regulator?
Optional commentWe have a zero-tolerance approach to bribery. Our anti-bribery programme operates across the Group. The programme is built around a clear understanding of how and where bribery risks affect our business and comprises key controls such as: policies (anti-bribery, gifts and entertainment, conflicts of interest, charitable donations); procedures such as conducting due diligence on suppliers (in particular those who will engage public officials on our behalf); training colleagues on bribery risks every year; and ongoing assurance programmes to test that the controls are functioning effectively. Bribery risk management is discussed at senior leadership groups in each business unit, including at the Group level, and also twice a year with the Audit Committee.7. Does your company engage in Collective Action against corruption?
8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the anti-corruption principle, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.
We run annual anti-bribery training for relevant colleagues across the Group who are exposed to bribery risk, along with training on Gifts & Entertainment and Conflicts of Interest where relevant. In addition, we issue twice annual communications on Gifts and Entertainment and provisional communications in markets about conflicts of interest and other risks associated with corruption. All of our business units are required to report their fraud and bribery risks and compliance programmes to both their local Risk & Compliance Committee (chaired by local CEO) and Group RCC (chaired by Group CEO) once a year along with details of any serious fraud or bribery incidents that have occurred. All business units have active bribery and fraud risk registers and these are reviewed as and when there are material changes to risks or risk profiles. New controls are determined to meet emerging risks or are improved if found to be wanting. As set out above, we also conduct anti-bribery assurance at both the second (compliance) and third (audit) lines of defence.