Supermarket is working with AMFresh, G’s, Branston and others on the initiative
Tesco is working with key fruit supplier AMFresh and other fruit and veg producers as part of its work to protect and restore nature across key sourcing regions in its supply chain.
The retailer launched its Nature Programme in 2023, with five projects now established in partnership with Forestry England, delivered in the Blackdown Hills; RSPB; the Rivers Trust, alongside beef and lamb supplier ABP; Herefordshire Rural Hub; and ANSE (Asociación de Naturalistas del Sureste) and key fruit supplier AMFresh in Spain.
As part of the programme, land linked to the production of 18 high-risk commodities is already benefiting from a range of initiatives, Tesco said. These include creating habitats for key species, increasing pollinators, improving soil health and reducing erosion, and improving water quality and quantity.
The supermarket is currently working with 130 farms across its five established projects, with each farm benefiting from a bespoke action plan.
Tesco’s suppliers are playing a key role in the projects, the retailer said, with more than 30 of Tesco’s leading fresh food suppliers – representing a significant proportion of the retailer’s UK-based sourcing volume – playing an active role in supporting farmers and producers. These include potato supplier Branston, G’s Fresh, British Sugar, Heygates, United Oilseeds, and Allied Bakeries.
Two new projects
To further bolster the programme, Tesco is now launching two new projects to protect nature in its supply chains. It will work with non-profit organisation Earthworm Foundation to put in place regenerative agriculture practices in Cote d’Ivoire – a country known for its cocoa production, and where the retailer sources much of the cocoa used in its Finest chocolate range. The retailer’s block chocolate supplier Baronie-Cemoi is also partnering on the project.
The supplier, alongside other actors in the cocoa sector, runs the Transparence Cacao programme, which promotes sustainability in the cocoa sector. Working with Tesco, the programme now incorporates environmental measures as well as its focus on livelihoods, traceability and quality.
Tesco has also launched a new partnership with the social enterprise Sea Ranger Service to restore seagrass in the Northeast Atlantic, off the coast of the Netherlands – an area used to source several species of wild caught fish, including plaice, cod and haddock.
