Tesco Green Club

cepheus

I disagree with Fred Pearce here though.

Carbon intensity is the new gambit for companies trying to spruce up their green images. They're all doing it. And, sadly, last year the Advertising Standards Authority gave them a green light to carry on.
Most companies don't go for the outlandish "per-square-foot" measurement of Tesco. They largely measure the carbon intensity of their operations as tonnes of CO2 against product produced or cash turnover.
But this is scarcely better. It means you can keep churning out more stuff, or flying people to more places or burning more coal in power stations, while claiming all is well because you are doing it with greater carbon efficiency. And many companies do.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/15/greenwash-tesco

What other realistic measure could you measure other than carbon intensity, such as carbon/turnover or/and carbon /employee hr?

Obviously total carbon emissions is useless since you can't then compare companies of different sizes. If a company went bankrupt such as Woolworth's this would reduce their emissions to zero, but it wouldn't be justifiable to credit them with green credentials for this achievement!

The issue of consumption is an important one but this should be addressed in different ways through education and a carbon tax, based on a overall global carbon limit dictated by the science. However, for simplicity, I think carbon 'intensity' is an adequate if not perfect method of comparing companies from similar sectors (it would be far too complicated to go into carbon footprinting, especially for a supermarket).

If an energy efficient supermarket expanded and took over less energy efficient ones there is no reason why they shouldn't be credited with this.

CharlieBilly

Whats wrong with tap water? you want to ban things others like yet still indulge with your things which are unhealthy unless its for medicinal purposes

Ken68 wrote: »

My ideal supermarket wouldn't sell any cigarettes either, or high cholesterol stuff or over -processed foods or endangered fish or battery chickens or air miles fruit/veg or ten varieties of bread when just two or three would do. No sugared up food either, or fats.
Except strong cheese and Cumberland Sausage and ...er...whisky, after all you gotta drink.