Tesco has announced two partnerships to protect nature in its supply chains.
The partnerships come as Tesco has revealed its Nature Programme now engages 130 farms and works with more than 30 key suppliers.
The first of the new partnerships is with non-profit Earthworm Foundation, which will put in place regenerative agriculture practices in Ivory Coast, 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.
“Through this partnership, we will work closely with cocoa farmers in the Tonkpi region to support the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices that strengthen their resilience while reducing environmental impact,” said Gerome Tokpa, director Africa region at Earthworm Foundation.
“Starting with two co-operatives, this collaboration is designed to grow in the coming years, broadening its scope to include additional livelihood-enhancement initiatives for farmers as well as robust forest conservation measures.”
The second partnership is with 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.
“This is a big boost to our existing efforts in restoring seagrass,” said Wietse van der Werf, founder and CEO at the Sea Ranger Service. “We are particularly proud of this partnership as it regenerates the coastal environment whilst at the same time giving young people unique skills training and entry-level career opportunities.”
Nature Programme progress
It comes as it has revealed the progress made in the first year of its Nature Programme, which was launched in 2023.
The initiative includes five projects, including one with Forestry England, delivered in the Blackdown Hills; one with the RSPB and one with the Rivers Trust with beef and lamb supplier ABP. Tesco also has projects with Herefordshire Rural Hub and Asociación de Naturalistas de Sureste and its 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, including creating habitats for key species, increasing pollinators, improving soil health and reducing erosion, and improving water quality and quantity, the supermarket said.
It is also currently working with 130 farms across its five established projects, with each farm benefiting from a bespoke action plan.
More than 30 of Tesco’s leading produce suppliers are playing an active role in supporting farmers and producers including Branston, G’s Fresh, British Sugar, Heygates, United Oilseeds, and Allied Bakeries.
“It’s vital we play our part in protecting and restoring nature in our supply chains, so it’s great to see the progress we’ve made across our Nature Programme in the first full year of the initiative, including engaging so many of our key suppliers in regions across the UK that are experiencing some form of nature loss,” said Christine Heffernan, chief sustainability and communications officer at Tesco.
“We know we have a lot more to do to ensure we protect the soils, water and biodiversity in the supply chains we rely on, so I’m delighted to announce two new partnerships with Earthworm and the Sea Ranger Service, to help protect nature.”
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