Tesco Adopts Carbon Profiling for Sustainable Seafood

Tesco to Use Seafood Carbon Emissions Profiling Tool in Efforts to Reduce Supply Chain Emissions

Tesco is doing all it can to lower carbon emissions of its seafood supply chain by embracing the Seafood Carbon Emissions Profiling Tool, SCEPT. Among direct collaborations between the UK supermarket giant and suppliers will be tracking and cutting emissions in the supply chain as the giant faces a set target of having its net-zero carbon emissions before the year 2050.

Why Tesco is Using SCEPT:
SCEPT would thus help companies quantify the carbon footprint of wild catch and farmed aquaculture seafood products. The hotspots of high emissions arising along the supply chain could then identify with accuracy what kinds of interventions Tesco and its suppliers would have to undertake in order to reduce their own emissions.

This is a good initiative since 90% of Tesco's total carbon footprint will be caused by supply chain and product emissions. This tool will enable the provision of real, primary data so good judgments can be done further to drive the sustainable activities of the company and their partners.

How SCEPT Works
A product, launched in 2024, aggregates emissions data across the seafood industry and can be used for comparisons and benchmarking. Tesco recently ran a webinar on how to use SCEPT, from methods of collecting data to analytical techniques, for suppliers.

The data produced will be able to make the suppliers monitor their carbon footprint and improve it. The insight derived, therefore, will make businesses stream their process, eliminate waste, and instead opt for the utilization of low-carbon alternatives.

Early Adoption by Suppliers
Several of Tesco's seafood suppliers have begun to use SCEPT already. For example, Sofina Foods Europe discovered that the tool actually identified critical areas for decarbonization. This adoption by the large retailers in the UK, including Tesco, is likely to spill over to the industry level.
Commitment to Sustainability of Tesco
The above sustainability goals are ambitious and far-reaching within the Tesco context. The company commits to a net-zero emissions position throughout its business by 2050. In this context, incorporating SCEPT would therefore become part of an overall thrust to increase supply chain transparency on emission and contribution tracking.
It brings Tesco closer to sustainable retailing with the assimilation of SCEPT into its seafood operations. The integration also responds to growing industry calls for full carbon accounting and environmental-friendliness in business operations.
Conclusion
Indeed, in the process of Tesco setting a higher benchmark in sustainability, tools like SCEPT will be required to help transform the seafood supply chain. Tesco and its partners can then begin taking practical steps to reduce their footprint.