Tesco has planted over a thousand trees at its Caerphilly Crossways store as part of a wider plan which has seen 11,000 planted at sites across the UK, with a further 88,000 set to follow by the end of 2022.
The site will benefit over time from beautiful native woodland trees and shrubs, which will improve the look of the store and increase the biodiversity of the local environment.
In Caerphilly, a total of 1,200 saplings have been planted within a clearing to an area of existing tree cover to the north of the Tesco carpark. This will contribute to enhancing the existing green corridor that runs along the south west of the A468, strengthening the existing woodland feature and providing structural and species diversity.
Planting will also improve connectivity for species between the neighbouring Rhymney River corridor and the Nant Yr Aber Nature Reserve and watercourse. Once established, each year this woodland will improve local air quality by removing up to 35kg of pollution elements, whilst removing up to 1,650kg of carbon from the atmosphere, storing up to 45 tonnes of carbon over a 60-year period.
Other sites to already benefit as part of this programme are the Tesco stores in Carlisle, Gainsborough, Glasgow and Ilfracombe.
Alison Mcilvenny, store manager at Caerphilly Crossways, said:
“It’s been great to see these saplings being planted outside the store, and we cannot wait to see them begin to grow.
“I think they will not only improve the green space around our store, but will hopefully have a positive impact on the local community and our environment for years to come.”
Rhodri Evans, Tesco’s external affairs manager for Wales, said:
“We are committed to tackling the global climate change threat across all our stores in Wales and the wider UK. This forms part of our overall sustainability strategy, which includes reducing the amount of plastic in our supply chain, reducing our emissions, and working with farmers to protect biodiversity, climate and soil health.
“Caerphilly Crossways and the other sites where trees are being planted have been identified as having an area of land which would benefit from additional woodland which enhances the overall look and feel surrounding our locations, while more importantly, aiding in carbon sequestration, biodiversity and habitat creation.”
As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, in 2019, Tesco pledged to remove 1bn pieces of plastic from its packaging – a target which was reached in December 2020.
Tesco’s 4 Rs strategy towards plastic has seen the retailer: Remove it where we can, Reduce it where we can't, Reuse more and Recycle what's left.
Tesco has set ambitious targets to:
- Become a zero carbon business in the UK by 2035 and at Group level by 2050
- Run Tesco stores with 100% renewable energy by 2030
- Have a 100% electric delivery vehicle fleet by 2030
- Remove 1 billion pieces of plastic
- Reduce all unnecessary packaging to an absolute minimum
- Advocate for a national recycling infrastructure in the UK
- Introduce a nationwide scalable reuse offer
