Tesco ties top executive bonuses to slashing food waste by half – bringing its target forward FIVE years to 2025

  • Hitting these targets are worth thousands of pounds or more in Tesco shares
  • The move by the store is a boost for The Mail on Sunday’s War On Food Waste
  • Binned food costs families at least £260 every year, according to the figures

By Daniel Jones Consumer Affairs Editor For The Mail On Sunday

Published: | Updated:

Tesco is speeding up its promise to cut food waste in half – bringing its target forward by five years to 2025.

And in a first for a big retailer, store bosses must now meet targets to cut food waste or miss out on performance-related bonuses.

For top executives, hitting these targets are worth tens of thousands of pounds or more in Tesco shares.

The move by the UK’s biggest supermarket is a boost for The Mail on Sunday’s War On Food Waste campaign and will also put pressure on rivals to be more ambitious.

Binned food costs families and firms vast sums and leads to additional harmful greenhouse gases.

For top Tesco executives, hitting these targets are worth tens of thousands of pounds or more in Tesco shares (file image)

For top Tesco executives, hitting these targets are worth tens of thousands of pounds or more in Tesco shares (file image)

Tesco agreed in 2016 to cut its food waste in half by 2030. It has trimmed it by 45 per cent, so just 0.35 per cent of the food it handles goes into the bin.

Boss Ken Murphy said he decided to bring forward the target after seeing the role wasted food plays in worsening droughts, and urged other retailers to follow Tesco’s lead. In an article for today’s Mail+, Mr Murphy says: ‘More than 2.5 billion tons of food are thrown away globally each year.

‘Every piece of food has its own water footprint and research shows the amount of water wasted from uneaten food is three times the volume of Lake Geneva.

Seven in ten tons of food waste is created in households. Cutting this could save a family £260 a year (file image)

Seven in ten tons of food waste is created in households. Cutting this could save a family £260 a year (file image)

‘In an increasingly water-scarce world, that’s shocking. Food waste is not only an environmental crisis in the making – accounting for ten per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – it’s also an urgent humanitarian concern.

‘In the UK, food poverty is reaching unprecedented levels as the cost-of-living crisis continues, with seven million people now struggling to afford to eat. This status quo is difficult to comprehend.’

Seven in ten tons of food waste is created in households. Cutting this could save a family £260 a year.

Tesco

Most watched News videos

Comments 10

Share what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.