Asda has become the latest supermarket to trial a sustainability store concept featuring refill stations, loose produce and on-site recycling facilities. The store in Middleton, Leeds is designed to help shoppers reduce, reuse and recycle products more easily and will be used to test concepts with the potential to be rolled out at scale. Features…

CO2 emissions fell further in the first half of 2020 than during the financial crisis of 2008, the oil crisis of 1979 and even the second world war. In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers showed that in the first six months of this year, emissions were down 8.8% compared to the same period…

Tesco has set itself a target to increase sales of plant-based meat alternatives by 300% by 2025 as part of its ambition to halve the environmental impact of the average shopping basket. Britain’s largest food retailer said it would launch new products including plant-based ready meals, sausages, burgers, quiches, pies and party food to help…

Supermarkets must set ambitious targets to increase sales of healthy products, according to the healthy markets investor coalition. Members of ShareAction’s coalition, which together represent over $1 trillion (£0.78 trillion) in assets under management, also called for clearer labelling. They argued that food businesses need to demonstrate they are “well-positioned for the increase in regulation…

Iceland has revealed it used over 32,000 tonnes of plastic across its UK and international operations in 2019 as the retailer called on the government to make reporting of plastic packaging mandatory for businesses. Iceland managing director Richard Walker described the results as “simply terrifying” in a blog post in which he noted that Iceland…

The proportion of plant-based ready meals available in supermarkets has increased from 3% to 16% in the past two years. A survey of 2,404 meals by Eating Better also showed that 24% were either vegan or vegetarian. The vegetarian options remain heavily reliant on cheese, which is an ingredient in 70% of the meals. Eating…

Tesco has partnered with environmental charity Hubbub on an intensive six-week trial to reduce food waste in the home. The No Time for Waste Challenge will test a series of interventions ranging from help with meal planning to leftover-inspired cooking sessions with professional chefs. The project kicks off as new research from Tesco shows covid-19…

Morrisons plans to replace plastic “bags for life” with reusable paper bags if a trial in eight stores is successful. The supermarket said the move was in response to evidence showing that reusable plastic bags, although stronger and thicker than their single-use predecessors, are often used once before being binned. Morrisons is planning to remove…

The government should subsidise vegetables and require all public sector food to meet dietary guidelines in order to tackle obesity. The recommendations were made in a new report from cross-party think tank Demos which said too many people in the UK face significant barriers to eating a healthy diet. It called on the government to…

Tesco has called on the government to introduce a new requirement for all food companies to ensure their food is deforestation-free and set national targets for meat reduction. The UK’s largest grocer said that as part of its National Food Strategy, the government should mandate companies to introduce effective due diligence across supply chains to…