Tesco Lotus opens Thailand and Asia's first zero carbon store

 The store, which emits zero net carbon dioxide (CO2) in its operations, brings together learnings from the environmental stores the company has already built and uses a range of environmental features.  These include lower wattage LED lighting, hydro-carbon powered fridges, rammed earth walls which are less carbon intensive to manufacture than concrete or steel, as well as a store design that maximises natural light on the shop floor.  A wind turbine and a solar farm of PV cells power the store, whilst rainwater is collected to be used in the car wash and flush the store toilets.
 “We at Tesco Lotus are proud to be opening Thailand and Asia’s first zero carbon store. Now, more than ever, all of us are aware of the environment and how environmental change and natural disasters, can affect all of our lives.  As a company, we remain committed to caring for the environment and reducing our own impact on it, with the opening of Bang Pra demonstrating that these values remain at the heart of our business," said Sompong Rungnirattisai, Tesco Lotus’ Property Director.
 The branch is an important milestone in Tesco Lotus’ plan to care for and reduce its impact on the environment, with its target being a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 against a 2006 baseline.
 Other environmental initiatives Tesco Lotus has undertaken include the first independently certified carbon footprint audit in Thailand, the use of biodiesel in its distribution fleet, the opening of environmental stores (Rama I and Salaya) that have a reduced impact on the environment and a programme to plan 9 million trees in national parks across the country.