The Carbon Trust has worked with Tesco and 2degrees to develop a collaborative Buying Club for Tesco’s suppliers. This initiative will help suppliers to invest in energy efficient lighting equipment and installations, providing access to substantial discounts and advice.

The Buying Club, which has been developed in collaboration with 2degrees and Tesco, will be available to the 700 plus businesses that are members of the Tesco Knowledge Hub – a global online community for Tesco suppliers which encourages them to share information, experiences and best practice in carbon reduction.

The scheme takes advantage of the collective purchasing power of the suppliers in the Knowledge Hub to negotiate discounts on energy efficient lighting equipment. This can deliver savings of up to 25 per cent on the cost of equipment, and potential savings of up to 80 per cent on energy bills.  As Members of the Buying Club also benefit from the Carbon Trust’s expert advice and guidance on the equipment they need and the energy savings they could make.

Following a competitive tendering process Eaton Cooper Lighting and Safety was selected as the provider of LED and low-energy fluorescent lights, with Briggs & Forrester Special Projects as the installer.

A successful pilot with four of Tesco’s suppliers was run from February to September 2013,looking at the lighting of a total area of approximately 570,000 square feet. The results of the pilot showed that it had helped cut lighting costs by up to 80 per cent in some cases. One of the suppliers involved, Typhoo, was able to save nearly 900 tonnes of carbon emissions from just a single factory site.

Feedback from those who took part showed that power of collaboration can remove barriers and concerns to investing in energy saving measures - such as confusion over the huge range of low energy lighting providers, and quality and price.

Tesco are now exploring how this concept could be extended to other areas and cover a wider range of energy saving equipment.