Tesco TNFD case study: Palm oil traceability and determining priority sourcing locations in Indonesia

Tesco case study on piloting the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures recommendations as part of the Global Canopy piloting programme.

Multinational grocery retailer Tesco took part in Global Canopy’s Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) piloting programme prior to the launch of TNFD’s Final Recommendations in September 2023.

The TNFD has developed a set of recommendations and guidance for organisations to identify, assess, manage, and – where appropriate – disclose, their evolving nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. Its recommendations and guidance help organisations to integrate nature into decision-making, and ultimately support a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes, toward nature-positive outcomes.

Supported by Nature-Based Insights and Global Canopy, Tesco piloted the TNFD’s LEAP approach to identify and assess its nature-related issues. The pilot focused on mapping Tesco’s palm oil supply chain and identifying priority locations in Indonesia for further analysis.

In the context of the incoming EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR), understanding supply chain disruption and breakdown is important for Tesco in meeting its deforestation-free requirements, and to put measures in place to prevent exclusion of smallholders in its supply chain. As part of the pilot programme, Tesco used volumetric analysis to estimate its procurement volumes of palm oil and the biodiversity footprint of the districts in Indonesia from which it is likely to be sourcing. Tesco used the data from the assessment to inform its selection of priority locations for further analysis.

“We know palm oil production continues to drive deforestation and biodiversity loss. By working with Global Canopy on this pilot, we have been able to analyse the production landscape with the aim of developing a truly nature-friendly palm oil sourcing strategy that looks beyond certification and compliance towards a future where nature and production work hand in hand.”

Tom Hollick, Group Sustainability Manager for Forests at Tesco

Trase is among the tools that Tesco used to map its palm oil supply chain. Free to use, Trase is a data-driven transparency initiative that maps the international trade and financing of key commodities associated with tropical deforestation. It is a partnership between Global Canopy and the Stockholm Environment Institute, which works with data developers, researchers, designers, institutes and other partners.

Read the Tesco TNFD case study, ‘Assessing ecologically sensitive locations in a food retailer and distributor’s palm oil supply chain: Reflections from piloting TNFD’s LEAP approach’.

Read the case study

Global Canopy is a founding partner of the TNFD, and was an official piloting organisation for the TNFD prior to the launch of the TNFD final recommendations in September 2023. We continue to provide technical expertise to the TNFD, and to build capacity among businesses and financial institutions, preparing them to get started with adopting the TNFD recommendations.

This case study was generously funded by USAID and NORAD.