Slicing food waste one innovation at a time
On Monday, Tesco launched its innovative online food waste ‘hotline’. It can be accessed by over 5,000 of Tesco’s partners and suppliers to contact its product teams directly. This will further improve these relationships and the stream of conversation between all parties. Through granting direct access, it will enable Tesco to build a more sustainable supply chain, which simplifies the method of reducing food waste. The company will be able to pinpoint food waste hotspots and eliminate overstocking of certain products. In addition, it will help solve systemic issues, optimizing Tesco’s supply chain through working hand-in-hand with suppliers.
Tesco has truly committed itself to drastically decreasing its amount of food waste, pledging that no surplus food will be wasted in its UK operations by the end of 2017. The company will continue to introduce innovative methods to help achieve this goal. It will also add to Tesco’s commitment to help the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12, halving global food waste by 2035.
To read more on Tesco’s new hotline click here.
Back to the wind days
The shipping industry is now steering toward wind energy to reduce its reliance on fuel. Maersk Tankers will begin testing the energy on one of its tankers, with plans to expand to four dozen ships if the technology is successful. The use of wind energy has been tested in the past without much impact, due to costs being too high and underwhelming fuel savings. However, Maersk believes it is the most promising technology yet as its fuel consumption could be cut by as much as 10%. It will also help the company to adhere to the increasingly stringent emissions standards.
Maersk has teamed up with Norsepower Oy, a Finland based company, to test this technology. It will supply the lightweight and durable rotating sails to the company, as well as fitting them on to its ships. This will cost $1.1 to $2.1 million. Currently, Maersk Group spends $2.1 billion on fuel costs per year. It is hoped the innovation will help to rapidly reduce these costs in the future.
Find out more information on the sails here.
Tech out the retailers
The Retail Industry Leader Association and professional services company Accenture have teamed up to launch (R)Tech Center for Innovation. The new initiative will be guided by many retail executives from companies including Target, Lowe’s, Foot Locker and Coca-Cola. Retailers and startups will work together to drive tech innovation, creating new alternatives for their customer bases. It will explore the impact that technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality can have upon the industry, with some retailers still struggling to keep up to date with the latest customer demands in areas such as convenience and experience.
The initiative will help retailers to experiment with tech and adapt a new type of culture associated with start-ups: ‘move fast and break things’. A new type of thinking will help retailers shift from making long-term business decisions to fast and riskier ones. Technology continues to impact customers lives. Driving change in the retail industry will further help to increase sales and interest.
Read more on the initiative here.
Have a great weekend!
Header Photo: one photo/shutterstock.com