Gainsborough's Tesco to plant 2,000 trees to help the environment

The trees in Gainsborough are among 11,000 being planted at Tesco sites around the UK.

With a further 88,000 trees set to follow by the end of 2022.

The trees will be planted to the south of the Gainsborough Tesco car park and the planting and subsequent establishment of woodland at the Gainsborough site will strengthen the green railway corridor to the east, providing additional habitat for protected species such as bats, birds and badgers.

For residents within the immediate vicinity of the site, once established the woodland will improve visual amenity and contribute to screening industrial units to the east.

Once established, each year this woodland and retained vegetation will also improve local air quality by removing up to 80kg of pollution elements, while removing up to 3,650kg of carbon from the atmosphere, storing up to 105 tonnes of carbon over a 60 year period.

Pat Ford, store manager at Gainsborough Tesco said: “It’s been great to see these trees being planted outside the store and I think it will not only improve the green space around the store but hopefully have a positive impact on the local community and our environment for years to come.”

Claire De Silva, head of communities and local media for Tesco, said: “We are focused on tackling the global climate change threat which forms part of our overall sustainability strategy, which includes reducing the amount of plastic in our supply chain, reducing our emissions, working with farmers to protect biodiversity, climate and soil health.

“These sites have been identified as having an area of land which would benefit from additional woodland which enhances the overall look and feel surrounding our locations, while more importantly, aiding in carbon sequestration, biodiversity and habitat creation.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, in 2019, Tesco pledged to remove one billion pieces of plastic from its packaging, a target which was reached in December 2020.