Better Health for All

Tesco's health score for Central Europe is 49%, meaning 51% of its products are not considered healthy, while the UK and ROI health score improved to 60% (40% not healthy).

At least half of UK grocery sales are from high-fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) products, and over two-thirds of packaged food and drink products are less healthy varieties. In June 2025, a recall was initiated for 10 pies due to an incorrect use-by date. Tesco aims to make healthy options more affordable through initiatives like Clubcard Prices and Aldi Price Match, but healthy food options are often less affordable and convenient than less healthy options. Tesco does not publicly disclose its healthier product sales share or targets. The company partners with charities like Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation, and offers 'Kids Eat Free' initiatives, but specific metrics on vulnerable population access are not provided. Tesco emphasizes promoting healthy eating habits and reducing risk factors, having removed over 71 billion calories from its own-brand ranges since 2018. The company has also reformulated products to reduce sugar, salt, and fat, and restricts the placement of HFSS foods. Tesco provides nutrition information through front-of-pack traffic lights and ingredient lists. The company acknowledges mental health as an important business issue, with 69% of companies in a benchmark (which includes Tesco) publishing a formal mental health policy statement, but only 17% acknowledge the importance of consultation with employees.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Tesco's CEO pay ratio for 2024-25 was 373 times the median employee pay.

As of April 2024, women's median hourly pay was 5.3% lower than men's, meaning women earned 95p for every £1 men earned. Women's median bonus pay was 44.8% lower than men's, with women earning 55p for every £1 men earned. Tesco's employee happiness score was rated 'D+' based on 166 ratings, placing it in the bottom 25% of similar-sized companies, with 100% of respondents reporting feeling burnt out. The company had 54 substantiated labor standards violations between 2017 and 2025, with penalties totaling over £5.6 million. In 2020, 136 workers at a former supplier, VK Garment Factory, were dismissed after confronting the factory about pay and conditions, and were reportedly paid as little as £3 a day. Tesco's voluntary employee turnover rate was 18% in 2023/24.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

A child was raped within the VK Garment Factory compound accommodation, which constitutes a major violation.

Tesco received an audit pack identifying serious issues in August 2020, but the supplier relationship with VKG only ended in December 2020 when the business was sold, indicating a remediation period of approximately 120 days. Tesco started using the VK Garment Factory in 2017, despite its own initial inspection identifying areas of non-compliance. The factory is located in Mae Sot, a city at the Myanmar border known for workers' rights issues and reliance on Burmese migrant labor, which represents a high-risk sourcing area.

Honest & Fair Business

Tesco PLC has not incurred any ethics-related regulatory fines in the past three years.

However, the company's ESG score from S&P Global is 56, indicating full compliance on required metrics but minimal extra detail. The company is noted to have controversies regarding bribery and corruption, placing its ESG controversy score in the second-worst decile. While whistleblowing systems are mentioned, there is no evidence of independent investigation processes. Furthermore, controversies regarding bribery and corruption are mentioned, and Tesco Stores Limited received a £128.99 million fine and entered a deferred prosecution agreement in April 2017 for false accounting related to a 2014 trading update, which also led to a compensation scheme of approximately £85 million for market abuse. This indicates a basic anti-corruption policy that is rarely enforced, with insufficient due diligence for high-risk transactions.

Kind to Animals

Tesco maintains a comprehensive no-testing policy for its own-brand personal care and household cleaning products, supported by Fixed Cut-Off Dates (FCODs)

and a commitment not to sell these products in China . In animal agriculture, Tesco has significantly upgraded welfare across its core fresh chicken range , increasing space by 20% and setting a maximum stocking density of 30kg per square metre , which is lower than Red Tractor standards . The company also committed to sourcing 100% of its fresh chicken from British farms and all packaged pork from sows not confined in gestation crates by 2027 . For eggs, Tesco's UK and Central Europe operations are committed to 100% cage-free eggs by 2025 , with Malaysia and Thailand following by 2028 . However, a supplier, Avara Foods, has been linked to severe overcrowding and alleged welfare abuses in chicken farms . Tesco actively engages in public policy, holding leadership roles and participating in various forums such as the Consumer Goods Forum, Retail Soy Group, Soy Transparency Coalition, and the UK Soy Manifesto , advocating for deforestation-free supply chains by 2025 . A partnership with the RSPB aims to create and enhance over 1800 hectares of wildlife-friendly habitats , having created 230 hectares of Turtle Dove feeding habitat in 2023 . Despite these efforts, a key supplier, Cargill, which accounted for 22% of Tesco’s 2021 soy footprint , is linked to 635 hectares of deforestation , including 400 hectares burned in September 2022 , and 235 hectares of soy grown on embargoed land . Additionally, Tesco’s 2019 £10 million investment for farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado failed to materialise .

No War, No Weapons

No specific, concrete data points relevant to Tesco PLC (TCO0.XETRA) for any of the 'No War, No Weapons' KPIs were found in the provided articles. Information regarding 'Tesco Corporation' and its conflict minerals policy was identified.

But this entity is distinct from Tesco PLC, the grocery retailer being assessed.

Planet-Friendly Business

Tesco's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions for 2024/25 were 73.1 million tCO₂e.

The company has science-based targets aligned with a 1.5°C warming trajectory, with interim targets set. Tesco sources 100% renewable electricity across the Group, with 40% of its UK electricity demand from Power Purchase Agreements. The company has a net-zero carbon target for 2035. In 2024/25, 82% of unsold food was redistributed, with 102,684 tonnes of surplus and 66,996 tonnes of residual waste. Tesco has a formal zero-deforestation soy policy and aims to source soy solely from existing agricultural land by 2025. The company has committed to TCFD alignment and includes climate scenario analysis for 1.5°C and 2°C pathways in its planning. Tesco launched its Nature Programme in 2023, establishing five projects with 130 farms and over 30 suppliers. 70% of Tesco UK and ROI grocery suppliers (by value) have committed to net-zero emissions.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Tesco was criticized in 2022 for security-tagging makeup for dark-skinned shoppers while the same line for lighter-skinned women was not tagged.

Additionally, a manager offered a Black woman and her children bananas as a 'goodwill gesture' after she complained about being followed by security guards, which the woman found offensive. Following the banana incident, Tesco launched an internal investigation and stated that the involved colleagues were made aware of the impact of their actions and received refreshed training. Tesco has a formal complaint process. The company and other supermarkets have come under fire for alleged racial profiling in recent years, with customers decrying the experience of 'shopping while Black'. Tesco's Black Action Plan, launched in 2021, aims to make the supermarket more inclusive for Black colleagues, customers, and suppliers.

Safe & Smart Tech

In November 2016, Tesco Bank experienced a cyber attack where attackers exploited deficiencies in its debit card design, financial crime controls, and operations team, netting £2.26 million.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Tesco Bank £16.4 million in 2026 for breaching Principle 2, which requires conducting business with due skill, care, and diligence. The FCA noted deficiencies in Tesco Bank's authentication and fraud detection rules, and a failure to properly address a specific warning about the attack until after it started. Following the attack, Tesco Bank devoted significant resources to improving its financial crime controls and systems. Tesco also uses an AI-based retail personalization solution called EagleAI, which employs algorithms like 'the people pleaser' and 'the diviner' to personalize offers. Tesco partners with OCS for physical security in approximately 300 stores, providing role-specific training for security officers in incident response and vulnerability awareness.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Tesco's packaging is 96% recyclable as of 2023.

The company has removed 2 billion pieces of plastic packaging and 4,500 tonnes of packaging between 2019 and 2023. Tesco aims to halve food waste by 2025, an accelerated target from its initial 2030 goal. However, an internal audit revealed that its reported food waste reduction between 2016/17 and 2022/23 was adjusted from 45% to 18% due to misreporting by a former food waste processor. This processor was terminated for misdirecting surplus food to anaerobic digestion plants instead of animal feed, leading to a waste disposal violation. Tesco has persuaded 106 suppliers to adopt its 'Target, Measure, Act' program for food waste reduction. The company provides clear disposal information on all products and packaging. Tesco conducted an audit towards the end of last year, indicating waste audits are not annual for all facilities.