Rewinding back to the Green Awards 2026, Tesco Ireland has been named winner of the Green Retailer Award, recognised earlier this year for a forward-thinking approach to sustainability in retail that has turned clear ambition into measurable, system-wide action across its Irish operations.

The award, announced on 24 February 2026 at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, reflects a sustainable business that has built its environmental programme around six clearly defined pillars, covering net zero, packaging, food waste reduction and redistribution, sustainable sourcing, and broader stakeholder commitments that give the programme both structure and accountability.

The technical innovation at the heart of Tesco Ireland's submission drew particular attention from judges. A waste heat recovery system that repurposes refrigeration heat to warm stores represents world-class retail engineering efficiency, demonstrating that sustainability excellence in a large-scale retail environment can be achieved through precise, operationally embedded solutions rather than broad pledges. 

What set the submission apart most powerfully was the direct link between executive pay and sustainability targets, a governance decision that signals genuine leadership accountability and positions environmental responsibility as a core business priority rather than a reputational add-on. 

Judges were clear in their assessment. "The waste heat recovery system, which repurposes refrigeration heat to warm stores, is a world-class example of retail engineering efficiency, while the use of robust data and stakeholder engagement shows sustainability embedded across operations. By linking executive pay to sustainability targets, the entrant demonstrated strong leadership accountability, setting a new benchmark for how environmental responsibility can be driven as a core business priority rather than a marketing add-on," the panel stated.

Tesco Ireland joins a cohort of Green Awards winners demonstrating that Ireland's retail sector is capable of delivering meaningful environmental progress at scale when ambition, engineering innovation, and leadership accountability are properly aligned. The win raises the bar for what the 2027 awards cycle will expect from entrants in the Green Retailer category.

If Tesco Ireland's achievement has inspired your own organisation to take the next step, submit your entry for the 2027 awards at the official Green Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for more updates.