How the UK’s grocery sector is collaborating on carbon reduction in supply chains
Most businesses recognize the need to tackle carbon emissions. Whether that’s from an internal drive to do better or external pressures from investors, regulators, and customers. But no matter the motivation, companies ahead of the curve know that collaboration is key for lasting change.
In fact, many companies are joining voluntary initiatives and setting sector-specific carbon reduction targets. But one problem prevails – how to turn these goals into action across supply chains.
The UK’s grocery sector is all too aware of this challenge. Here’s how 10 of the biggest retailers – Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose – are taking collective action to decarbonize supply chains using a carbon reduction platform.
Collaborating towards shared commitments
For businesses in the grocery sector, ignoring climate and nature impacts is not an option. After all, the global food system is responsible for more than 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and 60% of biodiversity loss1. Meanwhile, roughly one third of the world’s food is wasted every year2.
To tackle these challenges, retailers have been partnering with voluntary initiatives such as WWF’s Retailers Commitment for Nature and WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2030 for some years. As a result, several shared commitments have been agreed, such as:
- Set science-based targets and encourage grocery suppliers to do the same.3
- Deliver 50% absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions related to UK food and drink in the UK by 2030.
- Deliver 50% per capita reduction in food waste by 2030.
- Source 50% of fresh food from areas with sustainable water management by 2030.4
- Turning these targets into collective action has been a barrier to progress for some time, which is why the retailers chose to work with Manufacture 2030.
The path to progress
Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose partnered individually with Manufacture 2030 (M2030). Together, they are creating one way for grocery suppliers to share environmental data and decrease emissions.
Over the last four years, thousands of manufacturing sites have recorded baselines in energy, water, and waste – with the vast majority well underway implementing impact reduction roadmaps in their facilities.
What’s more, most suppliers (52%) have set carbon reduction targets covering Scope 1 and 2, and 28% have now set Scope 3 carbon reduction targets.
To date, more than 3,000 grocery supplier sites have joined M2030. By collaborating with their peers on supplier engagement, the 10 retailers have seen far more success than if they were to work in isolation. Throughout 2024, 4,800 supplier sites will be invited to submit their data and create reduction plans.
While there is still more to do, this is a significant step to start reducing emissions in the grocery sector. In fact, the steady increase in target adoption throughout the supply chain illustrates the powerful impact that collective action from retailers can have.
Turning measurement into action
Through M2030, thousands of grocery manufacturing sites are supported in building and implementing climate action plans. In fact, more than 20,100 actions from the carbon reduction platform have been added by suppliers. As a result, it is expected there will be a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the grocery sector over the coming years.
By equipping suppliers with the right tools and knowledge, Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose are levelling the playing field for environmental impact reduction in a way that works for all manufacturers in the supply chain.
Rob Shaw, National Energy and Automation Engineer at Allied Bakeries, a grocery supplier, said:
M2030 gives us clear oversight of our data, allowing us to look for trends and to take action to amplify successful interventions or to resolve issues. There are lots of suggestions for energy-savings and it’s great to have a single location for our action plans and project tracking.
Meanwhile, the 10 retailers have also gained visibility over their respective suppliers’ carbon reduction pathways. They can identify gaps and hotspots of impact in carbon, energy, water, and waste across the supply base to inform their individual environmental sustainability strategies.
Carbon reduction as an opportunity for suppliers
One of the biggest headaches for suppliers acting on environmental impact is having to report to many customers in multiple different ways. By working collectively with M2030, the 10 grocery retailers have removed this burden – reducing workloads and saving time.
At the same time, equipping their supply base with a carbon reduction platform enables suppliers to focus on actions that result in real business improvements. Whether that’s enhancing resource and operational efficiency, driving down costs, or procuring more sustainably.
For example, improving the use of renewable electricity has been a key focus for the grocery sector. Since 2021, there has been a 10% increase in the number of sites reporting their renewable energy use on M2030. By making the switch, suppliers are saving costs in the long run.
Some of the most popular M2030 recommended actions implemented by grocery suppliers to date include replacing inefficient lighting with LED, installing Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems, and purchasing renewable energy from their energy suppliers.
Next steps for the grocery sector
In a shared statement, Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, said: “We cannot underestimate the scale of the task when decarbonizing the grocery supply chain. But by empowering our suppliers to take action through our own individual strategic partnerships with M2030, we aim to remove thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from our grocery supply chains.”
What’s more, M2030 has worked to align with the key sectoral initiatives, run by WRAP and WWF. Through these collaborations, duplication of work is reduced and there is more focus on action across the sector.
The 10 UK retailers will continue to support and engage more suppliers in their net zero strategies, with a view to meet their collective impact reduction targets by 2030.
Footnotes
- https://www.wwf.org.uk/our-reports/whats-store-planet-report-2023
- https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/09/448652
- Science-based targets (SBTs) provide a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth. Targets are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (www.sciencebasedtargets.org)
- https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/initiatives/courtauld-commitment