Following the governments Net Zero 2050 target, the major British supermarkets have all turned their attention to achieving net zero carbon emissions. On 5th May, the Co-op announced that they are aiming to achieve net zero in 2040, ten years before the governments 2050 target. This deadline is the same as Sainsbury’s and ASDA’s whilst Tesco has committed to Net Zero by 2035.
As with such things, the devil is in the detail. The Co-op have released a thorough step-by-step report and Sainsbury’s have addressed their scope 1,2 & 3 emissions, however Tesco has released broad statements but no plan to date. Aldi meanwhile is leading the field, stating that they been carbon neutral since 2019 with 4 carbon offsetting schemes in place.
As mentioned in our ‘ Are our major supermarkets committed to making a difference to our planet’ blog, the data collation required to maintain a current assessment of a supermarket’s supply chain’s scope 3 emissions is significant. You can read more about scope 3 emissions here.
On their path to Net Zero, Morrison’s has committed to source exclusively from Net Zero British farms, stating that they will seek to work with a select group of farmers to help them reduce their environmental impact and use carbon offsetting only as a last resort. Morrison’s pledge to help these farmers; switch to renewable energy, reduce water usage, start using regenerative agriculture processes, restore biodiversity and reduce fertilisers. They also have longer term plans to support cattle farmers to change to breeds that produce less methane.
Tesco meanwhile has been smarting from its association with JBS, a meat exporter linked with illegal deforestation of the Amazon. Tesco has since promoted their partnership with Greenpeace and ran social media adverts to stop the deforestation in Brazil. They stated that they did not source any meat from Brazil and have reached their target for ‘zero deforestation for soy animal feed through certification’, however seemingly do not yet possess full viability on their supply chain as have been discovered to use chicken and pork which is fed on Brazilian soya which is one of the primary reasons for deforestation within Brazil.
It seems that a combination of public pressure and increased scrutiny on the nuance of supply chains maybe yet be the best tools to effect change in our supermarkets.
If you are concerned about decarbonising and future proofing your supply chain please get in touch – pip@districteating.com
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