We recognise, both through our own operations and through our supply chain, our business activities have an impact on the environment. This policy sets out our overarching approach to minimising these impacts, which include, but are not limited to climate change, water use and waste.
Our Sustain programme, led by our Chief Operating Officer, governs our management of environmental impacts. We listen carefully to our stakeholders and are committed to working with the wider industry to continually improve our performance. We publish a range of metrics and report progress against targets on our website.
Our impacts:
Our two primary impact areas are within;
- Our own-operations - we’re focused on running our stores, distribution centres, delivery vehicles and manufacturing sites as efficiently as possible
- Our supply chain - we work closely with our suppliers to source products to high environmental standards
Our approach:
The following areas are covered under our environment policy, covering both our own-operations and supply chain;
Climate change
- Reducing our greenhouse emissions in line with the internationally agreed Paris Agreement, specifically; reducing emissions in our own-operations by 46% by 2030 (scopes 1 & 2) and by 30% within our wider value chain (Scope 3) compared to our 2019 baseline
- Reaching Net Zero emissions in our own-operations by 2035 and within our agricultural supply chain by 2030 - this currently covers products from UK farmers sourced directly for our own-brand products in beef, pork, lamb, potatoes and eggs
- Implementing measures including adoption of renewable energy, switching to lower carbon fuels and improving energy efficiency
Nature
- Assuring zero deforestation or conversion of high conservation value land in our supply chains by 2025 for key risk commodities - read more in our Deforestation Policy
- Working with our growers, as part of our Net Zero programme, to improve soil health, plant trees, manage landscapes and lower emissions - read more about our approach to Nature Positive Farming
- Ensuring the responsible and safe use of pesticides in our fruit and vegetable supply chains - read more in our Pesticides Policy
Water
- Being efficient with our water use across our sites, using technology to recover and recycle water wherever possible
- Ensuring wastewater from our sites is treated responsibly
- Supporting sustainable water management in important catchment areas for food production
Food waste
- Taking care to forecast what we think we can sell in our stores to minimise surplus food;
- Where it does arise, following a clear hierarchy for food surplus, which priotises redistribution to customers and communities, wherever possible
- Sending zero food waste to landfill
Plastics & Packaging
- Reducing our own-brand primary plastic packaging by 50% by 2025 compared to our 2017 baseline
- Making all of our plastic packaging recyclable by 2025
- Using 30% average recycled content in our plastic packaging
For further information see our Plastics & Packaging Policy