UK supermarkets urged to accelerate climate transition

The top 10 UK supermarkets are being urged to accelerate their progress towards climate goals after analysis showed that they made 600 climate commitments in 10 years, yet showed little evidence of sufficient progress.

The UK’s top 10 supermarket brands – including Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – collectively made a climate commitment every six days between 2014 and 2024, either around emissions, land use and deforestation, and sustainable and healthy diets.

But few are showing evidence of progress against those goals, or even reporting on them transparently. This is the conclusion of a new report by charities Feedback Global and The Food Foundation.

Rebecca Tobi, Senior business and investor engagement manager at The Food Foundation, said: "While all UK supermarkets are signed up to a huge number of commendable schemes working towards net zero and more sustainable diets, we are just not seeing the pace of progress we so urgently need for both people and planet.”

Retailers need to keep pace with the UK’s transition

The report warns that the UK’s most recent Carbon Budget set an explicit target to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 39% by 2040, including a 27% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers and 25% reduction in all meat consumption by 2040 – but that retailers are failing to keep pace with the transition to more sustainable diets.

"It's critical that the government make sure that the new food strategy ensures mandatory reporting against key health and sustainability metrics and brings in regulation that truly levels the playing field for all food businesses," added Tobi.

According to the report, the food sector accounts for 35% of the UK’s territorial greenhouse gas emissions, yet progress in reducing emissions lags behind the rest of the economy. The ten largest supermarkets make up 94.8%  of the food retail market, meaning they have a “pivotal role in reaching – or jeopardising – climate and biodiversity goals”, the charities add.

Investors concerned about food companies’ resilience

Sophie Lawrence, Stewardship and Engagement Lead, Greenbank, said: "As a sustainable investor, we are interested in the long-term resilience of companies and their ability to adapt in the face of the several sustainability challenges we face. We are increasingly aware of the material financial risks facing food sector companies related to issues such as diet-related poor health, nature loss and climate change.

"While we welcome the growing ambition from food sector companies to better manage social and environmental impacts across their operations and supply chains, it is vital that such commitments are backed up by data and disclosures to enable investors and other stakeholders to assess whether promises are being met."

Last month, analysis by the First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute warned investors that the food industry could suffer US$38 trillion in losses by 2050 due to climate change-related threats to production.