10 major UK grocery retailers partner with Manufacture 2030 to accelerate grocery supply chain decarbonisation

Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have chosen Manufacture 2030 (M2030) as a strategic partner to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across supply chain.

Grocery retail supply chains contribute up to 90% of supermarket GHG emissions and this collective action highlights progress in accelerating decarbonisation.

Selected coverage:

• Supermarkets partner to support suppliers in cutting emissions - The Grocer
• Grocery retailers collaborate to accelerate supply chain decarbonisation - Edie
• Leading supermarkets come together to accelerate supply chain decarbonisation - KamCity
• Supply chain emissions - Grocery Gazette
• Supermarket giants collaborate to reduce supply chain emissions – Sustainability Beat
• Supermarket giants collaborate to reduce supply chain emissions - Retail Gazette
• 10 retailers sign protocol to reduce supply chain emissions - Distribuição Hoje

For the full story, read below:

10 major UK grocery retailers partner with Manufacture 2030 to accelerate grocery supply chain decarbonisation

• Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have chosen Manufacture 2030 (M2030) as a strategic partner to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across supply chain
• The unique software platform helps suppliers save time and allows them to make considerable cost savings
• “Collective action is vital to make the changes necessary to tackle the climate crisis” - Florence Batten-Turner, Head of Retail Partnerships at M2030.

10 major UK grocery retailers have joined forces with Manufacture 2030 (M2030) - a software platform that helps organisations turn greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments into reality - in a bid to help decarbonise supply chains, which can contribute up to 90% of supermarket GHG emissions.

Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado Retail, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have each partnered with M2030 as a strategic decarbonisation partner.

In doing so, the retailers equip their supplier base with the tools, knowledge and resources they need to reduce GHG emissions associated with the sourcing, manufacture and transportation of products. In turn, this enables suppliers to make considerable cost and time savings.

M2030's unique Climate Action Program helps suppliers identify and implement opportunities to reduce their environmental impact. Suppliers gain access to hundreds of best practice projects, a range of learning tools such as educational webinars and case studies, as well as one-to-one support services, and access to an expert partner network.

Florence Batten-Turner, Head of Retail Partnerships at M2030, said:

Major supermarkets play an influential role in decarbonisation, both in their own operations and through broader supply chain optimisation. Collective action is vital to make the changes necessary to tackle the climate crisis and we are thrilled that ten of the UK’s leading supermarkets are working with us to deliver on their own environmental commitments.

Not only does collaborating with M2030 enable retailers to reduce the environmental impacts of their supply chain, it also delivers measurable benefits to suppliers themselves. Suppliers which are shared by retailers can save valuable time as they do not need to engage with multiple customers on decarbonisation.

Suppliers can also benefit from considerable cost savings because M2030 equips them with the knowledge and resources to reduce their energy consumption - particularly helpful during the energy crisis.

Rob Shaw, National Energy and Automation Engineer, Allied Bakeries - a grocery supplier using the M2030 platform - said:

The Manufacture 2030 platform 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. The Action Planning section has lots of suggestions for energy savings and it’s great to have a single location for our action plans and project tracking.

New data from M2030 illustrates that its collaborative approach to decarbonisation has empowered grocery suppliers to take substantive action in reducing their environmental impact.

Since 2018, supermarket suppliers have committed to more than 20,000 actions in a bid to reduce their environmental impact. Energy management, replacing inefficient lighting with LED, purchasing renewable energy, and recruiting and training sustainability ‘champions’, are amongst the most popular actions*.

In the last two years, M2030 has seen a significant increase in GHG emission reductions amongst grocery suppliers. Between 2021 and 2022, the adoption of actions among grocery suppliers increased by 73%. In 2023, M2030 has - to date - seen a 78% increase on the previous year.

In a joint 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 it comes to decarbonising 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 GHGs from our grocery supply chains.

We each, individually, restate our commitment to work with M2030 to reduce the environmental impacts of our grocery supply chains. This work is vital for the future of our planet, our businesses and, crucially, our customers.

Data from M2030’s latest Grocery Climate Action Program** has also revealed an increase in target adoption through the supply chain - more than half (52%) of grocery suppliers now have Scope 1 and 2 carbon reduction targets and nearly three-in-ten (28%) have Scope 3 carbon reduction targets. However, only 15% of facilities have verified science-based targets (SBTs)***.

In addition, 57% of grocery suppliers are reporting their usage of renewable sources of electricity.

Batten-Turner, said:

We’re really encouraged to see an increase in action-adoption among grocery suppliers. It shows that collaboration among retailers, suppliers and initiatives works to drive progress. While this progress is significant, it’s important we see more ambition and scale in carbon reduction targets, specifically science-based targets which provide a clearly defined pathway and will help reduce the worst impact of climate change.

To have a fighting chance of reducing emissions in the grocery supply chain, suppliers need to be equipped with the right support, knowledge and tools. Collective action is vital to make the changes necessary to tackle the climate crisis.

Now in its sixth year of operations, M2030 continues to achieve significant global growth. The unique software platform supports carbon reduction across 68 countries and is available in 14 languages.

Notes

* In total, grocery suppliers have logged 20,147 actions on the M2030 platform since 2018. The top-ten actions among suppliers include:

1. Energy management 12%
2. Lighting 11%
3. Water management 8%
4. Compressor systems 7%
5. Cooling 7%
6. Waste management 7%
7. Boilers and steam 6%
8. Engagement and behaviour 5%
9. Space conditioning 5%
10. Renewable energy 4%

** M2030’s Grocery Climate Action Program. Data from 2022. 1,600 grocery suppliers contributed to the data in 2022.

*** 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)