Tesco and M&S are among retailers that have launched a grocery products carbon reporting standard.
The supermarkets have teamed up with NGOs to form the ‘BRC Mondra Coalition’ to leverage technology to scale this standard and monitor, improve and communicate the environmental performance of products.
Total emissions from food is estimated to be around 30% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While many retailers and brand owners have established their own targets, with some pledging to achieve net zero by 2040, a major challenge in achieving this goal is measuring and managing scope 3 emissions within the supply chain.
The two hurdles in measuring and managing scope 3 are a lack of robust environmental data from supply chains and a clear understanding of how product level footprinting is conducted and reported across the chain.
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Tesco group quality, technical and sustainability director Claire Lorains said the coalition will bring the food industry together to “tackle the challenge of consistent carbon reporting across the value chain”.
“By working together in a pre-competitive way to develop product level sustainability data, we can accelerate decarbonisation, and help meet our goal of reaching net zero across our whole footprint by 2050,” Lorains added.
M&S Food head of sustainability Lucinda Langton added: “Working in collaboration with industry-leading organisations and NGO partners allows us to address the single biggest challenge we all face in terms of carbon reduction, which is scope three GHG emissions.
“It will not only support wider industry change but enhance our progress on our Plan A roadmap to net zero.”
Other companies include Co-op, Ocado Retail, Asda, Lidl and Sainsbury’s, major brands including Starbucks and Nando’s and suppliers Avara, Samworth Brothers, Greencore, Pilgrims UK, Dunbia, Cranswick and Bakkavor.
