Our planet

With strong commitments on tackling climate change and deforestation, improving the sustainability of farming practices and reducing waste, the planet pillar of our Enriching Life Plan contributes to a healthier planet by nurturing the natural resources we all rely on to make our food.

What’s at stake?

Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a crucial moment. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (‘IPCC’) between 21-37% of greenhouse gas emissions globally are attributable to the food system – encompassing agriculture and land use, processing and transport, through to consumption and food waste. The food industry has a major role to play in helping the food system transition to a more sustainable, resilient future.

100%

of our directly sourced palm is certified through a segregated or mass balance supply chain

40%

reduction in our scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions since 2020/21 (market-based)

5%

improvement in water efficiency (cubic metres/£m revenue) since 2024/5

Contributing to a healthier planet

Our ambitions, targets and progress over the last year

Our decarbonisation and deforestation targets, which are summarised below, have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The specific scope, methodology and timings can be found here.

Taking action on climate change and protect natural resources

Our 2030 targets	In-year progress
Reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 67% and target net zero by 2040	Net-zero targets validated by SBTi. Scope 1 & 2 market-based emissions have reduced by around 14% against prior year and 40% since our baseline year of 2020/21.
Reduce scope 3 emissions by 28% and target net zero by 2050	Net-zero and FLAG targets validated by SBTi. 70% of our key suppliers now have science-based decarbonisation targets. Adopting supplier data into Scope 3 measurement to reflect improvements.
Improve our understanding of water use within our operations and improve water efficiency by 5% by 2030, against a 2024/25 baseline	Embedded new water strategy across sites. Water usage down by 3%, water efficiency improved by 5%.

Drive a sustainable and resilient supply chain

Our 2030 targets	In-year progress
No deforestation across primary deforestation-linked commodities, by the end of 2025.	The SBTi requires deforestation targets to be aligned to the end of 2025. At the end of 2025 we had controls in place for all directly sourced key deforestation linked commodities with the exception of 10% of our sugar and 2% of our cocoa where we continue to work with our suppliers.
Champion responsible and regenerative agricultural practices for key directly sourced ingredients	Continued trials with suppliers on low carbon fertiliser. Climate and nature risk assessments received from key suppliers and informing business planning. Water-related risk assessments carried out across 39 key commodities. Pilot biodiversity risk assessment carried out for two commodities with plans to extend in FY26/27.
Ensure those working in the food industry are treated fairly.	Embedding new Human Rights policy launched in 2024. All sites have colleagues trained on modern slavery. High level human rights risk screening carried out on key ingredients and discussions ongoing with suppliers on their due diligence approaches.

Reducing waste across our value chain

Our 2030 targets	In-year progress
Halve our food waste and support our suppliers to do the same, against a 2017 baseline	Improved segregation of waste at Ashford site to divert food waste from anaerobic digestion to animal feed. Improved distribution to animal feed at Lifton site.
Use the strength of our brands to engage consumers to reduce food waste in the home	We have again worked with our charity partner Felix (formerly FareShare) to raise awareness and funds to help tackle food insecurity.