UK retailer Tesco has achieved validation of its net-zero science-based targets from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
Tesco has become one of the first retailers globally to have its carbon reduction goals verified by SBTi, the official body for validating climate targets. This achievement also marks Tesco as one of the pioneering companies with specific, SBTi-validated targets for greenhouse gas emissions originating from forests, land, and agriculture.
The retailer has developed an ambitious plan to reduce emissions across its own operations and value chain. Tesco’s targets include:
- Reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its operations by 85% by 2030 compared to a 2015 baseline year
- Decreasing absolute Scope 3 emissions from energy and industrial sources by 55% by 2032 compared to a 2019 baseline year
- Minimizing absolute Scope 3 emissions from FLAG emission by 39% by 2032 compared to a 2019 baseline year
Validation of these targets reinforces Tesco’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality across its own operations by 2035 and its value chain by 2050, in alignment with the 1.5°C temperature-rise limit outlined in the Paris Agreement.
Tesco’s emissions reduction priorities are outlined through its ‘Planet’ agenda, which encompasses six areas:
- Improving Products
- Decarbonizing Transport
- Reducing Store Emissions
- Supporting Sustainable Consumption
- Eliminating Waste
- Protecting Nature
Key activities include scaling up deforestation-free feed sources, expanding the use of low-carbon fertilizers in agriculture, and continuing the decarbonization of Tesco’s store estate and transport networks.