The Co-op Group has announced new measures designed to curb its greenhouse gas emissions and back global goals to limit warming.
The retailer, which has halved its emissions in the ten years from 2006, has committed to further reductions in its direct emissions, with a 50% by 2025.
In the last year alone the retailer reduced it greenhouse emissions by 20%. It says short-term targets are crucial to the delivery of longer-term strategies to safeguard the environment and tackle climate change.
At their AGM in May, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of accelerating actions to tackle the environmental crisis.
The Group plans to achieve the new target by using natural refrigerants and minimising the environmental impact of its products through responsible sourcing, such as its commitments to sustainable soy. All its stores, offices and funeral homes already use 100% renewable electricity.
Retail chief commercial officer Michael Fletcher said: “How we do business really matters. The world is experiencing a climate crisis and we need to work together to avoid it. Accelerating action is the only way to mitigate and reduce impacts on our natural world, and to ensure stable food supply chains in the future.
“A rolling set of publicly available and reviewed stretching, short term targets, are imperative if we are to hold ourselves to account to achieve our collective longer-term ambitions. Making sure that we have a natural environment we are proud to pass on to future generations needs action to be taken now.”
