Major supermarkets pledge to end deforestation
The CEOs of five major supermarkets have committed to slashing their impact across climate, deforestation and nature.
Joining forces for the first time, the leaders of Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose plan to halve their overall impact on the natural world by 2030, as tracked by WWF.
The food we produce and buy is responsible for 60% of global nature loss and contributes to over a third of total greenhouse gas emissions.
These five supermarkets alone reach more than 50% of the UK food shoppers, so today’s commitment will help millions of families make their weekly shop greener.
The supermarkets are urging the rest of the sector, from brands, to manufacturers to traders and governments to take action for nature and climate to help achieve this ambition.
Today’s commitment is backed by a WWF blueprint that outlines over 100 steps that all food retailers can take to protect nature and has the potential to transform our food system and regenerate our forests, rivers and seas.
Tanya Steele, WWF’s Chief Executive said: ‘We can’t tackle climate change and keep global temperature rise to 1.5oC without halting nature loss – and we can’t save nature without changing what’s on our supermarket shelves.”
‘Food production is one of the biggest threats to our planet and we will only tackle the climate and nature emergency if food retailers play their part.
‘The promises these CEOs have made are game changing and we hope other food retailers will follow in their footsteps so that every shopper can be confident that the products they buy aren’t fuelling the climate crisis and pushing precious wildlife closer to the brink.’
