Our Climate Plan

Gardeners working on an allotment

It cannot be overstated: climate change is real and life-threatening. The science is clear and indisputable. Climate is already affecting the foods we all rely on and the people who produce them. In successive years our members have voted for us to formally recognise the climate emergency then accelerate our response. This plan sets out how we intend to do so.

2022 update on Science Based Targets

Our current near-term targets to 2025 have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We are now resetting our climate targets across all scopes, in the near and long-term to ensure that they are in line with keeping global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures. Co-op are expecting these updated targets to be released and validated by the SBTi in Summer 2023.

Our Climate Plan

To ensure we remain at the forefront of driving forward our ambitions, it is vital we continually review our Climate Plan. We have achieved our Scope 1 and 2 carbon reduction targets several years early and have made positive progress on our Scope 3 targets. We are in the process of setting new SBTi-approved targets, remaining aligned to a 1.5⁰c pathway. We must reduce carbon emissions at a faster rate and we must work hard to prioritise people and planet in the process. That’s why we’ve continued to listen to the science and learn from our progress to date in order to prioritise action where we can make the most impact.

In November 2022, as a signatory of WWF’s Retailer’s Commitment for Nature, we signed up to their Climate Action plan – to set supply chain science-based targets, support suppliers to decarbonise and deliver a retail action plan for a 50% reduction in carbon. Collaboration with other retailers and our supply base is crucial to unlocking our climate action ambition, and this commitment will play a vital role in accelerating our pathway to Net Zero.

People remain at the heart of our Climate Plan, and we continue to campaign for climate justice. We recently shared our water security report, with a continued focus on supporting producers in low-income countries adapt to climate change and transition to low-carbon production.

For more information, please download the full plan.

Download our Plan

Climate justice for people and planet

We campaign for climate justice to advocate for our global communities on the front line of the climate crisis. To find out more, please read our Climate Justice for People and Planet report below.

Download report