Morrisons has matched Sainsbury’s pledge made earlier this week to hit net zero carbon emissions from its own operations by 2035, five years earlier than its initial target.
The UK’s fourth-largest grocer, which has now been taken over by CD&R, is also committing to reducing its wider ‘Scope 3’ emissions across its entire own-brand supply chain – by 30% by 2030 and is already working with suppliers to achieve this.
Morrisons highlighted that it is already ahead of its forecasts in reducing its operational carbon emissions. A 33% cut was promised by 2025 but the current reduction has already reached 32% – saving almost 300,000 tonnes of CO2 since 2017.
The retailer stated that its future carbon reductions will be achieved by being directly supplied by net zero carbon British farms; reducing energy and using renewable energy; using low carbon vehicles and offering EV charging; reducing food waste and food miles and ensuring zero deforestation in its supply chains. It also plans to help its suppliers audit and reduce their CO2 emissions.
As part of the carbon reduction drive, Morrisons will become the first supermarket to own and operate its own solar ‘farm’ built on the top of its food manufacturing plants and stores. When finished in 2025, the network of solar panels will span nearly 125 acres and produce over 100 megawatts of electricity to supply approximately 20% of the power to the stores and sites it sits on. The green energy will supply Morrisons store appliances that require the most energy, like fridges and freezers.
“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our generation – and the time is now. As a supermarket we depend on a healthy planet to produce the goods we sell to customers,” said David Potts, CEO at Morrisons.
“We’ve committed to removing carbon emissions, rather than setting a carbon neutral target that would depend heavily on offsetting. We’re also investing resources to bring forward our net zero commitment by five years which is very ambitious but very necessary. Our new solar farm and net zero carbon agriculture programme are just two ways we’ll achieve our commitment.”
