With the world needing to transition to a zero-carbon economy, Bidfood, one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers, is proud to be the first UK wholesaler to commit to a science-based net zero carbon target within the ‘Food and Staples Retailing’ category[i]. All in a bid to champion change within the foodservice sector, whilst encouraging suppliers and customers to follow suit, and drive governments to take bolder action.
According to the Global Energy Review, the UK is estimated to have over 33bn tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted in 2021 alone[1]. To support global efforts to take action against climate change and cut carbon emissions, as of this week, Bidfood have joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi[2]) along with more than 1,000 worldwide businesses, who are all now working to reduce their emissions in line with climate science.
Bidfood have committed to a target date of 2045 to achieve their science-based target reduction, and will be focusing heavily on reducing its emissions across not only internal operations, but also working with customers and suppliers in collaboration, to see how together they can reduce their overall carbon footprint. SBTi signatories aim to limit global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with many pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Heather Angus, People and Sustainability Director at Bidfood comments on the commitment,
“For many years at Bidfood, we have measured and managed our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions[ii]. As we continue to drive towards delivering service excellence for our customers whilst putting our planet first, we are really proud and excited to be working alongside Carbon Intelligence to widen our focus and management to include Scope 3, and to develop our carbon reduction plan with an aim to achieve net zero carbon by 2045.”
Julie Owst, Head of Sustainability at Bidfood, adds:
“This is a fantastic step forward for Bidfood; the global food system has a huge part to play in reducing global emissions. The degree of change needed to decarbonise is both huge and daunting, but the alternatives of extreme climate change are even worse. I hope our step forward compels other food organisations to join us.”
For more information on the commitment, please visit https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/20/carbon-emissions-to-soar-in-2021-by-second-highest-rate-in-history
[2] https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action
[i] www.sciencebasedtargets.org
[ii] https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/briefing-what-are-scope-3-emissions