An Asda supermarket | iStock
Supermarket insists reappraisal of emissions targets will 'not slow our action'
Supermarket chain Asda has scrapped its 2040 climate target, just months after it was validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Asda confirmed the change in its latest sustainability report, which looks at the gains the supermarket chain has made towards its environmental, social, and governance targets over the last calendar year.
The supermarket said the hundreds of new small stores it has rolled out since the start of 2023 meant it would no longer be able to meet its goal of reducing absolute emissions across all scopes by 90 per cent by 2040, a target validated by the SBTi earlier this year.
"The [2040] targets we submitted no longer accurately reflect the size and shape of our carbon footprint and, as such, we're not progressing these targets with the SBTi," the sustainability plan notes. "We are now working to establish SBTi validated targets for the total group. We intend to resubmit new targets for validation once we have completed the integration of data from the acquisition of new sites that now form part of our Asda Express convenience format."
However, the supermarket insisted its decision to ditch its 2040 target did not amount to a rollback of its decarbonisation efforts. "The decision to resubmit our targets to the SBTi does not slow our action," the document states.
The company pointed to its ongoing efforts to decarbonise its operations, including its switching of heavy goods vehicles from diesel to LNG and its broader programme to cut emissions across its supply chain.
Asda said its interim 2030 climate targets, which cover greenhouse gases from forests, land, and agriculture (FLAG) sources in its supply chain, would not be affected by the change to the 2040 target.
Elsewhere, the sustainability strategy notes 52 per cent of Asda's emissions in 2023 came from its products, a category which includes emissions from farming, packaging, and processing. Some 24 per cent of its emissions are generated by customer fuel, 16 per cent from end use of products, four per cent from logistics, and two per cent from emissions from its sites.
The firm's carbon emissions across all scopes were down seven per cent in 2023 on 2022 levels and 15 per cent on 2020 levels, the year it first started carbon reporting.
Asda also confirmed its "highest impact suppliers" were now required to disclose their sustainability progress on sustainability platform EcoVadis.
Elsewhere, the retailer said it would share more information later this year about its plan to develop a net zero transition plan, which will now be shaped by its recent small store acquisition spree.
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