The food retail sector can and must play its part in tackling climate change and reversing the loss of nature, says WWF UK chair Sir Dave Lewis

As the COP26 climate summit ended in Glasgow, the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C was thankfully still firmly on the table – but the path to get there remains uncertain. There is still so much more to do to avoid catastrophic and irreversible further harm to our world.

Despite this, it was encouraging to see the summit’s recognition of nature’s critical role in achieving climate targets and the recommendation to include nature in national climate plans.

“By the end of this decade, our supermarket shelves could carry a greater choice of foods that protect the environment through farming in a way that preserves and restores nature”

The climate and nature crises are two sides of the same coin. We cannot turn the climate crisis around and keep 1.5°C  alive unless rapid and deep emissions cuts go hand in hand with the protection and restoration of nature.

To do that, every sector must play its part – but those who have the greatest impact must lead the way. This is where the food sector has not just an opportunity, but an unavoidable responsibility to step up its efforts.

The food we produce and buy is responsible for 60% of global nature loss. Food production accounts for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions – nearly 19-times that of the commercial airline industry. 

We have less than a decade to turn things around, so urgent action is needed now if we stand any chance of getting there.

Blueprint for retail and beyond

In my column ahead of COP26, I highlighted how the UK can show global leadership and help to drive change in reducing the food sector’s climate emissions and environmental footprint.

WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature, launched at COP26, tackles these issues head-on and sets out a blueprint for how the UK food retail sector can halve its environmental impact by 2030.

The Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have signed the commitment, which will help millions of UK families make their weekly shop greener and, at the same time, protect vital landscapes and species around the world.

An important WWF requirement for these supermarkets coming on board was that they adopted science-based targets to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In signing the commitment, they are agreeing to take action across seven areas, from packaging and waste to deforestation and climate, with overall sector progress tracked and measured by WWF.

“The food sector can look back on this decade as the one in which it played a leading role in saving our one shared home – or the one in which its inaction contributed to nature’s destruction”

By the end of this decade, that could mean our supermarket shelves carry a greater choice of foods that protect the environment through farming in a way that preserves and restores nature.

It could mean there are no longer products on the shelves contributing to deforestation in some of the world’s most fragile and valuable ecosystems.

It could mean there are fish available from areas where nature is thriving, not depleted.

It could mean there is less food waste in supply chains and in our homes.

And these retailers will have slashed their emissions across their business, their supply chain and for their customers.

Only the beginning

The grocers who signed the commitment collectively reach more than 50% of UK food shoppers. It is an impressive first move, but it is only that. To succeed, everyone in the food retail sector must play their part.

This – like all the other commitments made in Glasgow – must be the start, not the finish.

As we move forward from COP26, we urge other food retail chief executives to sign the Retailers’ Commitment for Nature to ensure the sector can deliver what is needed at pace and at scale.

However, that is not enough on its own. The rest of the UK food sector – from major brands and manufacturers to suppliers and commodity traders – must urgently address their own environmental impact.

The food sector can look back on this decade as the one in which it played a leading role in saving our one shared home – or the one in which its inaction contributed to nature’s destruction.

Future generations will not forget those who stepped up and will not forgive those who did not.