Bakery suppliers have announced the latest progress on their sustainability goals with Délifrance and Bakkavor Group joining The Compleat Food Group in having their net zero targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Following the launch of its inaugural CSR report earlier this year, Délifrance’s decarbonisation objectives achieved SBTi certification for its 2030 objectives, which include a 42% reduction in GHG emissions for scopes 1 and 2 as well as 29% reduction in GHG emissions for scope 3. It has also set an ‘ambitious goal’ of non-deforestation on its main potentially-affected raw materials by the end of 2025.
Délifrance – manufacturer of a wide range of bread, viennoiserie, pâtisserie, and savoury products for foodservice providers, bakers, and retailers – said these emission reduction targets were aligned with those of its parent company, French cooperative group Vivescia. They are also consistent with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it added.
“Achieving SBTi certification reflects our deep commitment to sustainability and the validation of our efforts to integrate environmental responsibility into our core business strategy,” commented Nathalie Genebes, global CSR director at Délifrance.
Bakkavor is also heralding the SBTi approval of its targets as an ‘important milestone’ on its path to reaching net zero, which it previously said was aiming to achieve by 2040 across all operations.
The own label food-to-go giant has unveiled the exact same emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 as Délifrance, although this also includes Scope 3 emissions associated with purchased goods and services.
Bakkavor has already reduced operational emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 23.3% compared to its 2021 baseline through upgrades in energy efficiency and refrigeration projects, the latter of which had been boosted by a £13.3m finance deal from HSBC three years ago. “Our Group strategy is underpinned by a commitment to operational excellence and this culture of continuous improvement is contributing to the significant reduction in emissions across our sites,” said Bakkavor CFO Ben Waldron.
Lastly, The Compleat Food Group has published its first ever Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, highlighting key achievements over the past year that reaffirm its commitment to sustainable food production.
Among these was the introduction of full life cycle analysis of its entire range of branded lines, which come under the likes of Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, Squeaky Bean, and Unearthed. By identifying environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, Compleat will look to use the data to reformulate existing products and improve their sustainability credentials.
Significant strides were also made by the company towards its goal of scaling social value tenfold within the next decade. It marked its one millionth donated meal to food redistribution charity FareShare, while raising more than £150,000 for local charities such as youth sports teams and scout groups. This follows the group’s £1 million fundraising effort in 2022 for international charity Action Against Hunger.
Compleat already had its decarbonisation targets validated by the SBTi last December, with the ambition of becoming a net zero business by 2035 for its own operations and 2040 for its value chain.
“As one of UK’s fastest growing chilled food companies, our success, and future achievements, are inextricably linked to our approach to ESG,” asserted David Moore, head of ESG at The Compleat Food Group. “This is why we’re passionate about building a strong and resilient company that delivers sustainability hand-in-hand with financial growth.”
The full ESG Report can be downloaded via Compleat’s website.
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