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Across the Group, our food and retail businesses depend on agricultural systems for the majority of the raw materials and ingredients required to make our products.
A Jordans Farm Partnership farm in Hampshire, UK
We recognise the importance of managing those agricultural systems responsibly if we are to meet a growing population’s need for safe, nutritious and affordable food and clothing that is great value for money.
We also recognise the interconnectivity between agriculture and climate change, and how efforts to address the risks, opportunities and impacts related to climate change, land use, water, soil health and waste all have an impact on agriculture. Our businesses support a wide range of interventions at the agricultural and farm level, with a focus on more sustainable farm management practices and addressing the most material impacts, risks and opportunities. This includes a number of activities, including certified organic production, engagement with smallholder growers and adoption of farm management systems focused on driving more sustainable farm productivity.
We have a strong association with the UK agricultural sector, and our food businesses are working closely with UK farmers to support more regenerative farming practices for cereals such as wheat and oats. We are a significant purchaser of cotton, sugar beet, sugar cane, tea and cereals, and a number of our businesses are working directly with farmers to identify opportunities within the supply chain to protect and enhance biodiversity.
Our businesses are expected to continuously consider and implement activities, voluntary commitments and internationally recognised management systems that can guide and assist efforts to reduce their environmental and social impacts and risks.
This encompasses our responsible approach to the environment in line with the following requirements as a minimum:
Our businesses support a wide range of agricultural, farm-level social and environmental interventions. These involve a number of farm management models, including standards to promote wildlife biodiversity, engagement with smallholder growers in developing markets, certified organic production, and adoption of farm management systems built on driving more sustainable farm productivity.
A number of the farm management standards supported by our businesses align with the core principles of Integrated Farm Management. These principles incorporate a range of management practices across a number of designated criteria, from the safe handling of agrochemicals and improving soil structure, to water management practices and pollution control. The objective of these is to shape management practices to promote systemic commercial, social and environmental resilience for the long term.
ABF Sugar promotes more sustainable farming practices across both sugar beet and sugar cane production, implementing more regenerative agriculture approaches in some of its operations. It works with growers across its agricultural supply chains to support access to the necessary expertise for successful sugar cultivation, increasing the resilience of its value chain.
Farmers who grow rice for Westmill Foods attend an agricultural training session at a local temple, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
Some of our Grocery businesses source cereals, including wheat, oats and rye, from UK farmers. All the UK wheat sourced by Allied Mills is Red Tractor or TASCC (Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops) assured. Through its partnership with Frontier Agriculture, an ABF joint venture, Allied Mills has delivered a five-year wheat sustainability project with farmers in the south-east of England aimed at improving soil health, supporting biodiversity and reducing GHG emissions through the adoption of more regenerative farming practices. Jordans Cereals sources some of its grains through the Jordans Farm Partnership, which offers farmers a premium for their produce in exchange for their commitment to more sustainable land management practices. Another Grocery business, Westmill, a leading supplier of food products to the Indian, Chinese and Thai foodservice sectors within the UK, aims to promote the standards of the Sustainable Rice Platform, a multi-stakeholder partnership set up by the United Nations Environment Programme, of which Westmill is a founding member. The UN Sustainable Rice Platform Standard, for example, requires alternate wet and dry farm management techniques to reduce water use and GHG emissions in the rice sector.
Primark launched its Primark Cotton Project in 2013 which aims to equip smallholder farmers with essential knowledge and skills to drive the adoption of more sustainable agriculture practices. These practices are intended to reduce the environmental impacts of growing cotton, lower input costs by replacing chemical pesticides with biological alternatives, which results in increased yields and improved farmer profits. In 2025, 57% of the cotton clothing units sold contained cotton that was organic, recycled or sourced from the Primark Cotton Project.
Some of our businesses support the responsible use of precision science and technology to maximise efficiency, reduce GHG emissions and limit biodiversity losses while maintaining commercially productive agricultural outputs. For example, British Sugar is piloting AI and high-resolution camera technology to treat individual plants with pinpoint accuracy and reduce the use of herbicides. To further enhance on-farm biodiversity, it is also piloting pollinator sensors that deliver real-time data to guide spraying decisions and identify opportunities to strengthen pollinator habitats.
To address commodity-specific environmental risks, for example in the supply chains for tea, soy and palm oil, several of our businesses use third-party certifications. Certifications from organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) support responsible sourcing practices and help reduce potential impacts on biodiversity and forests.
Some of our businesses supply a range of products and services to the agricultural sector that facilitate efficient farm management and more regenerative approaches, such as cover cropping to improve soil structure and water retention. AB Agri is the UK’s largest supplier of animal feed and nutrition products to the dairy, poultry and pig sectors, providing a range of technology and consultancy services to promote efficiency.
Supporting customers in achieving more sustainable farm ecosystems has become an essential part of AB Agri’s service offering. Its ‘Farm Footprints’ on-farm carbon footprint assessment service, launched in 2007, helps major international food producers to measure their supply chain emissions. Additionally, AB Agri’s dairy consultancy business, Kite Consulting, provides practical guidance on emissions reduction and nutrient conservation to individual farm operations.
Supporting customers in achieving more sustainable farm ecosystems has become an essential part of AB Agri’s service offering. Its ‘Farm Footprints’ on-farm carbon footprint assessment service, launched in 2007, helps major international food producers to measure their supply chain emissions. Additionally, AB Agri’s dairy consultancy business, Kite Consulting, provides practical guidance on emissions reduction and nutrient conservation to individual farm operations.
Some of our businesses source commodities that are linked with potential risks related to deforestation and biodiversity loss, such as palm oil. ABF has been a member of the RSPO since 2010. We are committed to increasing our use of sustainably sourced palm oil and for 100% of our palm-related ingredients to be sourced through one of the RSPO’s four recognised supply chain models. In calendar year 2024, 10% of the palm-related ingredients sourced by our businesses was certified through segregated RSPO supply chains, while 17% was certified through mass balance RSPO supply chains. The remaining 73% of palm-related ingredients sourced across the Group were covered by RSPO book and claim credits.
AB Agri has committed that all palm oil and soya usage, including derivatives, will be certificated supporting zero deforestation responsible sourcing schemes by the end of 2025 across all geographies, except China, which will be certificated by 2028. Although significant progress has been made by its China business, which sells all its products to the local market, AB Agri acknowledges that the Chinese market presents greater challenges particularly for soya.
In calendar year 2024, 100% palm oil and derivatives were certificated, supporting more sustainable production, using a combination of RSPO book and claim credits and mass balance. As of October 2025, 94% of the soya products AB Agri purchased globally, excluding China, were certificated to schemes meeting the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC) benchmark for responsibly sourced soya, and the plan is to achieve 100% before the end of 2025. Including China, this figure was 83%. AB Agri is an active member of the FEFAC Sustainability Committee, the Agricultural Industries Confederation Sustainability Committee and the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soy, all of which are working on supply chain solutions to achieve more sustainable supply.
Primark’s policy for responsible sourcing of wood and wood-derived products supports its efforts to reduce the risk of deforestation across the supply chain, both for goods for resale, such as wood homeware products, and goods not for resale such as packaging and paper.
In preparation for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), our businesses have been working to identify products in scope of the regulation and ensure the relevant policies, controls, procedures and systems are in place to ensure compliance. This has been supported by guidance and tools to support understanding and effective EUDR due diligence.
At ABF, we believe in the importance of maintaining appropriate animal health and welfare standards, and the Group Animal Health and Welfare Position Statement sets out how we expect our businesses to approach this issue. Within the Group, only AB Agri and DON have direct involvement with the farming of animals. Where the farming of animals is or may become relevant to any of our businesses, or when any of them conduct animal feed trials1, we expect their approach to be governed by policies or procedures which are guided by internationally recognised standards such as the Five Domains Model of animal welfare assessment. Many of our businesses purchase ingredients derived from animals, such as eggs and dairy products, or materials derived from animals, such as leather and wool. We expect our businesses to develop their own appropriate animal health and welfare sourcing standards and requirements in relation to the ingredients and materials they source, and to require their suppliers and representatives to comply with those standards and requirements. For more information, find our Animal Health and Welfare Position Statement here.
The small number of our businesses that purchase eggs are either already sourcing from cage-free hens or have a cage-free commitment in progress. Learn more about our commitment on cage-free eggs.
1.Animal feed trials refers to nutritional evaluation trials with animals, based on what an animal would be expected to experience either in its natural environment or in a typical domestic or farmed situation.
