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We are focusing on taking action today, in line with our ambition of achieving net zero by 2050 or sooner.
A British Sugar engineer inspecting an evaporator at our factory in Wissington, UK
As a Group, we have an ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 or sooner. Beyond that broad ambition, we do not set groupwide climate-related plans or commitments. In line with our devolved business model, our businesses set plans and commitments appropriate to their operations and supply chains. Several of our businesses have set their own GHG emission reduction commitments.
ABF Sugar, Primark and Twinings Ovaltine each have specific public commitments for reducing their GHG emissions. The reduction targets for these businesses have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), ensuring they align with the latest climate science. ABF Sugar, Primark and Twinings Ovaltine have published transition plans detailing their strategies for achieving these goals. Achieving our ambition of net zero across the Group will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control, however, we will aim to deliver on this objective in our businesses while balancing environmental and financial impacts.
Grocery Group UK businesses are signatories to the UK Food and Drink Pact, which outlines an ambitious set of industry-wide targets aligned to the 1.5°C pathway and a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. These businesses have committed to reduce emissions by 50% across Scope 1, 2, and 3 by 2030 against a 2015 baseline, in line with the UK Food and Drink Pact commitment. In 2025, AB World Foods, also part of Grocery Group, committed to near-term, business-wide emission reductions to 2031 through the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), aligned to the 1.5°C pathway.
As climate-related disclosure expectations continue to evolve, our businesses are also preparing to meet emerging regulatory requirements alongside our Group-level TCFD statement. This includes mandatory reporting under Australia’s new Climate-Related Financial Disclosure regime, which came into effect on 1 January 2025.
Achieving net zero across the Group will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control, however, we will do our upmost to deliver on this objective.
Our businesses are addressing the challenge of climate change in four ways:
We regularly review our methodologies for assessing our carbon footprint, including calculations and estimations where relevant. To ensure we align with the latest protocols, we use the best data available and continually work to improve the accuracy of our reporting.
We remain focused on energy efficiency and transitioning to renewable energy where viable. In 2025 our businesses consumed 18,459 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy in our operations, which is an 11% decrease compared with last year, largely due to lower production volumes in Sugar and increased efficiencies in our factories.
Of this total energy, 54% was derived from renewable sources, predominantly biomass fuels from by-products generated from production processes. Of the renewable energy we generate, 84% comes from bagasse, the plant-based fibre that remains after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugar cane. Some renewable energy is also derived from the anaerobic digestion of a range of waste materials.
In 2025 37% of the electricity we bought came from renewable sources, up from 31% last year, with the majority coming from the UK and European renewable energy markets. Some of our businesses also generate and use renewable electricity from site-based solar panels.
Several of our businesses export surplus energy back into national grids. During 2025, 795 GWh of energy generated by our sites was exported, with ABF Sugar contributing 95%.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABF | 20808 | 20140 | 20548 | 20697 | 18459 |
| Percentage of total rate | 57% | 56% | 59% | 57% | 54% |
| Imported steam | Natural Gas | Liquid Fuels | Solid fuels | Renewables | Electricity - non-renewable source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWh | 476 | 6055 | 252 | 691 | 9955 | 1031 |
Our Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions decreased by 8% this year, from 2,627kt to 2,410kt of CO₂e. Our Sugar segment is the most significant contributor of Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions within the Group, at 72%. As a result, decreasing the carbon emissions from our Sugar businesses continues to be a priority for the Group.
In 2025, Sugar’s Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions decreased by 9% compared to the previous year and by 23% against their 2018 baseline by continuously improving how efficiently it produces sugar, investing in new technology, innovating to use less energy and fuel-switching to lower-emission sources.
British Sugar, the largest contributor to the Group’s Scope 1 GHG emissions at 715kt CO₂e and 38% of Group, has made significant investment across its sites to reduce GHG emissions. From its 2018 baseline year through to 2025, British Sugar has invested approximately £134m in various initiatives, resulting in a cumulative reduction of above 160 kt of CO₂e. Key initiatives include the energy reduction scheme at its Wissington site, which reduced its annual steam usage by 25%, the recent installation of the Cantley site’s new combined heat and power (CHP) plant, and ongoing improvements in pulp pressing processes across multiple sites. Additionally, British Sugar is improving factory performance and efficiency by upgrading heaters, evaporators and dryers to save energy and reduce coal and gas consumption. In 2025, British Sugar eliminated coal usage in its CHP plants and animal feed combustion operations through fuel switching investments. These efforts have contributed substantially to reducing Scope 1 emissions.
Looking ahead, British Sugar plans to continue its decarbonisation strategy through projects which include a new diffusion heating configuration and evaporator station optimisation at Newark, an animal feed steam drying plant at Wissington and resin separation plant improvements.
Our Retail and Grocery segments have also reduced their Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions compared with last year, by 39% and 9% respectively. These reductions were driven by reduced energy consumption and increased use of renewable energy sources.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 2085 | 2144 | 1973 | 2061 | 1891 |
| Scope 2 (market-based) | 694 | 641 | 614 | 567 | 519 |
| Retail | Grocery | Ingredients | Sugar | Agriculture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000 tonnes CO₂e | 47 | 349 | 221 | 1724 | 71 |
Solar panels on the roof of a Primark supplier factory, Bangladesh
Understanding our Group GHG emissions will be an important step towards achieving our ambition to meet net zero by 2050. At a Group level, we are supporting the divisions in the process of calculating their material Scope 3 GHG emissions, which will help us identify where to focus our priorities. Most of our divisions have either published or are in the process of calculating their Scope 3 GHG emissions from across their value chains.
Primark first completed this process in 2021 and in 2025 reported 5,993kt of CO₂e for its Scope 3 emissions, which is a 3% decrease compared with 2024. This represents a 4% decrease against its 2019 baseline. These reductions were achieved through investments in its Environmental Sustainability team, in supplier factory efficiency programmes aimed at supporting GHG emission reductions through targeted training, upskilling, and energy-saving projects and the increased use of primary data. Primark also supports suppliers in switching to renewable energy and requires its key suppliers to set their own carbon reduction targets.
See our data page for more details on our Scope 3 emissions.
Our businesses provide some products and services that have the potential to assist others in reducing their carbon emissions, often referred to as carbon enablement. This is a key focus for investment and innovation. In particular, ABF Sugar, AB Enzymes and AB Agri help to facilitate the potential reduction of other businesses’ emissions.
* Numbers prior to 2025 have been restated to reflect the disposal of AB Sugar China, disposed of in 2024. The adjustment ensures comparability and accuracy in reporting the groups continuing operations
