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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 transition 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 greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emission reduction commitments.
Our businesses are addressing the challenge of climate change in four ways:
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.
The 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 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. AB World Foods, also part of Grocery Group, committed to near-term, business-wide emission reductions to 2031 through the 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. Achieving net zero across the Group will depend on our businesses being clear on the part they have to play and where their opportunities to reduce their own carbon emissions lie. It will also depend on a number of factors that are beyond our businesses’ direct control, such as the greening of national grids and suppliers delivering on their own carbon reduction targets.
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. This year our businesses consumed 18,472 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy in our operations, broadly in line with the prior year.
Of this total energy, 60% was derived from renewable sources, predominantly biomass fuels from by-products generated from production processes, representing an increase of 11% compared to last year. Of the renewable energy we generated, 85% came from bagasse, the plant-based fibre that remains after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugar cane. Some renewable energy was also derived from the anaerobic digestion of a range of waste materials.
In 2026 42% of the electricity purchased came from renewable sources, up from 37% 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 2026, 852GWh of energy generated by our sites was exported, an increase of 7% compared to last year, with ABF Sugar contributing 94%.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABF | 20,140 | 20,548 | 20,697 | 18,459 | 18,472 |
| Percentage of total rate | 56% | 59% | 57% | 54% | 60% |
| Imported steam | Natural Gas | Liquid Fuels | Solid fuels | Renewables | Electricity - non-renewable source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWh | 130 | 5,403 | 204 | 728 | 11,100 | 906 |
Our Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions decreased by 14% this year, from 2,410kt to 2,079kt of CO2e. Our Sugar segment is the most significant contributor of Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions within the Group, at 67%. As a result, decreasing the carbon emissions from our Sugar businesses continues to be a priority for the Group.
In 2026, ABF Sugar’s Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions decreased by 20% compared to the previous year, driven mainly by site closures. These emissions were 38% lower compared to the 2018 baseline. The reduction against baseline reflects changes in the operational footprint, ongoing improvements in production efficiency, investment in new technology and fuel switching to lower-emission energy sources.
British Sugar, the largest contributor to the Group’s Scope 1 GHG emissions at 665kt CO2e and 41% of Group, has made significant investment across its sites to reduce GHG emissions. From its 2018 baseline year through to 2026, British Sugar has invested approximately £138m in various initiatives across its sites, contributing to a 35% reduction of Scope 1 GHG emissions and a cumulative reduction of above 166kt of CO2e. At its Bury St Edmunds site new evaporators commissioned in 2025 completed their first full sugar beet campaign in 2026, delivering improved energy efficiency.
At Newark, focus remains on improving reliability through ongoing investment into energy efficiency, steam usage and optimising existing systems.
At Wissington, construction of a new steam drying plant was completed in 2026. The £43m project replaces existing gas-fired animal feed dryers with a steam drying process using steam generated by the site’s Combined Heat and Power (‘CHP’) plant. Once operational, the project is expected to deliver a substantial reduction in Scope 1 GHG emissions while further improving energy efficiency. Looking ahead, British Sugar plans to continue its decarbonisation strategy through further efficiency improvements while exploring alternative fuels and low-carbon technologies.
Our Agriculture, Retail and Ingredients segments have also reduced their Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions compared with last year, by 12%, 2% and 1% respectively. These reductions were driven by energy efficiency projects and increased use of renewable energy in all those segments, as well as lower production volumes in the UK in Agriculture.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 2,144 | 1,973 | 2,061 | 1,891 | 1,634 |
| Scope 2 (market-based) | 641 | 614 | 567 | 519 | 445 |
| Retail | Grocery | Ingredients | Sugar | Agriculture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000 tonnes CO₂e | 46 | 367 | 219 | 1,385 | 62 |
Solar panels on the roof of a Primark supplier factory, Bangladesh
Understanding our Group GHG emissions is an important step towards achieving our ambition to meet net zero by 2050. At a Group level, we continue to support the divisions in the process of calculating their material Scope 3 GHG emissions, which enables us to identify where to focus our priorities and provides our businesses the visibility required to prioritise where they implement reduction activities. Primark has published its Scope 3 GHG emissions from across its value chains and most of the other divisions are in the process of calculating them.
In 2026, Primark reported 4,720kt of CO2e for its Scope 3 emissions, which is a 21% decrease compared with 2025. This represents a 24% decrease compared with 2025. This represents a 24% decrease versus 2019 baseline. These reductions were achieved through a decrease in supplier GHG emissions, improved availability of primary data from supplier factories and greater use of recycled or Primark preferred sources1. The decrease in supplier GHG emissions resulted from increased use of renewable energy, wider industry and supply chain decarbonisation initiatives, continued Primark investments in capacity building and site-specific action plans for supplier decarbonisation.
See our data page for more details on our Scope 3 emissions.
Some of our businesses provide 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, some of ABF Sugar, AB Enzymes and AB Agri products help to facilitate the potential reduction of other businesses’ emissions.
