Fighting climate change is one of the priorities defined in our Environmental Policy. The commitments and actions we have taken and implemented in this regard are disclosed in our Climate Transition Plan, available on our website, and in the “Sustainability Commitments”.
In 2024, our short- and long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets were validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), making us the first food retail company with the head-office in Portugal to have its short-term and carbon neutrality targets recognised by the initiative. Our objectives are as follows:
Short term
- by 2033, reduce our scopes 1 and 2 emissions (energy and manufacturing) by 55%, compared to 2021.
- by 2033, reduce our scope 3 emissions (energy and manufacturing) by 33%, compared to 2021.
- by 2033, reduce our forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 39%, compared to 2021.
Carbon neutrality
- by 2045, reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions (energy and manufacturing) by 90%, compared to 2021.
- by 2050, reduce our scope 3 emissions (energy and manufacturing) by 90%, compared to 2021.
- by 2050, reduce our forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 72%, compared to 2021.
- by 2050, neutralise residual GHG emissions through projects that meet strict eligibility criteria, in line with international best practices.
These reduction targets ensure that we are aligned with the EU 2030 emissions reduction targets and with the science-based pathways for compliance with the Paris Agreement.
We have set ourselves the following intermediate targets to be achieved by 2026:
- reduce the Group’s scopes 1 and 2 emissions, in absolute terms, by at least 10%, compared to 2021.
- reduce carbon emissions from transporting goods to stores by 5% (in tonnes of CO2e per pallet transported), compared to 2021.
By the end of 2024, we had reduced GHG emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 19% compared to 2021, meeting and exceeding the target. With regard to carbon emissions associated with goods transport, in 2024 we reduced emissions by 6.1% compared to 2021, above the 5% target set.
The pursuit of our commitments is underpinned by continuous investment, with execution cycles aligned with the business plan, through which we promote the adoption of carbon-reduction technologies that will enable us to transition our activities to a low-carbon economy. The majority of this expenditure is allocated to the acquisition of goods and services from economic activities related to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. More detailed information is provided in “Our actions to reduce carbon emissions”.
Although the Taxonomy does not yet include them as eligible activities – and as such does not define technical screening criteria for these technologies – reducing refrigerant leaks, particularly of high global warming potential (GWP), in our heating, ventilation, air conditioning and industrial cooling equipment are important to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2024, emissions from this type of equipment accounted for around 15% of our scope 1 and 2 emissions. Since 2015 that we have a Group-wide plan to replace high GWP refrigerants with natural refrigerants (e.g. carbon dioxide, ammonia or propane) or those with low GWP (e.g. R1234ze), as detailed in “Our actions to reduce carbon emissions”.
Along with managing the refrigerants in such equipment, we implemented other energy efficiency measures that are not yet considered in the Climate Delegated Act, but which also make an important contribution towards achieving the European Commission’s targets, namely:
- installation of equipment with improved energy performance (e.g. fridges and freezers with doors and lids that prevent energy loss);
- sale of products and packages with sustainability certification, which guarantees the implementation of good agricultural and production practices and/or those not linked to deforestation or the conversion of high conservation value ecosystems;
- the work we have carried out with our suppliers to promote sustainable agricultural practices and to eradicate deforestation in our supply chains1.
1 According to the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains, it is estimated that deforestation is responsible for around 11% of total global carbon emissions and that around half of these are linked to agricultural production.