Associated British Foods plc – Annual report – 16 September 2023
Industry: food and drink, retail
RESPONSIBILITY (extract)
Carbon and climate
As a Group, we recognise that climate change represents a material risk throughout our supply chains and poses challenges to some of our businesses worldwide. However, we also recognise that climate change and the transition to a lower-carbon world presents opportunities.
We wholly support policies that are aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below 2˚C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5˚C.
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 targets. In line with our devolved business model, our businesses set plans and targets that are appropriate to their operations and supply chains. Our businesses are all committed to cutting GHG emissions and several of our businesses have set specific reduction targets.
ABF Sugar, Primark, Twinings Ovaltine and UK Grocery have each set a specific emissions reduction target. Primark has set a target in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (‘SBTi’), while ABF Sugar is in the process of validating their reduction target against the SBTi. We expect this to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Achieving net zero across ABF by 2050 will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control. However, based on our track record and progress against our plans so far, we are confident in our ability to deliver on this objective.
Reducing GHG emissions
Our businesses are targeting reductions in GHG emissions through carbon reduction plans, energy efficiency and growing their use of renewable energy. ABF Sugar and Primark have transition plans in place.
Energy efficiency has long been a driver of better performance for our Group, and we remain focused on finding ways to produce more from less energy. Much of our electricity is purchased from third-party power generation companies via national grids, and our businesses understand the benefits of transitioning to renewable energy tariffs for their purchased electricity. Many are doing so as soon as it becomes operationally and commercially feasible. In 2022/23, 29% of the electricity we bought came from renewable sources, which is a 62% increase in the amount of purchased renewable electricity compared with last year.
Several of our businesses are also contributing to decarbonisation by exporting renewable energy, contributing 909 gigawatt hours (GWh) this year to national grids.
This year our businesses consumed 21,183 GWhΔ of energy which is a 1% increase compared with last year. Of this total consumed, 58%Δ was derived from renewable sources. These are predominantly biomass fuels from by-products generated as part of the production process within our agricultural based businesses. In the main, the renewable energy we generate comes from bagasse, the renewable plant-based fibrous residue that remains after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugar cane. Some renewable energy is derived from the anaerobic digestion of a range of waste materials.
Our Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) emissions decreased by 6% this year from 3.11 million tonnes of CO2e to 2.91 million tonnes of CO2e Δ. This decrease has been driven primarily by a reduction in imported electricity and a change in the fuels used on-site.
In compliance with UK reporting requirements, we have provided in the table on the following page our UK energy and GHG emissions data. The principal energy efficiency measures undertaken this year to reduce our carbon emissions include a large-scale project to replace fluorescent lighting with LED lighting across stores in eight of Primark’s markets; embedding the use of energy monitoring systems; and upgrades to production machinery such as evaporators, pulp presses and boilers to improve efficiencies across our UK businesses.
For more examples of energy efficiency actions, see our Responsibility Report 2023.
Many of our businesses are in the process of calculating their wider Scope 3 emissions, focusing initially on their supply chains. Primark completed this process in 2021 and is currently implementing plans to support its suppliers and partners to reduce their GHG emissions in line with its reduction target. ABF Sugar completed this year a project to calculate its Scope 3 emissions and it is also in the process of validating its Scope 3 reduction target with the SBTi.
Primark reports 7.02 million tonnes of CO2e Δ this year for their full Scope 3 emissions. For the rest of the Group, we currently report emissions from third-party transport for which we are responsible. These equate to 655,545 tonnes of CO2e Δ which is a 3% increase compared with last year. This increase has been driven primarily by third-party transport emissions from our Retail and Sugar segments.
Our total Scope 3 emissions, which include Primark’s Scope 3 emissions and Group third-party transport emissions increased by 8% from 7.09 million tonnes of CO2e to 7.67 million tonnes of CO2e Δ. This is largely due to Primark’s continued increase in trading activity during the year and expansion into new markets, resulting in increased materials and products brought into the business. Our businesses have started to collect their third-party transport data to align with the internationally recognised GHG Protocol.
For more information please see our Responsibility Report 2023.
Providing products that help others reduce their GHG emissions
We provide products and services that have the potential to assist others in reducing their carbon emissions, often referred to as carbon enablement. This has always been integral to our businesses, and a key focus for investment and innovation. ABF businesses including ABF Sugar, AB Enzymes and AB Agri play a role in facilitating the potential reduction of other businesses’ emissions. For example they do this by creating products which have environmental benefits for the end user.
For more information please see our Responsibility Report 2023.
Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) (page 56)
Accounts examples 