The Jerónimo Martins Group is the first retailer in Portugal, and one of the first food retailers worldwide, to have its short and long-term goals for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 recognised and validated by the scientific community. This validation covers the Group's operations and value chain, including emissions from forests, land and agriculture activities linked to the products it produces and sells.
Fernando Ventura, the Group's Environment Director, believes that “this scientific validation is recognition of the ambition, robustness and demand of the commitments the Group has voluntarily made and enhances our decarbonisation strategy, which is reflected in the climate transition plan we are currently implementing.”
All the reduction targets, both short and long-term, were set using total 2021 emissions as a basis for comparison.
The short-term reduction commitments, in absolute terms (taking into account the total amount of emissions generated), made for the period between 2025 and 2033, include, among other targets:
- zero deforestation in all primary deforestation-risk commodities (e.g. soy, palm oil, beef and timber/paper);
- a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions generated by operations (scopes 1 and 2);
- a 33% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions generated in the value chain (scope 3);
- a 39% reduction in scope 1 and 3 emissions from forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) management activities.
Also in absolute terms, the long-term reduction commitments – made for the period between 2045 and 2050 – include, among other targets:
- a 90% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions from own operations;
- a 90% reduction in scope 3;
- a 72% reduction in scope 1 and 3 emissions from FLAG activities.
As part of its decarbonisation strategy, the Group is focused on reducing direct and indirect emissions and will neutralise, by 2050, all emissions that, according to SBTi criteria, are considered residual.
The scientific validation of the Jerónimo Martins Group's commitments reinforces the consistency and seriousness of the efforts made by a Group that is, for the fourth year running, the world's best-ranked food retailer across all CDP programmes and is included in more than 130 international sustainability indices.
To learn more about the initiatives Jerónimo Martins is implementing to achieve its decarbonisation strategy, see the Group's Climate Transition Plan.
About the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi):
The Science Based Targets initiative is an organisation that mobilises companies and financial institutions around the world to do their part in fighting climate change. It develops standards, tools and guidance which allows companies to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets in line with what is needed to keep global warming below 1.5˚C and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.