We act responsibility and proactively throughout the entire value chain to minimise the carbon footprint of our activities. Among other actions, we endeavour to reduce our energy and water consumption and encourage our suppliers to follow good agricultural practices and make a commitment to fight deforestation.
In 2020, we began implementing TCFD recommendations to enhance the identification and quantification of financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change. In 2022 we deepened this work with our Private Brand and perishables suppliers to increase the resilience of the supply chain and assess business opportunities. In 2023, the focus was on identifying mitigation and adaptation measures implemented by suppliers of the main commodities, such as coffee, fruit and vegetables.
Our carbon footprint (scopes 1 and 2) increased by 6,9% in 2023 compared to 2022, mainly due to the growth of our operations in Colombia and Poland, and to an increase in energy and fuel consumption. The specific value of scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 11.7% compared to 2022, as a result of increased efficiency in our operations.
The target of reducing scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by at least 40% per 1,000 euros of sales by the end of 2023 compared to 2017 has been exceeded, with a total reduction of 60%.
The 24.2% reduction in our carbon footprint in absolute terms and compared to 2017, confirms the effectiveness of this strategy.
In 2023, we disclosed the CO2e emissions associated with all scope 3 categories.
By being committed to efficient resource management, we can optimise our consumption and implement initiatives to fight climate change.
In the projects for building and remodelling our infrastructures, we strive to implement renewable energy production systems, energy control and management systems, and efficient cooling and lighting technologies. We also invest in water-saving systems, such as flow regulators, taps with timers, and rainwater harvesting for irrigation systems and to wash equipment.
Between 2017 and 2023, we invested 384 million euros to implement these projects, an amount that helped us avoid the emission of 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
The water and energy consumption management teams have successfully implemented a programme to raise awareness among employees at Pingo Doce and Recheio stores, resulting in a reduction in water consumption of 508,000 m3 and in electricity consumption of 87 million kWh between 2011 and 2023. This led to accumulated savings of 10.7 million euros.
Biedronka launched its “Good energy” initiative, a project aimed at raising awareness among store employees and which includes the development of a good practice handbook to save energy, interactive training for all store employees, the provision of an energy monitoring report, and the creation of a dedicated chatbot to facilitate daily store operations.
The Let’s Go Green project aims at encouraging employees to adopt good practices in the use of energy, water and paper and to recycle. Launched in 2015 for office buildings in Portugal, the project has since been implemented at the head offices of Biedronka and Ara.
We invest in renewable energy systems, such as passive underground cooling/heating, the use of solar collectors for heating water, lamp posts fed by photovoltaic panels, and photovoltaic panels for self-consumption at our infrastructures. In 2023, the investment in renewable energy resulted in the production of around 124,000 GJ, 138% more than in 2022.
Since July 2018, the electricity purchased and required for our operations in Portugal has come from renewable sources. In 2023, 45% of the energy consumed by the Group came from renewable sources.
Biedronka increased the number of establishments with solar photovoltaic energy production units from 118 to 728 in 2023. By the end of 2024, 1,500 establishments are expected to have solar photovoltaic energy production.
In an activity such as distribution, in which logistics processes are decisive, we seek to reduce the environmental impacts associated with transporting the products we sell at our stores.
The backhauling programme includes a return route from the stores to our distribution centres to collect goods from our suppliers. Between 2011 and 2023, we avoided approximately 165 million km in journeys travel and the emission of 150,000 tonnes of CO2e with this programme. In 2023 alone, we saved around 145,000 km and avoided 129 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
In Colombia, the project to transport non-palletised goods between our suppliers’ facilities and our distribution centres helped shave off 613,000 km in 2023 (the equivalent of 1,003 tonnes of CO2e). Ara has extended its by-truck project, which uses trailers to transport goods between distribution centres and the most distant stores, to all the regions where it operates, thus avoiding 2 million km and the emission of 1,63 thousand tonnes of CO2e in 2023.
Cold chains and air conditioning play a vital role in the quality, safety and preservation of food products, and is essential in fighting food waste. We follow two strategies to reduce carbon emissions linked to the refrigerants used in these systems:
We also highlight our:
Data on carbon footprint, water use (including water withdrawal, reclaimed water and discharges) and energy consumption, and the respective variations were confirmed by an external and independent entity for the Group’s 2023 Annual Report.
