The John Lewis Partnership has become the first retailer in the UK to have its net-zero science-based targets validated by the official body that validates climate targets.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – the gold standard for setting and monitoring corporate climate targets – has validated the Partnership’s target to become net-zero across its own operations by 2035, and wider supply chain by 2050.
The achievement demonstrates the Partnership’s clear commitment to play our part to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement.
The Partnership, which owns John Lewis and Waitrose, is also the first retailer in the world to have validated SBTi science-based targets focused on greenhouse gas emissions originating from ‘forests, land and agriculture’, which make up part of our total emissions footprint alongside the energy used to run our stores and make our products.
The retailer said its forests, land and agriculture targets underpin its Plan for Nature, published last autumn, which commits to a range of initiatives to significantly reduce the impact of its two businesses’ commercial activity on the natural world.
Marija Rompani, director of sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Reaching net-zero by 2050 means transforming our business in every way, from how we design our goods to last, how we and our suppliers power our farms, factories and stores, and how we make it easier for our customers to make more sustainable choices.
“To be the first retailer globally to set forest, land and agriculture science-based targets gives us great pride. It will be the bedrock of our plans to protect and restore nature and tackle the climate crisis over the years to come.”
