Co-op is one of the UK’s longest established and best known food retail brands. To meet its CSR goals and mark out the company as a market leader for sustainability, the board had approved a proposal to join the world’s leading companies in adopting a science based carbon target (SBCT) across its Group.

Having committed to the SBCT, Co-op needed to establish a baseline and a plan for meeting the fixed targets up to 2050. The plan needed to keep capital and operational impact to the business to a minimum, in order to maximise the possible level of achievement.

Our data analytics team and asset specialists used complex modelling to forecast carbon emissions from Co-op’s property portfolio to 2050. We defined a strategy for meeting the targets and determined a programme of implementation, which included adopting new technology, engaging stakeholders, educating the supply chain, supporting the procurement process and presenting the business case at board level. We are now providing ongoing scorecard measurement and reporting.

Our strategy for Co-op delivered a target reduction in emissions that went beyond the requirements of the 2˚C Degree Scenario (2DS) and also over-achieved the Beyond 2˚C Degree Scenario (B2DS), meeting the target set out by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to keep global warming below 1.5˚C. The alternative supply chain options we proposed and the new technology we researched, designed and put forward were calculated to achieve a cost-neutral step-change for the specification of new equipment, which would also be futureproof for tightening regulations. Our work earned us a nomination for Co-op Consultant of the Year.