The John Lewis Partnership has become the first retailer in the UK to have its net zero science-based targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the official body for validating climate targets.
Recognised as the gold standard for setting and monitoring corporate climate targets, the SBTi has validated the Partnership’s target to become net zero across its own operations by 2035, and its wider supply chain by 2050.
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 the retail group’s total emissions footprint alongside the energy used to run its stores and make products.
Its forests, land, and agriculture target underpins John Lewis Partnership’s Plan for Nature, published last autumn, which commits to a range of initiatives to significantly reduce the impact of our 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 stories, 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.”
A plan to decarbonise
Work underway to sharply decarbonise at John Lewis Partners includes a move from fossil-fuel vehicles within its own operations by transitioning larger vehicles to run on biomethane and smaller vans on electricity.
Where possible, the retail group will convert from gas boilers that heat its stores to electric-powered heat pumps. It will also procure 100% renewable electricity across all its operations.
Larger Waitrose suppliers will be asked to set their own net zero targets, while the Partnership will be launching integrated energy efficiency insights on online John Lewis products, allowing customers to see – at a glance – how much money they can save by choosing a more efficient product.
Innovating emissions reductions
The Partnership will use its Leckford farm to test and demonstrate to farmers that supply John Lewis and Waitrose how to lock carbon in the soil and move to more sustainable fuel and energy sources, sharing good practice with its suppliers.
The group will support a DEFRA-funded project to breed sheep that create fewer methane emissions. It will also sell more innovative, lower climate impact products such as Nice Rice – a sustainably farmed rice with 42% lower CO2-eq emissions, and stock regeneratively produced products, with Waitrose the sole partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Big Food Redesign Challenge.
Prioritising circularity
Another element to reducing its emissions footprint will be in prioritising circularity in how the Partnership designs products and services, such as offering fashion rental for occasion and childrenswear, or by developing product standards for longevity, recyclability, and use of more sustainable materials.
Simon Winch, environment lead at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Coming up with a set of credible targets for our road to net zero is the culmination of many months of focused work and determined preparation. Validation by SBTi gives us great confidence in the targets and our plans.
“But we know this is only the start. The validation of our science-based targets will turbocharge the change needed in our business to transform how we operate and help ensure that the world remains in sight of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5ºC.”
Luiz Amaral, chief executive officer of the Science Based Targets initiative, said: “Climate science tells us that we need rapid and deep emissions cuts if we are to achieve global net zero and prevent the most damaging effects of climate change.
“The John Lewis Partnership’s net zero targets match the urgency of the climate crisis and set a clear example that their peers must follow.”
