Achieving Net Zero within the Food and Drink Industry

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, the world needs to stop global temperatures from rising above 1.5°C and achieve Net Zero emissions by the mid-century (Paris Agreement). The UK government has legislated for the country to be Net Zero by 2050, but it’s not just governments that are setting out plans to become Net Zero. The UK’s trade and industry bodies are setting their own Net Zero targets and providing support to their members in achieving them.

The food and drink industry, for instance, has recognised the important role it has to play in achieving Net Zero, as food systems contribute around one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, the food and drink industry is a vital part of the nation’s £120 billion ‘farm to fork’ food chain. The food and drink manufacturing industry is also the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, contributing £29 billion to the economy annually and employing over 440,000 people.

In 2021, the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) announced that, on behalf of the sector, it had set an ambitious target for the industry to reach Net Zero by 2040, a whole decade before the UK government’s target. In order to achieve this ambitious target, the industry is aware that it needs to accelerate the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with any unavoidable emissions negated through certified high-quality carbon offsets.

As part of the FDF’s net zero commitments for the industry, it has produced a handbook for the food and drink sector that sets out guidance for manufacturers to achieve net zero emissions.

Breakdown of emissions in the food and drink sector

The handbook sets out the current emissions of the industry and declares the global food system to be a major contributor to climate change, contributing 25% to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Broken down further, these emissions come from:

• Farming (10–12%); 
• Land use change, including deforestation (8-10%) 
• Food supply chain activities – such as transport and manufacturing (5–10%)

In 2019, the UK’s food and drink sector was responsible for 158 million tonnes of carbon, equating to around 22% of the UK’s carbon footprint.

The roadblocks to Net Zero for the food and drink sector

The FDF’s handbook emphasises the point that, as the graph shows above, food and drink manufacturers only account for approximately 6% of emissions within the sector. These emissions will predominantly come from each manufacturer’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The rest of the sector’s emissions in relation to manufacturers are associated with Scope 3 emissions from their value chain.

This is the greatest challenge manufacturers have when working towards Net Zero, as the burden doesn’t sit with each manufacturer’s own emissions but with their wider value chain, and achieving Net Zero requires action at every stage of the value chain.

The handbook breaks down the value chain into five areas: 

• Ingredients and imports – combined equate to 66% of the UK’s share of sector emissions.
• Packaging – 3% of shared sector emissions
• Manufacturing – 6% of shared sector emissions
• Distribution and storage – 5% of shared sector emissions
• Customers and consumers – 20% of shared sector emissions

Ingredients and imports comprise almost 66% of emissions from the UK food and drink sector. The emissions associated with ingredients vary, but those with the highest emissions tend to be animal products and imported ingredients linked to deforestation. One of the biggest challenges for this area is the need to release agricultural land to allow for carbon removal. According to Climate Change Committee forecasts, around 9% of the UK’s agricultural land needs to be made available for carbon removals by 2035, with 21% needed by 2050.

Although only 3% of the shared emissions, packaging is increasingly coming under scrutiny, particularly from consumers. A balance is needed to reduce excess packaging and waste while still protecting and preserving food and drink.

Food and drink manufacturing emits about 9.3 million tonnes of emissions per year, most of which relate to the consumption of electricity and fossil fuels. Although total emissions have halved from these sources since 1990 there is still a way to go to reach Net Zero. The biggest challenge manufacturers will have is consuming less energy while maintaining operational efficiency.

Distribution and storage equates to 5% of shared emissions, and 92% of these emissions are from road transport, mainly HGVs. The handbook states that as HGVs are unlikely to be fully decarbonised before 2030 the short-term focus should be on efficiency measures, such as electrified refrigeration in vehicles.

The last area relating to shared sector emissions is customers and consumers at 20%. This is in relation to retail and hospitality, and these emissions come from cooking, space heating, lighting, refrigeration and food waste. As well as consumer emissions from household refrigeration, food preparation and cooking and even transport to stores.

How can food and drink manufacturers achieve net zero?

When looking at reducing their emissions, manufacturers must improve energy efficiency, decarbonise heat processes, source 100% renewable electricity, and switch to sustainable refrigerants.

But it doesn’t end there for manufacturers as they play an important role in addressing emissions elsewhere in the value chain in order to achieve Net Zero. To support manufacturers, the FDF’s handbook details each area and provides actions that manufacturers can take to build a strong Net Zero plan. A summary of each action is below but full details can be found in the Achieving Net Zero: A Handbook For The Food And Drink Sector.

Ingredients

Packaging

Manufacturing

Distribution & storage

Customers & consumers

Achieving Net Zero by 2040 will require the transformation of the UK food and drink sector. However, the FDF believes that with concerted action, the rapid decarbonisation the industry needs for Net Zero is not only possible but will also build a resilient sector that continues to meet the needs of UK food and drink consumers.

For food and drink manufacturers looking to start their journey to Net Zero, Businesswise Solutions is ready to guide you through the process and help you maximise your sustainability and energy efficiency commitments. 

Businesswise Solutions is a Professional Affiliate Member of the Food & Drink Federation.