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Co-op has announced that it will be the first supermarket to sell fully carbon neutral own brand food and drink by 2025.
The move is part of an ambitious 10-point climate plan to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2040.
From products and packaging to power and pension fund investments, the plan details how the supermarket will reduce the direct and indirect impacts of all the food and drink it sells and its wider operations.
The group also reported that it had achieved carbon neutral status across its food, funeralcare, insurance and power businesses, including its 2,600 food stores and 800 funeral homes.
As part of the plan, Co-op will price match its plant-based GRO range against equivalent meat products. It will also make its entire 200-strong home delivery fleet electric, end the use of fossil fuel heating, lower farm agricultural emissions, cut packaging and reduce impacts from soy in animal feed.
The plan sets out targets, endorsed by the Science-based Targets Initiative, to cap global temperature increases and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, which came into force in 2016 and created a global pact of almost 200 countries to tackle climate change.
Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-op food, said: “We are sharing the action we are taking, unveiling a comprehensive plan rooted in science. Emissions from our operations and our own-brand products are where we have the greatest responsibility and can make the biggest difference.
“Now when our members buy Co-op branded products and services we give local causes a helping hand and we’ll be addressing the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis. Funding schemes worldwide to tackle carbon emissions and supporting reforestation in the UK.”
