The John Lewis Partnership will reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 at the latest, without purchasing offsets, in line with the pathway set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to limit global warming to 1.5C. The Partnership will initially focus on making significant emissions reductions in the vital period of the next 10 years to decarbonize its operations as much as possible as quickly as possible.
By 2028, the company will remove a third of carbon from its operations through a significant investment in new refrigeration technology, biomethane trucks, electric vans and renewable electricity. This is expected to result in CO2 savings equivalent to removing 16,000 petrol cars off the road every year. The new targets build on significant emissions reductions already achieved, including a 70% reduction in emissions achieved last year against a 2010 baseline – two years before the 2020 deadline the company had set itself.
To reduce transport emissions, which contribute over 40% of its overall carbon footprint, the Partnership has set an ambitious target of zero carbon fleet by 2045. It has already started rolling out new biomethane heavy trucks, which emit over 80% less CO2 than standard diesel alternatives, and aims to switch its entire fleet of over 3,200 vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. The heavy trucks will be switched to biomethane by 2028 and it has started electrifying its fleet of vans used for home deliveries. In addition to zero-emission deliveries, the company is working on encouraging sustainable travel across the business and to its locations.
Benet Northcote, Partner & Director of Corporate Responsibility at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We recognize that urgent action is needed to keep global warming below 1.5C to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate breakdown, and we are responding with our most ambitious set of targets yet, aiming to decarbonize as much as we can in the next 10 years and setting out a clear path to becoming a net zero operation. It’s of paramount importance to us as a co-owned business to ensure the Partnership is prepared for the future. We are now only one generation away from 2050 and we are committed to playing our part in transitioning to a zero carbon future.”
Source: John Lewis Partnership
