Branston gains international validation on net-zero goals

Branston's ambitious net-zero goals have been recognised by a pioneering organisation that supports businesses around the world to tackle the climate crisis.

The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a corporate climate action strategy that enables companies and financial institutions to develop standards, tools and guidance in leading the way to a net-zero economy.

This week, it has approved Branston’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, which encompasses the company’s near-term within the next 5-10 years, net-zero, and forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) targets. This showcases Branston’s alignment with SBTi's rigorous net-zero standard criteria and near-term target criteria and recommendations.

Jim Windle, CEO of Branston, said: “As a leading produce and added value food business in the UK it is important to us that our ambitious climate targets have been validated by the SBTi. This ensures that our approach is robust, credible, transparent and aligned with acknowledged climate science. These targets represent a key step to developing a thorough climate strategy across all business sectors.”

Branston has committed to reaching overall net zero emissions across the value chain by 2050, with a near term target of 60% in Scope 1 & 2 emissions and 58.8% in scope 3 by 2033. Branston has also committed to an accelerated ambition target of 90% by 2035 for Scope 1 & 2 and for 90% for Scope 3 by 2050, all from a base year of 2021.

Branston’s progress towards net zero includes enhanced energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy. It has nine photovoltaic (PV) systems across its three sites, which generate around 1.3 GWh energy annually as well as an anaerobic digestion plant that supplies 20% of the Lincoln site’s energy from waste potatoes unfit for human consumption.

Jim added: “Our team has already stepped up to the climate challenge and shown fantastic ingenuity when it comes to making the entire potato supply chain more environmentally friendly – from the field to shop shelves. By closely monitoring our outputs and consistently researching new opportunities for us to integrate better practices, we’re making great progress. There is of course plenty more to be done but with the backing of the SBTi and a clear pathway to get there, we look forward to working with our customers and suppliers in achieving these goals.”

Most recently, Branston has reviewed the opportunities for alternative fuels and is trialling an electric truck within its Scotland fleet and installing electric vehicle charges for staff at all sites. Extensive smart energy monitoring systems are also used to monitor electricity use on all major pieces of equipment to better understand and observe their energy use.

In Scope 3, Branston has been working with growers, the agri-tech community and universities to take carbon out of potato production. This includes low carbon fertilisers, reduced cultivations, alternative farm fuels and novel cold store design – part of a trial that is entering its third year. They’ve been working closely with B-hive Innovations, an agri-tech company which is dedicated to developing high-tech solutions to some of the fresh produce industry’s more complex problems, with a major focus on carbon reduction throughout the supply chain.