Five big supermarkets to halve environmental impact of weekly food shop by 2030

Published

3 years ago

November 6, 2021

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The UK’s five biggest supermarkets will try to halve the environmental impact of a weekly food shop by the end of the decade.

It is the latest climate promise made during the COP26 summit in Glasgow, and it comes as the UK announces it will lead 45 governments in moving towards more sustainable ways of farming.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Co-op and M&S will work with the World Wide Fund for Nature to halve:

• The amount of global warming that shopping baskets cause

• The forests that are cut down to fill the baskets

• The impact of the agriculture and seafood in baskets

• The food waste and packaging they produce

They also promised targets to help keep global warming below 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.

In a joint statement, the supermarket bosses said: “As CEOs of leading UK food retailers, we recognise that a future without nature is a future without food. By 2030 we need to halt the loss of nature.”

WWF chief executive Tanya Steele said: “Food production is one of the biggest threats to our planet and we will only tackle the climate and nature emergency if food retailers play their part.”

It comes as 45 governments set out their plans to transform agriculture and food systems while reducing emissions, protecting nature, securing food, and safeguarding jobs.

Their commitment will include:

• Leveraging more than $4bn (£3bn) of new public sector investment into agricultural innovation such as climate-resilient crops and ways to improve soil health, making these available to farmers around the world

• Supporting “action agendas” which set out how governments, farmers and others can make food systems sustainable

• The UK will launch a £500m package to protect five million hectares of rainforest from deforestation

• The UK’s funding will create thousands of “green jobs” in rainforest regions and generate £1bn of private sector investment to tackle climate change around the world

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “There needs to be a fair and just transition that protects the livelihoods and food security of millions of people worldwide – with farmers, indigenous people and local communities playing a central role in these plans.”

Anna Jones, head of forests and food at Greenpeace UK, said the plans did not go far enough, adding: “Efforts to address supply chains are limited to little more than a talking shop around terms of trade for agricultural commodities.

“And there’s nothing on the need to reduce demand for products like meat and dairy that are driving deforestation – a real red flag for cash going straight into the pockets of the big ag companies that caused the nature crisis in the first place.”

Matt Williams, climate and land programme lead at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Many farmers have come to Glasgow to talk about what they’re already doing to cut their climate impact, and to ask for a seat at the table.

“Consumers are increasingly vocal about imported food that’s connected to deforestation overseas, and governments and companies are hearing this message.

“These government pledges to change how they incentivise farmers, and supermarket promises to cut their impact, can serve up a result that’s good for people, nature, and the climate.”

The UK will also announce new spending from the £3bn fund for nature, including:

• Nearly £25m out of the £150m from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Mobilising Finance for Forests programme to develop sustainable supply chains in tropical countries

• Over £38m for a new research to address the climate crisis and protect nature while advancing gender equality, poverty reduction, and food and nutrition security

• Up to £40m to establish the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate. This will address critical research gaps in how the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity can deliver climate solutions and improve livelihoods in developing countries

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Business

IMF upgrades UK growth forecast but issues fresh warning on national insurance cuts and debt

Published

26 mins ago

May 21, 2024

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IMF upgrades UK growth forecast but issues fresh warning on national insurance cuts and debt

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the UK economy is heading for a “soft landing” but reiterated its message to Jeremy Hunt that he should not have cut national insurance at the last two fiscal events.

In its annual check-up on the state of Britain’s economy, the Washington-based Fund also warned of a black hole in the public finances, with £30bn of spending cuts or tax rises needed to stabilise the national debt.

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The fund raised its forecast for gross domestic product growth this year from 0.5% to 0.7%, saying: “The UK economy is approaching a soft landing, with a recovery in growth expected in 2024, strengthening in 2025.”

It now expects inflation to come down to close to 2% in the coming months, and the Bank of England to cut interest rates by as much as three-quarters of a percent this year, and then another percentage point next year.

The chancellor welcomed the fund’s article IV report, saying: “Today’s report clearly shows that independent international economists agree that the UK economy has turned a corner and is on course for a soft landing.

“The IMF have upgraded our growth for this year and forecast we will grow faster than any other large European country over the next six years – so it is time to shake off some of the unjustified pessimism about our prospects.”

However, the IMF – which has warned the government explicitly in the past not to cut taxes too fast in the face of rising spending projections in future – said that the two 2p national insurance contribution (NIC) cuts at the last two fiscal events were a mistake.

“In light of the medium-term fiscal challenge,” the report said. “Staff would have recommended against the NIC rate cuts, given their significant cost.”

The fund’s staff also believe that the government is not on track to meet its main fiscal rule, which commits it to cutting the national debt in five years time.

It believes net debt will carry on rising towards 97% of GDP in the following years, instead of falling back to 93% of GDP, as the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast.

The fund’s double-edged report comes amid improving news for the UK.

Data released two weeks ago showed the country ended its short-lived recession with faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter of the year.

The Office for National Statistics is also expected to announce tomorrow that inflation dropped down close to the Bank of England’s 2% target in April.

That may enable the Bank to begin cutting interest rates from their 5.25% level in June or August.

The fund’s report contained a number of other recommendations for economic policy in the UK, including that the Bank of England should commit to more press conferences to explain its decisions, and that the government should consider imposing road charges to replace the revenue lost from fuel duty as electric cars become more predominant on UK roads.

Business

Superdry plots emergency sale process if creditors block rescue plan

Published

4 hours ago

May 21, 2024

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Superdry plots emergency sale process if creditors block rescue plan

Superdry is preparing to run an emergency four-week sale process if creditors block its founder’s plans to inject up to £10m of his own money into the fashion chain in a bid to stave off insolvency.

Sky News has learnt that the accelerated M&A process would be launched if a restructuring plan is not approved by creditors in the coming weeks.

Under the proposed survival plan, Julian Dunkerton would stump up either £8m in an open offer available to other shareholders or £10m in a placing that would only be accessible to him.

The share sale would precede Superdry’s delisting from the London Stock Exchange.

The restructuring plan would need to be approved by creditors, including landlords, in the coming weeks.

According to a document circulated to creditors in recent days and seen by Sky News, rejection of the restructuring plan would be followed by a four-week sale process for Superdry, with the likely outcome of a pre-pack administration deal.

Sources said that Mr Dunkerton’s willingness to inject such a substantial chunk of his own fortune into the company reflected his confidence in the company’s turnaround prospects.

Superdry’s shares have slumped to a series of record lows in recent months amid dire trading and a failed sale process.

Last month, Sky News revealed that M&G, the asset manager which owns Superdry’s flagship store in central London, was weighing a challenge to its rescue plan.

M&G is believed to have been alarmed by the absence of their participation in a mechanism to allow creditors to benefit from any future recovery in the retailer’s performance.

The restructuring plan will not entail immediate shop closures but will impose sizeable rent cuts on landlords of dozens of Superdry outlets.

Sources said the firm is also planning to pull out of a number of overseas markets, including the US.

On Tuesday morning, shares in the company were trading at around 6.7p, giving the indebted company a market capitalisation of less than £7m.

It recently agreed an increased borrowing capacity with Hilco Capital, one of its existing lenders, while it also owes tens of millions of pounds to Bantry Bay.

Mr Dunkerton, who in 2019 returned to the company having previously been ousted, owns just under 30% of the shares.

In recent months, Superdry has raised cash by offloading its brand in regions including India and Asia-Pacific.

Superdry declined to comment.

Business

South West Water: Surge in profits for parent company of utility responsible for fixing contaminated supply in Devon

Published

5 hours ago

May 21, 2024

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South West Water: Surge in profits for parent company of utility responsible for fixing contaminated supply in Devon

The parent company of South West Water has insisted it is focused on returning safe water supply to Brixham in Devon as it announced an 8.6% increase in underlying operating profits to £166.3m.

Around 17,000 households in the Brixham area have been told to boil their drinking water since last week following an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis which left hundreds of people ill.

The condition, which can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea, is caused by a water-born parasite, and South West Water has said it was most likely triggered by animal faeces entering a damaged pipe.

Pennon Group, the listed company which owns South West Water, Bournemouth Water and Bristol Water, said normal service had been returned to 85% of customers as it announced its annual financial results.

“Whilst the results we are announcing today are based on our performance for the last financial year, we are 100% focused on returning a safe water supply to the people and businesses in and around Brixham,” said Susan Davy, the group chief executive.

“Normal service has returned for 85% of customers, but we won’t stop until the local drinking water is returned to the quality all our customers expect and deserve. Our absolute priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers and our operational teams are working tirelessly around the clock to deliver this.”

The company also revealed it is paying out about £3.5m in compensation to customers affected by the parasite outbreak in Devon.

‘Robust’ results – but firm defends money for shareholders

Describing financial results which include a 10% increase in revenues to more than £907m as “robust”, Ms Davy said dividend payments to shareholders, increasing by 3.8% to 44.37 pence per share, had been reduced to cover the cost of a £2.4m fine for multiple pollution incidents.

“At a time when media, public and regulatory scrutiny is high, it is important we do what is right for all. In the context of the wider group performance, we have carefully considered Ofwat’s new dividend guidance for water businesses. We have… adjusted the final dividend quantum by £2.4m, equivalent to the South West Water Court fine in 2023/24, signalling we are listening, clearing the way for long-term shareholder value.”

Pennon Group’s net debt rose by 10% to £5.18bn, a debt ratio of more than 63%, and capital expenditure rose by almost 80% to £642.4m.

Water companies are currently negotiating with regulator Ofwat over their spending and revenue plans for the next five years, and South West Water has proposed a 20% increase in customer bills.