LIDL GB BECOMES FIRST DISCOUNT SUPERMARKET TO COMMIT TO WORK WITH WWF TO HALVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AVERAGE UK SHOPPING BASKET

• Lidl GB has become the first discount supermarket to sign WWF's Retailers' Commitment for Nature, joining Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose in cross-sector sustainability push
• 60% of UK food retail market is now aligned to WWF's target to halve environmental impact of UK baskets by 2030
• WWF urges all retailers to step up to WWF Basket ambition, and says tackling UK food sector's climate and nature impact is "essential step" for food security

06 March 2023: WWF has announced that Lidl GB has become the first discounter to sign WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature – an agreement to work with WWF to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket by 2030. 

Lidl, the UK’s sixth largest supermarket, joins Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, meaning 60% of the UK retail grocery market is now committed to working with WWF towards this target. 

With the global food sector driving 60% of deforestation and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, WWF is working with supermarkets across the UK to address their environmental impacts in seven key areas which make up the WWF Basket: climate, deforestation and conversion of habitat, agricultural production, marine, diets, food waste and packaging. 

As well as setting science-based net-zero targets aligned with 1.5 degrees across all scopes, Lidl has also confirmed alignment to WWF's more recent joint retailers’ climate action focused on reducing supply chain emissions.

Tanya Steele, Chief Executive at WWF, said:

“Our food system is placing an unbearable toll on the planet: it’s driving climate chaos and fuelling the destruction of nature in the UK and overseas, undermining our resilience and putting our future at risk.  

“Tackling the food system’s excessive environmental impact, while continuing to produce healthy and affordable food, is a huge challenge. But driving change from farm to fork and across supply chains that span the globe is an essential step for our food security.  

“We welcome Lidl’s decision to join Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose in working with WWF to help bring our world back to life, before it’s too late – now we need to see a clear focus on delivery. Success will require all hands on deck – we urge all UK retailers to step up and commit to the WWF Basket target and accelerate action year on year.”  

Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB said:

“As the first UK discounter to work with WWF on this, we’re continuing to demonstrate that affordability and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.  

“Sustainability has been core to the Lidl business model for many years.  We firmly believe it is our responsibility, through innovation, investment, and active leadership, to build a better future – for our business, our agri suppliers, the people we interact with and our planet.

“By signing up to the WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature, we are joining an important movement to make the UK food system more sustainable and build on the momentum of existing initiatives we have in place.”

Data submitted for the inaugural WWF Basket report, What’s in Store for Our Planet: The Impact of UK Shopping Baskets on Climate & Nature, set a baseline for progress, but also showed the size of gap that must be closed if retailers are to meet WWF’s 2030 target. 

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Notes to Editors:

• Assets available here.
• WWF’s 2023 Retailers’ Commitment for Nature, signed by Lidl GB, is available here.

• WWF’s 2021 Retailers’ Commitment for Nature, signed by Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose is available here,
• WWF’s 2022 Retailers’ Commitment for Nature: Climate Action, signed by Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, is available here.
• The WWF Basket ‘Outcomes and Measures’ are available here. This sets out a range of outcomes and measures for each of the seven WWF Basket focus areas which signatory retailers commit to report against. 
• The WWF Basket ‘Blueprint for Action’ is available here.
• The first WWF Basket report, “What’s in Store for Our Planet” (published November 2022), is available here. This report included data submitted by 9 UK retailers, five of whom were signatories to WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature at the time the data was submitted.
• The ambition to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket was originally set out through the WWF Tesco partnership in 2018.

Additional information from Lidl GB

• Lidl’s latest commitment builds on varying initiatives already in place to support its aim of making good food accessible to everyone. In 2022 Lidl committed to increasing the environmental standards of its entire British fresh produce supplier base through the LEAF Marque environmental assurance scheme. The supermarket is also committed to sourcing 100% of high-risk raw materials within its product ranges from verified sustainable source by 2025 and has already achieved this across wood & timber, palm oil, tea, cocoa and bananas.  

About WWF

WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, active in nearly 100 countries. 

Our supporters – more than five million of them – are helping us to restore nature and to tackle the main causes of nature’s decline, particularly the food system and climate change. We’re working to ensure a world with thriving habitats and species, and to change hearts and minds so it becomes unacceptable to overuse our planet’s resources.  

WWF. For your world. 

For wildlife, for people, for nature. 

Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk

About Lidl GB

Since establishing itself in Great Britain in 1994, Lidl GB has experienced continuous growth and today has over 28,000 employees, over 935 stores and 13 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales. As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. The supermarket, which has more than 360,000 employees globally, currently operates approximately 12,000 stores and more than 200 warehouses and distribution centres in 31 countries.

The supermarket takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout Great Britain, from Kirkwall to the Isle of Wight. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company's daily operations, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its responsibility for people, society, and the environment. Lidl GB is passionate about working with British producers and sources two thirds of its products from British suppliers.

The Schwarz Group, which operates worldwide as a retail group, generated a turnover of €133.6 billion in the financial year 2021.

For more information about Lidl GB visit https://corporate.lidl.co.uk/