Leading supermarkets are failing to address the methane pollution in their supply chains, a new report has found, putting their own climate pledges at risk.

The study from environmental non-profits Changing Markets Foundation and Mighty Earth analysed the climate plans of the U.S and Europe’s top-grossing supermarkets, including the UK’s Tesco and Sainsbury’s, U.S. retail giant Walmart, and German chains Lidl and Asda.

The meat and dairy sector is responsible for around a third of atmospheric methane and accounts for a third of all supermarket emissions. Scientists say the highly potent greenhouse gas – 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period – must be slashed by 40-45 percent by 2030 to meet climate goals.

Despite this urgency, Thursday’s analysis identified an overwhelming lack of action to tackle the powerful climate-heating gas. None of the retailers analysed had a target in place to reduce methane, or to report on how much of the greenhouse gas they are responsible for through the products they sell.

Only five of the supermarkets surveyed had plans to boost sales of plant-based proteins, despite eating less meat and dairy being a key recommendation of climate scientists who say it’s crucial to meeting climate goals. And just six had concrete plans to reduce their overall supply chain emissions.

The report calls on all the retailers to set an ambitious target for reducing methane by at least 30 percent by 2030, echoing the aims of the Global Methane Pledge, a voluntary framework led by the EU and U.S., and agreed by world leaders in 2021.

Maddy Haughton-Boakes, senior campaigner at the Changing Markets Foundation, said methane emissions were a “major blindspot” for supermarkets.

“Cutting methane this decade is our emergency brake on runaway global heating, yet retailers are barely pressing it,” she said.

‘No Real Leaders’

The report looked at top performing supermarkets in the U.S. and Europe – based on their yearly revenue, volume of grocery sales and dominance in the meat and dairy retail market. 

These supermarket chains were then assessed on their ability to tackle methane against 18 indicators, including on set targets, reported emissions, and plans to scale up plant-based alternatives to animal-sourced food.

Not one of the 20 retailers had plans to reduce – or even report on – their methane emissions.

The highest scoring retailer – Tesco – scored 51 out of 100 in the assessment. Germany’s Schwarz Group – the world’s fourth largest retailer – was in second place with just 35 points. 

The average score across all indicators amongst retailers was 20 out of a possible 100 – a rating the authors said indicated a “dismal lack of action and major room for improvement”.

Two supermarkets – the U.S chain Albertsons and Spain’s Mercadona, scored no points at all.
All the U.S “big four” supermarkets – including retail titan Walmart and Albersons, as well as Costco and Kroger – were in the bottom half.

The lack of reporting and target-setting puts retailers behind other companies in their methane ambitions. 

European dairy giant Danone set a precedent for large food firms for introducing a methane reduction goal in 2023. Other dairy companies, including French multinational cheese marketer Bel Group, and the U.S subsidiary of French dairy company Lactalis, are also now reporting on their emissions.

Gemma Hoskins, global methane lead at Mighty Earth, accused supermarkets of “ignoring the methane problem in their meat and dairy aisles”.

“Retailers are uniquely positioned to urgently drive down agricultural methane emissions in their supply chains,” she said. “That starts with being honest about the impact of the products they sell and working harder and faster to reduce that impact.”

More Action Needed 

The report identifies an apparent “disconnect” between retailers’ ambitious climate promises and action.

Nearly half (nine) of the retailers analysed had set net zero targets. This included the UK’s Tesco, which has said it is aiming to meet net zero emissions across its supply chain by 2050.

Eleven supermarket chains acknowledged that emissions from animal agriculture significantly drive climate change, and several – including Casino and Tesco – suggested increasing sales of plant-based foods could help reduce climate impacts.

However, these pledges were not accompanied by real-world actions to reduce emissions.

Only six retailers had set targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions as part of their climate commitments. This category of emissions – which includes the transport, production and distribution of food – make up an estimated 93 percent of supermarkets’ overall climate footprints.  

The report called on supermarkets to ensure net zero targets were accompanied by real reductions in Scope 3. Retailers should introduce a “comprehensive plan” on how to reduce emissions from across their value chain, the report argued, including time-bound near and long term targets for reductions in greenhouse gases.

“Given the sheer scale of meat and dairy emissions, retailers cannot credibly meet their net zero targets without tackling methane,” Hoskins of Mighty Earth told DeSmog. “Increasing plant-based products and reducing methane emissions from meat and dairy must be a core strategy for every supermarket.”

Plant-based Transition 

Most retailers had no plans to increase sales of plant-based products, the report found.

Just five of the retailers surveyed – Tesco, Asda, Carrefour, Schwarz Group, and Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize – have set measurable targets for increasing alternative protein sales globally.

This is despite the world’s leading climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), calling for wealthier consumers to transition to more plant-based diets to tackle harmful greenhouse gas emissions. 

In a 2024 analysis, the non-profit Madre Brava and the consultancy firm Profundo found a 50 percent shift to plant-based proteins by six leading food retailers alone could also save emissions equivalent to removing 25 million petrol and diesel cars from the EU.

A shift to plant-based proteins also has considerable health benefits. Scientific assessments have shown Europeans eat twice as much meat as is recommended by the “healthy diet basket” – a metric used by the UN as a benchmark for ideal nutritional intake.

In a landmark report last year, the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that diets high in processed meats – which are linked to cancer, heart diseases and other non-communicable diseases – are responsible for 117,290 deaths across Europe.

A study published in December found that even processed plant-based products – such as veggie burgers – still offer substantial environmental, health, and nutritional benefits compared to animal products, though these are even greater for unprocessed alternative proteins.

Changing Markets and Mighty Earth argued that supermarkets should take heed of the recommendations of the EAT-Lancet, a major 2019 scientific commission into climate-friendly diets, and aim to sell 60 percent plant-based protein products versus 40 percent animal-based proteins by 2030.

Food retailers should roll out attractive own-brand plant-based ranges across their stores, the authors recommended, and shift marketing and store front efforts to promote healthy alternative proteins such as legumes and tofu over animal-based foods.