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Greene King aims for net zero by 2040

26 April 2022 By Louis Thomas

Bury St. Edmunds-based brewer and pub group Greene King has pledged to cut their carbon footprint and reach net zero by 2040.

Chief executive Nick Mackenzie has said that responding to the climate crisis was the “responsibility of every one of us and the greatest challenge of our time”. The company has also committed to reducing Scope 1 emissions (direct, such as Greene King-owned vans), as well as Scopes 2 and 3 (indirect, including electricity and shipping) by 50% by 2030 from the 2019 base line.

Greene King will be submitting their results to the Science Based Targets initiative for validation. The target does not just cover their Suffolk brewery, but also the 2,700 pubs owned by the company. Mackenzie did acknowledge that the scale of the challenge of their undertaking would be “a monumental challenge”. However, he continued, “with full support from all of our stakeholders and in close cross-sector collaboration, we will rise to the challenge.”

In addition to taking measures in terms of production, Mackenzie has said that Greene King will be “helping customers to make more environmentally friendly choices”. In October 2021, the government published its “Build Back Greener” net zero strategy which outlines how they intend to reduce emissions across each sector of the economy.

One commitment disclosed in the strategy was to provide farmers with the ability to “adopt new emission saving technologies”. A further government commitment is to “build a globally competitive zero emission vehicle supply chain”. The government is offering £5 billion in funding to facilitate businesses striving for net zero. Given Greene King’s reliance on supplies of East Anglian barley, and an extensive logistical network to supply beer to on and off trade locations, their environmental commitment might be viewed as part of a broader, UK-wide initiative.

db reached out to inquire as to what the precise measures they will be taking to reduce emissions are, and what environmentally conscious choices they will suggest to consumers. Greene King responded by saying that details of their plan will be announced “down the line”.

Greene King is not the first brewing giant to take drastic steps to reduce emissions. Earlier this year, Diageo-owned Guinness announced that they were aiming for 100% of its vehicle fleet to produce zero emissions by 2030.