In 2020, the ALDI SOUTH Group became one of the first international food retailers to set company-wide science-based targets (SBTs) for climate protection, aiming to reduce operational emissions by 26% by 2025 compared to a 2016 baseline. We are well on our way to achieving this target and are working to reduce our emissions even further.
The ALDI SOUTH Group has set itself ambitious climate targets that will help reduce global warming to well below two degrees Celsius in the long term. This has been confirmed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which took a close look at our climate targets and validated them according to scientific criteria.
What is the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)?
The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies' targets.
Reducing our operational emissions
In 2020, the ALDI SOUTH Group set a science-based target to reduce the Scope 1+2 emissions from its own operations by 26% by 2025 compared to a base year of 2016. From an initial operational footprint of 1,201,337 tonnes of CO2e in Scope 1, 2 and Scope 3 (including external logistics between our distribution centres and stores) from over 5,600 stores, we have reduced this figure to 439,872 tonnes of CO2e while simultaneously increasing our store base to 7,100 in 2022.
In 2022, the ALDI SOUTH Group overachieved its absolute target by reducing its Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 63% (base year: 2016). When including external logistics providers, who provide a significant proportion of transport between our Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) and stores, the reduction of the total operational emissions is 46%.
Reducing our supply chain emissions
Carbon emissions resulting from our corporate value chain are known as Scope 3 emissions. In total, approximately 99% of our total greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to our business value chain.
Since 2021, we have conducted annual supplier surveys on climate commitment to monitor our suppliers’ progress in setting climate targets and to identify those requiring support in our climate protection journey. This year’s results show that our strategic suppliers, responsible for 26% of our product-related emissions (2021: 22%), have set a target in line with the Science Based Targets initiative criteria or are committed to setting one within the next two years.
This year, we have again conducted a comprehensive Scope 3 emissions inventory, which will serve as the basis for the development of the Zero Carbon Roadmap in the future. For this updated baseline, we have identified ten Scope 3 categories under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol that are most relevant to the ALDI SOUTH Group. This will allow us to pinpoint the most impactful emission areas and implement effective reduction measures as we strive to reduce Scope 3 emissions further.
Monitoring our climate progress and taking next steps
In December 2023, we submitted new science-based near-term and long-term targets, which are currently being validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
To track our progress towards carbon neutrality, we annually calculate our company's carbon footprint for all business processes and locations, following the guidelines of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
