Lidl: German Grocery Leader Bets on Plant-Based, Promises 20% Sales Share Boost in Scope 3 Push


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German discount retailer Lidl will increase the share of plant-based food sales by 20% across all 31 countries it operates in by the end of the decade, with support from the WWF.

Extending its reputation as a food sustainability pioneer, Lidl International has committed to increasing the proportion of plant-based proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains sold by 20% by 2030.

The retailer is the first to announce such a strategy across all 31 countries it operates in. It supports the Germany-headquartered company’s Conscious Nutrition strategy to offer a food range in line with the Planetary Health Diet, and applies not just to its private-label lineup, but also third-party brands, and standard and promotional ranges.

It’s also an extension of Lidl’s five-year partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which was established last summer and namechecked sustainable diets as one of the pillars. In October, the conservation organisation introduced a methodology to help retailers align their sales with their climate goals, a tool Lidl is using as part of this move.

Lidl centres food strategy around climate goals

lidl plant based
Courtesy: Lidl GB

Lidl has been pushing to ramp up its sustainability efforts over the last year. It recently expanded its reduction targets for scope 3 emissions (which make up over 99% of its climate footprint) – it now aims to lower these by 35% over the next decade, and curb emissions from agriculture, forestry and land use by 42.4%.

Selling a greater amount of plant-based food to replace animal protein sales is the most effective way to do so, given that meat and dairy production alone makes up at least half of the retailer’s scope 3 emissions.

In 2023, the company – which owns the own-label Vemondo range – committed to doubling the share of its plant-based meat and dairy sales by 2030. And over the next year, it marginally increased the proportion of vegan meat sales from 11.1% to 11.8%, and non-dairy products from 6.1% to 6.6%.

Now, it’s vowed to grow plant-based sales by 20% from a 2023 baseline. “For years, we have been developing our product range with a focus on conscious nutrition,” said Stefan Haensel, senior VP of quality and sustainability at Lidl International.

“In the past, we have created a strong foundation for a Conscious Nutrition strategy, which we can now build on to pursue our new, ambitious goals for the future,” he added.

To achieve this goal, Lidl will monitor and report the ratio of animal and plant protein sources to add more sustainable and healthy plant-based sources to its offering. It will rely on the WWF’s methodology, which provides retailers with a stepwise approach to drive the protein transition.

The Swiss organisation has urged supermarkets to set clear targets to rebalance diets in favour of ‘planet-based’ nutrition, recommending targets to achieve a ratio of 60% plant protein sales, as well as an overall sales split of 74% in favour of plant-based foods.

Endorsing the Planetary Health Diet can help supermarkets lower emissions

lidl wwf
Courtesy: WWF

“By prioritising plant-based options, Lidl demonstrates how retailers can drive food system transformation – key to tackling biodiversity and nature loss,” said Mariella Meyer, senior corporate sustainability manager at WWF Switzerland. “Leadership like this, paired with collaboration among experts and stakeholders, is essential to accelerating meaningful change for people and the planet.”

Indeed, Lidl has emerged as a trailblazer in the protein transition, having set protein split targets in seven markets before announcing the international move.

It has also lowered the prices of own-label plant-based meat and dairy to match their conventional counterparts (or even beat them on costs) in Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Moreover, it has positioned these products next to conventional meat and dairy items on shelves as well, which has translated into sales success.

These initiatives carry a lot of weight when you consider the sheer size of Lidl’s operations. The retailer employs over 376,000 employees across 31 countries, and its parent company, the Schwarz Group, is the largest supermarket group outside the US, recording €167B in sales in 2023.

Its leadership comes at a critical time for the sector, which faces an uphill battle to reach its net-zero goals. But with animal proteins responsible for up to a fifth of global emissions, a shift towards more planet-friendly foods is a no-brainer for supermarkets.

It’s also what the Planetary Health Diet is all about. It suggests that meat and dairy should only make up 7% of people’s diets to safeguard public health and combat climate change. Experts have suggested that the diet could help cut agrifood emissions by a sixth globally, while other research puts that number at 29%.

“The Planetary Health Diet offers a solid model that provides actionable recommendations without categorically prohibiting anything,” noted Haensel.

WWF Switzerland’s Meyer also praised the supermarket’s commitment to this diet. Through their partnership, the two entities are not just looking to increase the uptake of sustainable eating patterns, but also create deforestation-free supply chains and reduce food waste.

Author

  • Anay Mridul

    Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma.

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