Replace Animals with Plants: How Supermarkets Can Save Money and Hit Climate Targets


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Rebalancing protein offerings to support plant-based diets can help supermarkets reach their climate goals quickly and inexpensively.

A plant-rich food system, more sustainable agricultural practices, and low food waste are the most cost-effective pathways for retailers to meet their emissions targets, a new analysis has found.

Green consultancy Quantis and climate advocacy group Madre Brava looked at 27 separate interventions in these three strategic areas, and selected a mix of nine measures that can help supermarkets in Germany save money in pursuit of their climate goals.

By far, the most impactful strategy is for retailers to replace 30% of their meat and dairy offerings with plant-based alternatives, which use less land, water and resources, and can be sourced at a lower cost.

The Biggest Bang for the Buck report assessed the scope 3 forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) emissions for 64% of German food retail, and revealed that the sector needs to reduce emissions by nearly 74% to meet their targets under the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) by 2030.

“The Big Four – Edeka, Rewe, Lidl and Aldi – account for 75% of the market in our country. Shifts from these retailers will have a huge impact on the sector’s emissions as a whole, and help drive our food system towards greater sustainability,” said Florian Wall, a senior associate for Madre Brava in Germany.

“Our analysis is good news for them. It gives them the clearest picture yet of how to meet their emissions reduction targets and the basket of measures we have selected will not only allow them to reduce emissions but also save money,” he added.

Why a plant protein transition is the best climate measure

plant based supermarkets
Courtesy: Madre Brava

The report looked at two plant-rich food scenarios. The first, an accelerated pathway, assumed a linear continuation of the trend of meat reduction in Germany, with the decline slightly accelerating to a 15% reduction by 2030 (for both meat and milk).

The transformative scenario, meanwhile, doubles the pace of that shift, assuming an “ambitious yet realistic” 30% decrease in meat and milk consumption by 2030, compared to 2023 levels.

For both pathways, the consumption was offset by a 1:1 increase in plant-based alternatives. In both cases, the shift to a plant-forward food system was the “most impactful single intervention” in the retail climate playbook, while bringing more cost savings than any other intervention.

The transformative pathway was found to slash emissions by 16 million tonnes, representing two-thirds of the FLAG target under the SBTi. It would also save €156 per tonne of CO2e, totalling €2.5B in cost reductions.

net zero supermarket
Courtesy: Madre Brava

But rebalancing protein alone won’t be enough to achieve the sector’s climate goals. Supporting farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices is another important measure. The report analysed 18 interventions for livestock and crop production, from crop protection products, reduced and varied fertiliser use, and heat street management, to enhanced animal health, electrifying farm machinery, and nitrification inhibitors.

When all 18 measures are combined, the emissions reduction potential comes to 17 million tonnes of CO2e, at a cost of just under €1.4B.

The third lever of change is food waste and loss, specifically from the meat and milk sectors. Germany threw away 11 million tonnes of food in 2021, but the report only shows limited potential for impact here.

“Consumer education, integrated demand and inventory management promise higher impact in a cost-efficient way, whereas interventions such as new packaging technologies could support at an elevated marginal cost,” it states, outlining that across seven measures to cut food waste, only 340,000 tonnes of emissions are saved, with a cost of €27.2M.

Promote plant proteins with price parity and placement

The nine most effective interventions Madre Brava selected form a “cost-optimum basket” that can help Germany’s supermarkets deliver on their FLAG emissions targets. This basket can cut emissions by 24.4 million tonnes, leading to financial savings of around €2.5B.

These interventions are crucial, too. Meat and dairy alone make up nearly half (47%) of all scope 3 emissions of a food retailer. And with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive now making it mandatory for supermarkets to publish annual sustainability reports, “strong, plausible and realistic climate transition plans” are critical to meet these requirements and avoid investor scrutiny.

The German government itself plans to reach net zero by 2045, and the new national dietary guidelines encourage a shift away from meat and dairy, recommending that plant-based foods make up at least 75% of citizens’ diets.

supermarket scope 3 emissions
Courtesy: Madre Brava

In any case, retailers are eager to lower emissions to make their supply chains and business models more climate-resilient, the report says. And leaders like Lidl are already making big moves to rebalance their protein offerings, pricing plant-based meat and dairy on par with their conventional counterparts, and pledging to increase its ratio of plant protein sales.

To accelerate their climate efforts, retailers must set and prioritise a protein transition strategy, given its benefits for both emissions cuts and cost savings. Setting protein split targets – as Lidl has done – is also a key action, Madre Brava said.

“The food retail sector should also support consumers to adopt plant-rich diets through enabling measures such as price parity, promotions, and placement of alternative products next to animal products,” the report noted, outlining how these strategies have driven greater sales of plant protein for retailers.

Improving agricultural practices holds long-term potential too, but requires substantial investment. “For fast adoption of effective measures, food retailers must support farmers financially and clearly commit to specific interventions. By doing so, they will not only align with global climate goals but also enhance the resilience and competitiveness of the agrifood system in Germany,” it added.

“Food retail must also drive further improvements in the reduction of food loss and waste by fostering supply chain innovation, educating consumers, and integrating efficient inventory management.”

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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