Northern Ireland grocer and retailer launches pilot scheme to support reduction of fresh food suppliers’ carbon emissions

Northern Ireland grocer and retailer Henderson Group has announced a Carbon Accounting Pilot programme that will aid its fresh food suppliers in their mission to understand their carbon footprint and create action plans to reduce carbon emissions.

It is part of the wholesaler and retailer’s ambitious net carbon zero targets, which have been set in line with the British Retail Consortium, alongside those set by the UK government for 2040.

Neal Kelly, category development director at Henderson Group made the announcement during the annual Henderson Wholesale Fresh Supplier Breakfast at the 2024 Balmoral Show, inviting up to five SME suppliers to take advantage of the reduced-cost pilot scheme.

Mr Kelly explained: “As a business, we have made huge strides in recent years on our net zero journey, however working with hundreds of suppliers, especially in the fresh foods sector, we need to ensure they are not left behind on this journey and are as committed to futureproofing their businesses as we are.

“This pilot offers a small number of suppliers to enjoy a below cost carbon accounting service, so that we can better understand whether a broader programme will be useful and feasible for the business and our suppliers.”

Henderson Group has selected Our Carbon as its pilot partner, who will have dedicated resource assigned to the scheme to deliver a baseline set of carbon accounts for the participating suppliers.

Neal says undertaking this kind of carbon accounting can be hugely costly for smaller suppliers, but the benefits will outweigh the costs in the long term.

“Bringing our suppliers and partners along with us on this journey provides a more sustainable future for everyone. This pilot will take a proactive approach to removing emissions and make a positive impact on the environment, our trial partners will save costs through operational efficiency and will futureproof their businesses against climate risk and incoming regulation,” continued Mr Kelly.

“Investment in ESG (environmental, social and governance) is evolving at pace. It is a hugely important area of focus for the next decade and more, and we are committed to ensuring our suppliers are on this journey with us and it is an integral part of their company culture going forward.”

Henderson Group has committed over £2.5m towards sustainability goals for 2024.

Henderson Retail has recently completed the installation of solar panels at 23 of its stores, with a further 19 stores to have arrays fitted in the coming months, which, in totality will see the reduction of the company’s annual electricity consumption by around 320 tonnes of carbon.

Last year, 1,494 solar panels were installed across 75% of the roof of the newest warehouse at the Group’s support office in Mallusk, representing an investment of over £900,000. This year will see that ambition go further, with solar panels fitted on Henderson’s Hyde Park warehouse, servicing Henderson Wholesale’s ambient range of products alongside the refrigerated Henderson Foodservice warehouse.

60 bp pulse Electric Vehicle charging points have now been installed at 26 Henderson Retail SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland. The partnership was announced in 2023, and installation will complete by 2025.