How Morrisons has cut its farming emissions by 20 per cent on journey to net zero

The fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK, which announced at last July’s Great Yorkshire Show its collaboration with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture to support its farmers on the journey to net zero, collects annual emissions data from its farmers through a detailed survey.

Lily Spencer-Brown, livestock development manager for Morrison’s Myton Food Group, which was named after Myton on Swale, near Boroughbridge, where the supermarket chain’s late founder, Sir Ken Morrison lived, said cut in emissions was most welcome.

She said: “We are really chuffed with our progress, although we’re not resting on our laurels yet.

"We’ve still got an ambitious target, but it’s nice to see that we’re making progress and getting buy in from our supply chain.”

Morrisons said one of the major benefits for participating farmers is the one-to-one sessions they receive with experts from organisations such as Map of Ag and Harper Adams University.

The sessions are designed to help them interpret their emissions footprint and develop practical plans for improvement. Farmers also receive a £100 Morrisons voucher for each year they take part.

The Sustainable Farm Network also provides access to wider knowledge exchange, ensuring that farmers not only contribute data, but gain insight, tools, and tangible benefits in return.

Ms Spencer-Brown said: “Our mantra on this is making sure that we are bringing the farmer along the journey with us and making sure that they understand every bit of the way and also to understand how they can get the most out of this information.”

In addition to emissions data, Morrisons also works with Downforce Technologies to capture carbon sequestration information, providing a fuller picture of each farm’s environmental performance.

Morrisons said it was also planning to offer farmers the chance to examine wider opportunities arising from their sustainability efforts, such as accessing green finance, carbon credits and market recognition.

However, Ms Spencer-Brown said farmer engagement and data sharing represented ongoing hurdles, especially in the current political and economic climate.

She said: “Data sharing is something that can be a bit of a sticky wicket in terms of making sure that farmers are happy for us to get hold of that data and obviously use it for the footprint.

"I think there is also a growing awareness that their data is worth more and more money in terms of looking at these emission surveys.”