Food Emissions 50 launched to boost transparency around climate goals

Ceres launched a new effort today with an aim to engage 50 of the highest-emitting publicly-traded food and agriculture companies in North America, with hopes of accelerating the transition to a net zero emissions future in the global food and agriculture sector. 

Coordinated by Ceres, Food Emissions 50 will involve institutional investors from around the world who claim to be committed to driving the transparent corporate climate action necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement goal, to limit global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 °C. 

As part of the launch, Ceres published an investor statement of support and the list of the 50 focus companies that it aims to engage with, as part of Food Emissions 50. Investor signatories to the initiative will seek commitments from the companies’ boards and senior management to disclose greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain and set science-based emission reduction targets aligned with 1.5 °C, develop and disclose climate transition plans for reducing emissions in line with what is needed to limit warming to 1.5 °C, and implement the actions identified in those plans and disclose progress.

The analysis suggests most of the 50 food sector companies are lagging in key areas necessary to increase the ambition of their climate transition action plans as it found 70 percent of the 50 companies do not disclose emissions from agriculture, and over 80 percent from land use change. In addition, more than 60 percent do not include any scope 3 emissions in their emission reduction targets. 

Food Emissions 50 builds on the work of Climate Action 100+, the Global Investor Engagement on Meat Sourcing, and other engagement initiatives, and sets focus on an expanded list of companies and deeper engagements with the value and supply chains of those companies – to address scope 3 emissions.

Ceres says Food Emissions 50 is part of a larger effort to decarbonise six of the highest-emitting sectors that contribute to almost 80 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.