Carbon Performance
Food Producers
Cristóbal Budnevich Portales, Valentin Jahn, Simon Dietz and Ali Amin
This report presents and analyses the results from applying our new Carbon Performance methodology to the world’s 26 largest publicly listed food producers, with a combined market capitalisation of approximately US$930 billion. The TPI Centre’s Carbon Performance methodology allows for a comparison of food producers’ historical and forward-looking emissions pathways based on emissions targets, with three low-carbon benchmark pathways corresponding to the Paris Agreement goals (1.5°C, Below 2°C and 2°C).
Key findings and recommendations:
- Of the 26 food producers assessed, only seven have reported sufficient data to enable the assessment of their historical emissions intensities and emissions reduction targets on a comparable basis. The 73% of companies classified as ‘no or unsuitable disclosure’ is the highest proportion within any sector assessed by the TPI Centre during the 2023 cycle.
- Most of the food producers assessed (24 out of 26) have set an emissions reduction target. Among the 26 companies, 22 medium- and 16 long-term targets have been set.
- No food producer is aligned with the 1.5°C benchmark throughout the three assessed timeframes, i.e. in the short (2025), medium (2035) and long term (2050). No company aligns with 1.5°C in the short term; only one (Nestlé) aligns in the medium term; and two (Ajinomoto and Nestlé) align in the long term.
- Besides setting more ambitious emissions targets, a key recommendation of this report is that food producers must improve the disclosure of Scope 3 emissions and purchased agricultural inputs. This will allow more food producers to be assessed against the TPI Carbon Performance methodology and inform investors’ engagement and decision-making.
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