Making our planet safer
We pledge to become a carbon neutral, zero waste business.
Playing our full part
The planet is facing a climate emergency and we acknowledge our responsibility to do everything we can to reduce our environmental impact.
Our plan is practical and ambitious: we’re switching to renewables, electrifying where we can, cutting our energy use, and partnering with the suppliers who make the biggest difference on our footprint. We are also finding better, more efficient versions of the things we buy, from the equipment we use in our shops, to the packaging that a customer takes our products home in. The work we are doing to achieve our net zero ambition is embedded in how the Company runs, tracked using science-based targets, and overseen by the Greggs Board.
We will be a net zero carbon business
Our Net Zero Taskforce is challenging the climate impact of every area of our operations and driving action to reduce it. We aim to be Net Zero by 2040 - a decade earlier than the UK government's plan.
The Greggs Pledge
Download our 2025 report (published April 2026)
Our original Greggs Pledge was created in 2021 with a clear set of goals that we wanted to achieve by 2025. In the five years since then, we have hit almost all the targets we set ourselves, so we have reviewed these original ten commitments and set ourselves new ambitions to work towards in the five years ahead.
Net Zero carbon
Pledge 4: By the end of 2030, we will be net zero for our Scope 2 emissions whilst maintaining our trajectory for all three Scopes by 2040.
The climate emergency requires swift, radical action so we have set up a Net Zero Steering Group to challenge the climate impact of every area of our operations and drive action to reduce it.
Our carbon footprint
We started thinking about carbon back in 2010 and, by 2015, had reduced the carbon intensity of our business by around a quarter. Since then, we’ve held the Carbon Trust Standard in recognition of our ongoing efforts to reduce carbon from our own operations.
Electricity use makes up around 60% of our footprint, so reducing its impact was a priority. We now only purchase green electricity from the grid and, where we rent our properties, are in discussions with the building owners to switch their electricity supplier to a carbon neutral source too.
Gas is more challenging as green gas is less widely available but we are determined to either stop using it or switch to biogas. For instance, as we refit shops, we’re switching over to electric systems for heating and water.
Around a quarter of our direct carbon footprint is caused by our delivery and vehicle fleet. We aim to move to a net zero fleet by 2035 and, in the meantime, are making our logistics as efficient as possible, by training our drivers to use fuel efficiently and looking for ways to do things.
The final 7% of our direct footprint is caused by the refrigerants we use in our refrigeration plants and to cool our shops and sites. We are working with our refrigeration suppliers to explore how we can replace high GHG refrigeration gases, and, when we need to replace old freezers, are swapping them for a new model which is significantly more carbon efficient.
Understanding carbon in our supply chain
It is relatively straightforward to estimate the carbon footprint of our own operations – we use data from our electricity and fuel bills to do that. Calculating embodied carbon – the carbon that was caused through growing our ingredients and transporting them to us – is a little more complex. But it is important that we do so because Scope 3 emissions represent more than 90% of our total carbon footprint.
We worked with the Carbon Trust to measure our Scope 3 carbon footprint – that is, emissions that occur either upstream or downstream of our own operations – and are using the results to help us build our long-term reduction framework. Around three-quarters of our Scope 3 footprint comes from product-related goods and services – in other words, ingredients and packaging – with meat and dairy products alone representing half so engaging with these suppliers is a priority.
Setting targets
During 2022, our Net Zero Steering Group worked with the Carbon Trust to set near-term science-based emissions reductions targets. These have been approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), and they contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
These targets are:
To reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 46.2% by 2030 from a 2019 base year; and
To reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services by 46.2% within the same timeframe.
We now have a clearly defined pathway to our net zero goal. The UK government is aiming for the country to be net zero by 2050 but we plan to be there by 2040 for both direct and indirect emissions.
Doing Good Every Day
Our first Eco-Shop
The design of our shops and the equipment we use within them are a key focus as we look for ways to reduce the environmental impact of our operations.
Every year, we open new shops and refit existing ones, and are embracing these opportunities to rethink our approach.
The first Greggs Eco-Shop opened in 2022, built using our new template. We set up metering on every piece of technology so we can collect data on how well each item performs. Those that did well were then be added to our standard new build and refit templates. In this way, tried and tested eco technologies will steadily be added across all our shops. We were aiming to apply what we’ve learned to at least a quarter of our estate, but ended on 34% by the end of 2025.
We love discovering new ideas
We opened a second Eco-Shop in Winchester in June 2025. We used this drive-thru shop to trial next generation low-carbon construction methods and a range of operational innovations. These include solar PV panels on the roof, intelligent lighting systems with daylight harvesting and wireless smart sensor controls, and heat pump air conditioning and overdoor heating systems. A key theme is recycling: we installed a heat recovery technology that reuses warm air generated by the refrigeration systems; the rainwater harvesting system will replace 3,000 litres of tap water with water we have collected ourselves; and the outdoor furniture, indoor flooring, and wall cladding all include recycled materials.
Responsible packaging
All of our own brand packaging is now 'more easily recycled'*
We have been on a journey to improve our packaging for many years. Unnecessary single-use plastics were the first to go in 2020: we either stopped using them (for instance, using tongs to pick products up, rather than a clear plastic ‘lifting sheet’) or we replaced them with a more sustainable alternative (like the paper bags that replaced our old plastic carrier bags). We then went after other forms of unnecessary packaging.
We’re also using better materials: packaging which has a lower impact on our environment. For instance, all the paper or cardboard we use for our own brand packaging comes from sustainable sources (as certified by PEFC or FSC).
We work with Biffa, our main waste contractor, who help us to better understand the UK’s recycling infrastructure so we can do our bit to increase recycling rates by making packaging that is easier to collect and sort.
We wanted all our packaging to be easily recyclable, so that most local authorities will accept it in domestic kerbside schemes. Over the past five years, we have made changes to individual packaging items to make them fully recyclable in line the OPRL’s ‘recyclable’ criteria.
*Of the 120 items of product packaging found in our shops, all but hot drinks cups are now fully recyclable.
Coffee cups
We launched the first-to-market heat-resistant, recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) hot drink lids containing 30% recycled content, a significant step forward in reducing single-use plastics.
Our hot drinks cups are a composite of two materials: a paper cup with a waterproof plastic lining. Many local councils and waste management providers lack the infrastructure to separate and process these materials effectively, which significantly limits their recyclability. We are members of the National Cup Recycling Scheme, an initiative designed to improve the recycling rate of takeaway coffee cups across the UK. Through this, we contribute to a collective industry voice, highlighting challenges with viable hot cup alternatives and advocating for changes to the nation’s recycling infrastructure.
As well as trying to fix the nation’s recycling infrastructure, We’re also eager to support the use of reusable cups: anyone who brings their own cup gets 25 pence deducted from the cost of their hot drink. .
In-shop recycling
We are introducing customer segregated waste bins to our shop estate, allowing us to separate food waste from product packaging so that it can be recycled more easily.
Reducing our impact on nature
We partnered with 3Keel to build our first clear understanding of how nature underpins our business and where we create the greatest pressures. Using their DIRO Framework (a widely recognised method for assessing a business’ impacts on nature, its dependencies on ecosystem services, and the resulting risks and opportunities across the value chain), 3Keel mapped our value chain from raw materials to disposal, highlighting key impacts across land and water use, climate, pollution and invasive species.
This early analysis shows that raw material production is our most significant contributor, driven by cattle and pig rearing, perennial crops and vegetable production. Logistics - particularly sea freight - and our disposal processes also play a role in emissions, pollution and wider environmental pressures. This work gives us a strong foundation to shape a credible and future-focused nature strategy in the coming years.