“We’ve reached a watershed moment on the road to net-zero.”
The words of Scott Steedman, director-general of BSI, will surely ring true for many food sector businesses grappling with a fast-moving commercial, regulatory and geopolitical landscape. The organisation, which acts as the national standards body, this week published the latest update to its net-zero barometer. It showed a worrying drop-off in corporate target-setting, actions, commitment and confidence among UK businesses compared to 12 months ago.
Many key metrics are heading in the wrong direction. The survey of 1,000 senior business leaders found that while a majority (64%) of businesses remain committed to the UK’s legally binding 2050 net-zero target, this has dropped from 83% who said the same in 2024.
Just under half (49%) of UK businesses claim to have either taken, or are in the process of taking action, a significant fall from 2024 when the vast majority (83%) had done so. Looking forward to the next 12 months, only 51% of leaders are confident their business will be taking net-zero action versus 72% in 2024. A significant percentage of UK businesses also expect to revise their net-zero strategies and/or targets in the coming year – 54% and 49% respectively.
“More research is needed to understand whether the loss of momentum is linked to the fact that once the quick wins have been made, the net-zero transition becomes increasingly challenging, or whether it is due to competitive pressures, the absence of regulatory drivers, or simply that corporate net-zero ambitions have been overtaken by other priorities,” wrote Steedman in his foreword to the report.
It wasn’t meant to be this way when Labour came to power last summer promising a clean energy system by 2030. Although a change in government has brought more clarity and political commitment to a net-zero future, according to BSI, this hasn’t encouraged businesses to increase their collective efforts. Half (50%) of respondents feel the UK’s target to reach net-zero by 2050 is unrealistic, while 71% of business leaders believe the government cannot grow the economy while simultaneously trying to reach net-zero.
Steedman attempted to find positives in the data. “If the new government can demonstrate renewed political commitment towards a future clean energy landscape, there may be an opportunity for government and industry to reset their collective net-zero ambitions and build momentum again,” he said.
He also found encouragement in the finding that 83% of UK businesses are interested in receiving support on how to make progress with net-zero. “If we want to reinvigorate business on the net-zero journey, our best chance is for government and industry to work together to agree next steps, including standards and accreditation as part of the solution, if we are to meet our national net-zero ambitions,” Steedman said.
Publicly, many businesses in the foodservice sphere remain fully committed to net-zero. Next month, Footprint will publish key takeaways from a recent Footprint Forum on how data is helping drive decarbonisation within the sector. The glass perhaps isn’t as half-empty as BSI’s survey suggests, but now is not the time to take the foot off the gas.
Elsewhere in this week’s Footprint News:
