The UK has one of the most concentrated groceries retail sectors in the world, with just five supermarkets controlling around 80% of the market. Tackling GHG emissions in these supply chains can therefore have a huge impact. But with thousands of suppliers, fierce competition between retailers, and less-than-perfect measurement tools, how can this actually be achieved? 

Dr Stephen Mackenzie, a Senior Specialist on the issue of GHGs in food systems at WRAP, digs into this for us. WRAP is the UK’s leading climate change NGO focused on waste and resources, and Stephen is playing a major role in the charity’s recently launched Retailer Net Zero Collaborative Action Programme, a major collaboration between WRAP, WWF and eight UK retailers that aims to accelerate progress on reducing GHG emissions in the food and drink sector through pre-competitive collaboration.  

Dr Mackenzie covers; 

• A top-down view on key sources of GHG emissions in UK food systems and trends in recent years
• An overview of membership and principles of the GHG working group under the Courtauld Commitment 2030 
• Current barriers to measuring GHGs across supply chains, including on-farm carbon calculation tools, reporting standards, and decision making.
• The Retailer Net Zero CAP – opportunities and challenges of forming such collaborations 
• Research gaps to measuring and reducing GHG in supply chains and where our working group members say they need help 

The seminar is chaired by Prof Neil Ward, a co-convenor of AFN Network, professor at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and author of Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System (Routledge 2023)

About Stephen: 

Dr Stephen Mackenzie is the technical lead for modelling GHGs in food systems with WRAP. In this role he helps food businesses to follow key principles of GHG accounting through relevant working groups under the Courtauld 2030 Commitment and works to foster collaboration across the food supply chain on how these data can drive GHG reductions in UK food supply chains. Stephen leads the GHG team at WRAP team that launched the WRAP Scope 3 Measurement & Reporting Protocols which were piloted with 17 UK food businesses in 2022 as well as the UK Food System GHG Emissions model. Prior to taking up this role at WRAP, he spent 10 years in academic research roles with Newcastle University, Trinity College Dublin and University of Edinburgh developing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) models to quantify the environmental impacts of food production. He particularly specialized in modelling GHGs and mitigation pathways for livestock production systems.

Follow Dr Mackenzie on Twitter.

About Neil:

As well as a co-convenor of AFN Network, Neil is a professor of rural and regional development at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he was deputy vice chancellor and PVC-Academic (2013-21). He has held chairs at the University of Leeds and Newcastle University, where he was director of the Centre for Rural Economy from 2004 to 2008. He has also worked for periods on secondment to the Cabinet Office and as an advisor to the Economic and Social Research Council. His research interests are in rural economic and social change, agriculture, food and environmental policy and regional development. His latest book is Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System (Routledge 2023). 

About the webinar series:

This webinar is part of a monthly series run by AFN Network+ which explores net zero in the UK agri-food system with leading movers and shakers. Expect deep and varied insight from across the sector, including farmers, scientists, policy analysts, community leaders, retailers, politicians, businesses and health professionals. The series is put together by Jez Fredenburgh, our Knowledge Exchange Fellow, and Prof Neil Ward.