One year on from the Net Zero Transition Plan
13 November 2025How IGD is turning the plan into action to support greater collective progress towards net zero.
One year on from the Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System, IGD launches 2025 Progress Report and new Food Supply Chain Sustainability Framework, supporting greater collective progress towards net zero.
It’s a year since the launch of A Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System, with accelerated progress, that’s more co-ordinated across the system, more critical than ever.
The cost of inaction on climate change could expose the UK to an additional £2.6bn. The sooner businesses and policymakers align investment to decarbonise and adapt, the more likely to hit climate targets, whilst lowering physical climate risk exposure and strengthening the food system’s resilience.
At the same time, over 80% of companies report economic benefits from decarbonisation.
The focus is now shifting from setting intentions to demonstrating real progress, in a way that increases efficiency and alignment across the system, to move further, faster, together.
The Net Zero Transition Plan Progress Report aims to share progress updates and highlights from across the food system. It brings together contributions from organisations and businesses across the food system with updates, case studies and commentaries that continue to support our collective progress to Net Zero.
One example of collective progress is development by IGD of a new Food Supply Chain Sustainability Framework and guidance in partnership with a group of six leading food manufacturers, Bakkavor, The Billington Group, The Compleat Food Group, Greencore, Premier Foods and Samworth Brothers, to support acceleration of progress against sustainability goals, via customer and supplier relationships in the food supply chain. The Framework is based on a maturity curve for seven priority sustainability areas, and related guidance supporting use of it by suppliers and manufacturers. The Framework has been developed via extensive consultation with WRAP, WWF, SBTi, 3Keel and FNET, and the guidance has been developed through surveys and discussions with procurement teams within the manufacturers and a range of suppliers. The Framework is complementary to the FDF Framework released in October 2024 as part of their Ambition 2030 programme.
IGD will continue working with the Net Zero Council and WRAP this year, in consultation with the key trade organisations, to develop an action framework for the food system to achieve net zero, which will include annual milestones. The food system plan will have a focus for the Council in early 2026, supported by The Broadway Initiative.