UK sustainability trends 2026: The pressure is on

Sustainability is no longer a long‑term ambition for the UK food and grocery sector, it is an immediate commercial and operational challenge. IGD’s Global Sustainability Trends 2026 report highlights four trends that are already reshaping grocery retail globally, with material implications for UK businesses this year. 

Crucially, these trends are not expected to play out over the next decade. They are accelerating now. Within the next nine months, businesses will face heightened regulatory pressure, tougher scrutiny on meeting environmental targets, growing expectations on maximising technology and data, and a clear shift towards higher‑impact interventions delivered through collaboration. Together, these trends are changing how all stakeholders from across the value chain and wider system work together to build a more resilient and sustainable food system. 

This article interprets IGD’s global sustainability trends through a UK lens. This explores the four big sustainability trends for 2026 and what they likely mean for the UK food system, where momentum is building, and why businesses should act now rather than wait for certainty. 

1. Sustainability drivers: pressure is mounting  

What the global trend tells us 

Globally, sustainability is being driven by mounting external pressure. IGD’s global research shows that policy and regulation, consumer expectations, and commercial requirements are converging, pushing sustainability from the margins into core commercial decision‑making. 

What this likely means for the UK 

Sustainability drivers refer to the external forces and pressure shaping business behaviour. In the UK, this pressure is increasingly coordinated.  

Policy and regulation are reinforcing this increasing pressure on businesses by moving from ambition to delivery. Policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) demonstrate direct government intervention to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. The publication of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS S1 and S2), alongside the growing influence of TNFD, is raising expectations around consistent, decision‑useful sustainability reporting. 

In the agricultural sector, policy is hopefully steering farming towards a more sustainability and productivity sector. Updates to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) prioritise simplicity and fairness, with fewer actions, broader access to funding, and reduced incentives for taking land out of food production. Please read our latest article for more information. The upcoming farming roadmap, which will be partly informed by Baroness Batters’ farming profitability review, further illustrates how government, policy and industry are working together to deliver a more profitable and sustainable farming system over the short, medium and long term. 

Consumer trust and confidence are becoming central to sustainability strategies in the UK. As environmental claims increase, scrutiny is intensifying, and credibility matters more than ever. 

The strengthened consumer protection rules from the Green Claims Code give regulators greater powers to act against misleading environmental claims, including issuing significant financial penalties. This is pushing businesses to ensure that sustainability claims are accurate, evidence‑based and clearly communicated. 

At the same time, environmental labelling is a way to help consumers make informed choices and support behaviour change. Labelling will not solve our sustainability challenges alone, they do support the required population diet shift needed while reducing the risk of greenwashing. 

Sustainability should now be seen as a commercial requirement for businesses and business planning in 2026. IGD’s climate risk assessment of the UK food system highlights why this matters. By 2050, climate change could add £2.6 billion to UK food system costs under a business‑as‑usual scenario. Using sustainability data to understand supply‑chain risk can help businesses plan more effectively, avoid shocks and manage long‑term costs. 

Why businesses should care now 

These drivers are converging this year, not at some distant future point. Sustainability drivers in 2026 are about external pressure becoming unavoidable. UK businesses should assume expectations will tighten further this year and focus on using sustainability and climate risk as a core component of business planning.   

2. Technology and data are becoming critical allies 

What the global trend tells us 

Globally, IGD’s research shows that technology, data and AI are emerging as key enablers of sustainability, helping businesses forecast risk, reduce waste and prioritise interventions with the greatest impact. 

What this likely means for the UK 

While sustainability data is more widely available than ever, a key challenge in the UK remains how effectively it is used. Too often, sustainability data is not shared within and between organisations, or embedded into commercial decision‑making with cultural, structural and practical barriers continue to limit its impact. Commercial teams should be looking to unlock commercial value from environmental data. Businesses who integrate environmental insight into commercial decision making, category strategy, supplier negotiations and innovation pipelines will unlock opportunities for growth, value creation and long-term resilience. This can be done in two distinct but complementary ways, including through emissions mitigation, and strengthening climate adaptation. 

Despite this, several UK‑focused initiatives show how better use of data and technology can unlock value. For example, initiatives such as the Carbon Removals Taskforce matter because they help create clearer standards and strategic direction, especially important with the emergence of new technology in this area. Without this, businesses face uncertainty about which carbon removal approaches are credible, investable and aligned with future regulation. 

Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) offer another strong example, illustrating how data and coordination enable action. By bringing organisations together to co‑fund regenerative agriculture and nature‑based solutions with over €30m of funding. LENs shows how to use farm level data to enable investment in nature‑based solutions at scale – something few businesses and organisations could achieve alone.  

Why businesses should care now 

As reporting requirements tighten and scrutiny increases, businesses that cannot access, interpret and act on sustainability data will struggle to prioritise effectively or demonstrate progress. In 2026, data is no longer just for reporting - it is becoming a strategic asset. UK businesses should focus on building the capability to use sustainability data in decisions, not just collecting more of it.  

3. Big‑impact initiatives are taking centre stage 

What the global trend tells us 

Globally, businesses are moving away from long lists of incremental initiatives towards fewer, higher‑impact interventions that can deliver meaningful environmental and commercial returns. 

What this likely means for the UK 

In the UK, agriculture is emerging as a central focus, reflecting its role in emissions reduction, nature recovery and food security.  

The UK’s Methane Action Plan, released in October, put agricultural methane reduction firmly on the national agenda by outlining targeted measures to cut emissions from livestock, manure and on‑farm practices. At the same time, the new UK–Brazil fertiliser cooperation agreement signalled a major step toward lowering emissions in global fertiliser supply chains and improving nutrient‑use efficiency across food production systems. Alongside these developments, the government could include anaerobic digestion as a component of its forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy; a high‑impact lever for cutting fertiliser‑related emissions.  

A coordinated national approach to farm baselining is increasingly recognised as essential. By uniting behind a shared vision for England’s farmland, the industry can reduce fragmentation, improve data quality, strengthen food security and unlock long‑term value for farmers and the wider food system. The IGD’s value case for National Farm Baselining was released at the end of last year and this year we are building a robust economic case for a national level farm baselining programme. 

Why businesses should care now 

Big‑impact initiatives require alignment, investment and time to mature. Waiting until policy or market signals are fully locked in risks missing the opportunity to shape how these initiatives develop. UK businesses should prioritise interventions that address core system risks and deliver multiple benefits, rather than spreading effort thinly across dozens of smaller initiatives. 

4. Collaboration is the enabler of progress 

What the global trend tells us 

IGD’s global research is clear: collaboration is replacing siloed approaches as the primary way to deliver sustainability progress at pace and scale. 

What this likely means for the UK 

A clear signal of this shift is the Net Zero Council, which brings together government, business and civil society to provide strategic leadership on the UK’s transition to net zero. By advising government, convening leaders from high‑emitting sectors and tackling shared barriers to decarbonisation, it reflects a move towards more coordinated, system‑level action. 

Transition finance is also emerging as a key enabler. Through the Transition Finance Council, financial services, industry, regulators and civil society are working together to support credible transition planning and move organisations from ambition to delivery. 

This collaborative approach is mirrored within the food system itself. IGD’s Food System Change Leaders Forum (FSCLF) convenes leaders from across the supply chain to tackle shared challenges and drive progress towards net zero, recognising the interconnected climate and nature emergencies. 

Practical collaboration is also accelerating delivery. Six manufacturers, working with IGD, have developed a Food Supply Chain Sustainability Framework and self‑assessment tool to help align expectations and accelerate progress with suppliers. Meanwhile, the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) is improving consistency and credibility in greenhouse gas and environmental impact data, helping the industry focus effort where it matters most. 

Looking ahead

IGD’s Future of the UK Food System event in October this year will further support cross‑system collaboration on the most complex challenges facing the food system. 

Why businesses should care now 

As expectations rise and timelines shorten, collaboration reduces cost, speeds up delivery and increases credibility. In 2026, collaboration is not optional. UK businesses that engage early and constructively will be better placed to influence outcomes rather than react to them. 

Conclusion

Taken together, these trends show a UK food and grocery sector moving beyond ambition towards coordinated, data‑driven and collaborative action. Sustainability in 2026 is about systems change: aligning policy, finance, technology, consumers and collaboration to deliver real‑world impact through large-scale, co-ordinated work. 

For businesses across the industry, the message is clear. Those that engage early, collaborate widely and focus on high‑impact action will be best placed to manage risk, meet rising expectations and help shape a more sustainable and resilient UK food system for the future. 

Join the conversation at IGD’s Future of the UK Food System event this October.