Commercial, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  May 31, 2022

United Natural Foods’ Emission Targets Verified

United Natural Foods, Inc. announced its science-based emissions reduction targets covering the organization’s operations and value chain have been validated and approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

UNFI’s emissions reduction targets approved by the SBTi are consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The three validated targets are based on a fiscal 2020 emissions base year and fiscal 2030 emissions target year.

The company will reduce scope 1 and 3 heavy freight well-to-wheel GHG emissions from transportation by 38% on an intensity basis, scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from all other emission sources by 50% and reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services by 25%.

UNFI purchases nearly 300,000 products from over 12,000 suppliers and growers, which account for around 90% of total scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. 

The company’s UNFI’s fleet of over 2,000 owned and leased trucks makes 1.37 million deliveries to over 30,000 customer locations each year. These deliveries are facilitated through UNFI’s 56 distribution centers which represent approximately 30 million square feet of warehouse space. The distribution centers, retail, fleet, and all refrigerant emissions account for less than 5% of the company’s total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

“Climate change continues to pose a serious threat to our planet and UNFI is committed to taking bold action on environmental issues and investing in opportunities to reduce our emissions,” said UNFI Chief Executive Officer, Sandy Douglas, in a statement. “Through adoption and pursuit of these science-based targets, UNFI is proud to help lead the North American wholesale and grocery distribution industry, and humbly recognizes the critical importance of coordinated and rapid decarbonization.”