Bakery giant Greggs is set to launch the next phase of its pledge to make the world a better place after hitting a number of milestones last year.
The Newcastle business first created The Greggs Pledge in 2021, setting out 10 commitments aimed at improving the planet, which it outlined in its annual sustainability report.
The pledge includes targets to reduce food insecurity, protect animal welfare and lower its environmental impact. The 2024 report shows how it has made further progress against its five-year sustainability plan, which is based on three areas – building stronger and healthier communities, making the planet safer and being a better business.
Four years on, the firm has made significant progress in tackling food insecurity, through the milestone opening of the 1,000th Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club, which now provides free, nutritious breakfasts to over 75,000 schoolchildren across the Ƶ, every school day.
It has since opened several more, bringing its total to 1,015 breakfast clubs, and its target for the rest of the year is to maintain support for the schools in the programme, ahead of the transition to universal provision announced by the Government.
The company also reached the milestone of donating the equivalent of one million meals to FareShare during its 10-year partnership, while expanding its network of Outlet shops to 38 locations. This year it plans to open seven more, putting it a step closer to having 50 Outlet shops providing affordable food in areas of social deprivation.
Greggs has already reached one of its targets – to have 30% of the items on its shelves as heathier choices – and it maintained that range all of last year. This year, it said it will continue to maintain its ranging principles to ensure 30% of its offering is healthier choice items.
Over 700 shops – 27% of the estate – now feature Eco-Shop elements, and it said it will continue to roll out sustainability elements across 30% of the estate in 2025.
When it launched the pledge it said it wanted to use 25% less packaging, by weight, than in 2019 and that any remaining packaging will be made from material that is widely recycled.
As of 2024, all but two items - 98.3% - of its own brand packaging can be more easily recycled. It also reduced the amount of packaging used within the supply chain by moving to bulk supply or reusable containers, where it could.
Meanwhile, Greggs secured a top four ranking among 150 of the world’s largest food companies in the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), as well as introducing heat-resistant, recycled PET (rPET) hot drink lids.
Roisin Currie, chief executive at Greggs, said: “We’re extremely proud of The Greggs Pledge, which focuses our business on making meaningful impact where it matters most. We’re delighted to be on track with the majority of our targets and remain committed to evolving our initiatives based on new insights and stakeholder priorities.
“Looking ahead, we are now shaping the next phase of The Greggs Pledge to drive even greater impact. We want to build on the progress we have made and focus on redefining our goals for the next five years. Our full roadmap will be outlined in our next Sustainability Report, set for release in 2026.”
