- Competition for key talent across retail and other sectors in South Africa
- Retention efforts continue to be a challenge
- Floods in the Western Cape negatively impacted the harvest of the Living Soils Community Learning Farm
- Loadshedding remains a challenge for local suppliers
- The drought in Tanzania caused severe damage to 20% of the seedlings donated to smallholder farmers
- Introducing recyclable packaging remains a financial challenge
- Permit approval processes have resulted in a delay to installing a native fish passage
- Floods and loadshedding impacted the Farming for the Future scores of our suppliers
- Increased cost associated with scaling up the Farming for the Future programme
- Increased input costs, flooding, civil unrest, ongoing drought, loadshedding, and uncertainty regarding land reform remain difficult for farmers
Woolworths Holdings Limited
Greenhouse gas emissions & sustainability report data
Figures are as stated in the company's own report and may use different boundaries, units or methods (for example market-based vs location-based Scope 2), so compare with care.
📈 Emissions by Report Period
| Report period | Headline emissions figure reported |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 904.0K tCO2e (2022) |
Each row is the headline figure extracted from a different report; scope coverage and methodology can change between years.
✅ Reported Environmental Achievements
- Group’s Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions decreased by 30% against the 2019 baseline
- 23 of WSA’s Food suppliers have set their science-based target
- Country Road Group is the only fashion brand publicly committed to achieving Green Star certification for its stores with two achieving 6-star certification
- Launched first axle-powered refrigeration, resulting in zero trailer carbon emissions, anticipating a reduction of 27 tonnes of carbon emissions
- 100% of all Woolworths FBH stores are now plastic shopping bag free
- Woolworths trialled the removal of plastic barrier bags in stores
- Woolworths was awarded the 2024 PETCO Best Design for Circularity for its iced tea range
- 85% of Woolworths Food products are part of the Farming for the Future programme
- Through Country Road’s support of the Landcare Biodiversity Project, 59.6 hectares of farmland have been restored
🎯 Climate & Sustainability Targets
🔜 Short-term
- Achieve BBBEE level 4 by 2025
- Move from “Improver” to “Achiever” in the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles Analysis by 2025
- Complete Just Wage journey to exceed retail and legislative minimum rates
- Implement Employment Equity Plan and achieve compliance status
📅 Medium-term
- Achieve net zero carbon impact by 2040
- Source 100% of energy from renewable sources by 2030
- Work with suppliers to create net positive water impact by 2050
- All packaging reusable or recyclable by 2022
- Halve food loss and waste by 2030
🌱 ESG Focus Areas
PeopleSocial DevelopmentHealth and WellnessEthical SourcingSustainable FarmingPackaging and WasteWaterEnergy and Climate Change