Press releases

Quorn Foods joins more than 100 Signatories of The Climate Pledge Committed to Achieving Net-Zero Carbon by 2040 or Sooner

21 April 2021

The 105 pledge signatories together generate over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and have more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries.
The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and achieve net-zero carbon by 2040.

Amazon and Global Optimism announced that more than 100 companies have now signed The Climate Pledge. Among the 52 new signatories joining The Climate Pledge are well-known brands including Quorn Foods, the first meat alternative brand to sign the pledge, Colgate-Palmolive, Heineken, PepsiCo and Sainsbury’s.

Pledge signatories in total generate more than $1.4 trillion in global annual sales and have more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries - demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge can have in addressing climate change.

Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to:

Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.
Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.
Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.

Quorn Foods’ purpose is to provide healthy food for people and the planet, offering the world a more sustainable protein source than meat.

“Quorn is the leading alternative protein brand, and our aim is to help people everywhere make simple, satisfying, and significant contributions to our collective fight against the climate crisis, simply by eating less meat,” said Marco Bertacca, Quorn Foods CEO.

“We’re focusing on making positive contributions to both our environmental challenges as well as our public health challenges by meeting consumer demand for delicious meat alternatives, and prioritising sustainable development of these products. It is a great pleasure to join The Climate Pledge and commit to becoming net-zero by 2040.”

All signatories are taking science-based, high-impact actions to tackle climate change by innovating in supply chain efficiency, sustainable transportation, circular economy, clean energy solutions, and more. Many organisations are also meaningfully involving customers in their journey to net-zero with initiatives focused on innovative packaging and sustainable product design and development, while delivering solutions to empower customers to reduce their own emissions with educational campaigns and sustainable shopping experiences.

The main ingredient in all Quorn products is Quorn mycoprotein, a fermented meat-free super protein that is naturally high in protein and fibre, low in saturated fat, and uses 90% less land and water, and produces 90% less carbon emissions than making animal protein.

The company also strives to minimise the environmental impact of its operations so that its business as well as its products are sustainable. Since 2012, Quorn Foods has reduced the carbon footprint of its factories per tonne by 33%, and reduced its water usage per tonne by 16%. Additionally, 80% of the company’s packaging is fully recyclable. The company is committed to an interim target of net-zero carbon across its own operations by 2030. The company is also committed to having a net positive impact in society by 2030 through promoting healthier lifestyles and more inclusive communities, and supporting climate action for all.
“Less than two years ago, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge and called on other companies to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early—today, more than 100 companies with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than 5 million employees have signed the pledge,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “We are proud to stand with other signatories to use our scale to decarbonize the economy through real business change and innovation.”

“We helped to initiate The Climate Pledge to prove a model that accelerates decarbonization with the most ambitious companies,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate chief, and now founding partner of Global Optimism.

“Today over 100 companies, including household brands and companies from all industry sectors, have joined The Climate Pledge with its goal of net-zero by 2040. They are demonstrating that moving faster toward decarbonising their businesses is a pathway to competitive advantage. There is no doubt we’re at a tipping point to establish the low carbon economy envisioned in the Paris Agreement. I commend the leadership of the companies that have joined The Climate Pledge already and look forward to welcoming the next 100.”

Amazon and Global Optimism welcome the new signatories that have committed to The Climate Pledge.

AECOM
Alaska Airlines
Airmee
Atlantia
Bellrock Group
Blacklane
Colgate-Palmolive
Convoy
Delphis Eco
Direct Healthcare Solutions Ltd.
Edmonton International Airport
Elisa Corporation
EV Private Equity
FILA Solutions
Graebel
Greencore Group
HEINEKEN
HH Global
IGS Energy
IMI
Inn at Laurel Point
Karma Automotive
LeasePlan
LifeStraw
Lil Packaging Ltd.
Lime
Mace Group
Morgan Sindall Group
Natural Capital Partners
Optimus Ride
PepsiCo
Pollination
Portland General Electric
Posti
Pregis
Protector Cellars
Quorn Foods
Rail Delivery Group
Royal Philips
Russell Group
Sainsbury’s
SecuriGroup
Sonnedix
Springer Nature Group
Storegga Geotechnologies
STV Group
Telefónica
Teleperformance
The Sustainable City
Urenco
UST
Visa

Information issued on behalf of Quorn Foods by Taylor Herring.
For further information please contact:
quorn@taylorherring.com
0208 206 5151

About The Climate Pledge

In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Now 105 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. For more information, visit www.theclimatepledge.com.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

About Global Optimism

Global Optimism exists to precipitate transformational, sector-wide change. Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge. It’s one we must get on track for now. Every scientific assessment shows that to meet the goal of net -zero emissions by 2050, to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we must halve our emissions between 2020 and 2030. Tackling the climate crisis is only possible when everyone, everywhere plays their part. We work with like-minded collectives from all sectors who are willing to invest in the choices required to be on this challenging—and life-affirming—journey. For more information, visit https://globaloptimism.com.