Nature & Biodiversity
Our founder, John Spedan Lewis, was passionate about the environment and the wildlife in it. Today, amidst global climate and biodiversity crises, we reflect that passion through Our Plan for Nature.
Everything we sell depends on nature, so it’s important that we act boldly to protect and restore it, reducing the impact of sourcing and manufacturing our products.
Wildlife has declined globally by 73% since 19703, and unless we all work together the extinction rate will accelerate.
At our pioneering Leckford Estate farm, we’re at the forefront of understanding the impact of British farming on biodiversity. Leckford is a test bed for regenerative agriculture and more sustainable techniques that we can scale to suppliers.
We know that we are part of the problem of global nature loss, and so we must also be part of the solution. We have five commitments to guide our approach.
3 https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-GB/
Commitments
- Invest £2 million to fund ecosystem protection and regeneration projects in two key sourcing regions for Waitrose and John Lewis;
- Zero deforestation in the sourcing of our key commodities across Waitrose and John Lewis own-brand product supply chains;
- Fund sustainable water management programmes in key fresh-produce sourcing areas;
- Incorporate natural elements and design principles into all key new build and renovation projects;
- Reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across our farm at Leckford with the aim for it to be net zero well ahead of our wider 2035 commitment.
Highlights
Mission Statement: To protect and enhance nature and biodiversity and to reverse the negative effects of our business on natural resources and ecosystems.
Farming For Nature
By 2035
Waitrose will source own-brand UK meat, milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables from farms that use regenerative practices.
Our new initiative with six key principles for regenerative agriculture will see us supporting our British farmers as they move to nature-friendly farming practices. Our Leckford farm has been using regenerative practices since 2020, and we’ll establish a permanent centre of excellence here to help other farmers make the shift to regenerative agriculture.
WWF Partnership
5 factories
in our supply chain engaged through WWF India’s Clean Tech programme.
With funding from the Partnership, WWF India is working with our suppliers and their associated value chain in one of our textile-producing regions helping them to improve the environmental performance of their factories.
Mapping
Habitat
2,500
UK farms will have land management plans over the next two years.
Over the next two years, Waitrose UK farms will use Land App to map the state of their habitats with the view to develop plans to help biodiversity and soil health flourish.
Sustainable Water Management
42,000
Waitrose Foundation farm workers will be supported by our climate resilience programme with WWF in South Africa.
Ninety Waitrose Foundation farms and over 27,500 workers are currently part of a catchment-wide initiative, funded by the Waitrose Foundation, to build climate resilience and water security in the Western Cape in South Africa. Of these farms, 23 benefit from invasive plant species clearing. A further 80 – encompassing over 14,500 workers – will be supported in 2025.
Awards
Corporate Sustainable Food & Farming Award, Compassion in World Farming Awards 2024
Partnering globally with WWF
We’ve been working in partnership with WWF to protect and restore nature and biodiversity in several of our key sourcing regions.
For instance, as well as our climate-resilience work in South Africa, in India, we’re supporting a programme with WWF India to promote clean technology to local factories.
In North Norfolk, several coastal and marine projects are underway as part of the WWF Wholescape project that the Partnership funds. The initiatives include scoping the feasibility of coastal restoration by protecting, restoring and reconnecting key habitats.
Progress
Helping nature flourish at Leckford
Waitrose’s orchard and vineyards at our Leckford Estate in Hampshire have become the first in the UK to achieve RegenifiedTM certification. This means the farm has been recognised for its commitment to growing grapes, apples and pears in a way that’s friendlier to nature.
The achievement marks a significant step towards the Partnership’s goal of creating a permanent centre of excellence at Leckford, where farmers can access practical help to make the shift to regenerative agriculture.
We continue to monitor the presence of biodiversity at Leckford, recording of over 870 species.
Among the new finds was the Willow Emerald damselfly which, until 15 years ago, had only been recorded in the UK on three occasions.. Leckford also retained its status as a site of national importance for arable plants following a survey by volunteers of the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland.
Challenges
As our approach to biodiversity management matures, it’s important that we measure and monitor our impact using a science-based approach. In 2024, we began working on target setting as part of the Science Based Targets Network process for companies seeking to create ambitious and measurable targets for the protection and restoration of nature. However, the process is very new and evolving quickly. As a result of changes to guidance, we’ve had to revisit some of the risk analysis that’s required before we can move on to setting meaningful, science-based land and freshwater targets. Once this is complete, we can press ahead with turning targets into action.
The Norfolk Rivers Trust team will engage landowners as part of the ecological baselining process for the Landscape Recovery scheme, a long-term programme that provides funding to large-scale projects improving the environment and climate. The programme's goals include achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, meeting the 2030 species abundance target, improving water quality and protecting 30% of land for nature. The consultations will help inform the scheme’s priority action areas and lead to the development of an investment plan ahead of the second and final application to Defra in 2025.
Looking Forward
Our partnership with WWF will continue to generate further benefits for nature and biodiversity over the year ahead.
In South Africa, we’ll keep working with the Partnership’s growers and landowners to enhance their climate and water resilience and support biodiversity conservation.
And in Norfolk, WWF will be identifying how we can best support scaling of the emerging UK seaweed industry, providing sustainable livelihoods and improving the marine environment for the benefit of nature, climate and food production.
Case Study
Helping suppliers create a cleaner India
As part of our partnership with WWF, we’ve been funding collective action to address water quality and scarcity in the Noyyal and Bhavani river basins. As well as being home to unique wildlife, these rivers enable a great deal of agricultural and industrial activity, including producing textile products for John Lewis.
Through this collaboration, WWF is working with local businesses in the region to introduce a range of industrial clean technology initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental demands of the textile industry.
The initiatives involve assessing and improving factory operations and cover areas such as the usage and management of energy, water, wastewater, materials and chemicals, as well as each site’s approach to safety. WWF also supports businesses with access to funds and expertise to help factory owners make changes in alignment with their assessment results.
During 2024, we started reaching out to our suppliers in the region to try to engage them in the programme. One of our babywear and nightwear suppliers has now undertaken the assessment, as have four of their suppliers involved in the dying, printing and spinning processes. The assessment has helped our supplier identify significant potential savings to their water and energy usage.
“[We are] improving processes like compressed air systems, water usage and boiler efficiency, significantly lowering energy consumption while boosting efficiency and cutting costs. The optimisation measures will contribute to more responsible production practices and significantly reduce the water and environmental footprint of John Lewis products.”
John Lewis babywear supplier, India
