The Jerónimo Martins Group has signed the Porto Climate Pact, which will be presented today in the gardens of Palácio de Cristal (the Crystal Palace). This initiative, promoted by the Porto City Council, under the patronage of the President of the Republic, aims at, together with companies and other organisations in the municipality, positioning the city of Porto as a national leader in climate action, anticipating carbon neutrality.
According to Pedro Soares dos Santos, Chairman of the Jerónimo Martins Group, “signing the Porto Climate Pact is a natural step for us, as we share the concerns, the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the commitment towards concrete action, and the value of transparency in communicating the progress achieved in meeting the targets set.”
The Jerónimo Martins Group has a multidimensional plan to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations that is part of a Corporate Responsibility strategy that sets sustainability objectives for three-year periods. Accordingly, in 2021 the Group pledged to reduce, by 2023, energy consumption by 10% for every €1,000 in sales, compared to 2017.
As a result of investment in renewable energy, renewable energy certificates (RECs), building energy efficiency and natural cooling equipment and gases, by 2021 the Group had reduced its carbon footprint (scopes 1 and 2) by 35% compared to 2017.
In 2020, the Group invested €1,200,000 (one million two hundred thousand euros) to install a solar photovoltaic system at its Distribution Centre located in Valongo, in the north of Portugal, resulting in an energy self-sufficiency of more than 30% of the total consumption of this Distribution Centre. In 2021, over 35% of the energy consumed by the Group came from renewable energy sources.
This is the fourth joint initiative with Portuguese municipalities in which Jerónimo Martins participates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Lisbon, the Group joined the Lisbon European Green Capital 2020 Commitment – Climate Action Lisbon 2030, and signed the Lisbon Corporate Mobility Pact. In June of this year, Jerónimo Martins was the only food retailer to sign the Braga Corporate Mobility Pact.
More information about the Porto Climate Pact is available at https://pactoparaoclima.porto.pt