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Sustainability strategy update

Earlier this year, we published our first sustainability report.

The importance of sustainability to AMH:

  • Our business is dependent on agriculture which is already experiencing the direct impacts of climate change (to growing seasons and yield)
  • To build resilience for future growth
  • To provide confidence, transparency, and credibility to our customers
  • To drive innovation and provide climate-resilient products
  • To manage GHG risks and identify reduction opportunities
  • Ultimately, sustainability requires supply chain collaboration from field to glass

Our carbon footprint

We are in the process of collating our initial carbon footprint data across AMH with a view to setting GHG emission reduction targets with a base year of 2019. This will quantify a clear reduction pathway to decarbonising the business and achieving our net zero by 2045 goal.

The components of a carbon footprint

  • Scope 1: direct emissions associated with all fuel consumption on site (e.g. natural gas, diesel, propane, HGV fuel usage, company car usage)
  • Scope 2: emissions associated with purchased electricity. Our Scope 2 emissions are zero as we have 100% renewable energy contracts
  • Scope 3: indirect emissions associated with the supply chain, both upstream and downstream. This is the majority of the overall carbon footprint, made up of 15 categories. Purchased goods and services is the largest category within scope 3 which contains the agricultural carbon footprint. Other categories of scope 3 include business travel, waste and transportation, both upstream and downstream.

Sustainable supply from AMH

Ensuring the long-term and sustainable supply of grain is vital to us and our customers. We have the advantage that the majority of our supply is sourced from our Grower Groups, facilitating a faster adoption of our agricultural strategy which will be mutually beneficial to both the growers and our business.

Our ambition: to achieve sustainable, low carbon malt across Grower Groups.

Why?
  • Agriculture is the largest contributor to our carbon footprint, with the majority of those emissions associated with the manufacture and use of nitrogen-based fertilisers.
How?
  • We have collected 2022 harvest GHG emissions data from our ABC Grower Group, and in the process of collecting 2023 data
  • This will be replicated with the Scottish Grower Group
  • The majority of growers are already implementing some form of regenerative processes. We are surveying the group to find out more, and add context to our GHG emissions data
  • We will set targets across the Grower Group around regenerative agriculture to create a road map to reach our ambition

A tractor ploughs a field in Norfolk, UK, to signify the sustainable supply of grain

How regenerative agriculture can achieve on-farm sustainability:

What is regenerative agriculture?

A set of practices that work together to protect and improve soil health, water, climate, and biodiversity, while supporting farming business development and profitability. Improving soil health is the foundation to regenerative agriculture, focusing on four impact areas: soil health, water, climate and biodiversity.

Examples of regenerative practices:

Supplementary (additions to traditional farming practices) e.g.:
  • Field borders
  • Cover crops
  • Incorporating livestock
Integrated (adapting how core operations are done) e.g.:
  • Crop residue management
  • Conservation tillage
  • Green fertilisers

When is a farm considered ‘regenerative’?

Continuous improvement year on year, for 2+ years, in 2 or more impact areas is needed to class a farm as ‘regenerative’.

How will we measure and monitor regenerative agriculture across the Group?

Released by the SAI Platform in September 2023, the regenerative agriculture framework provides a robust methodology to integrate and monitor the impact of regenerative practices which are tailored specifically to each farm. This will allow us to quantify, and most importantly, verify our results.

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