British groceries and general retailer Tesco has announced that its net-zero science-based commitments have been officially validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The retailer said this milestone signifies that it has become one of the first global companies to have specific SBTi-validated targets related to greenhouse gas emissions originated from ‘forests, land and agriculture’.

The validated targets will allow Tesco to work towards its commitment to make all of its operations carbon-neutral by 2035 and for its entire value chain by 2050. This target will also support the UN's Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Following this achievement, Tesco has outlined an ambitious plan to further minimise emissions across its operations and value chain.

The new commitments include stretching its interim targets to kerb absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions from its operations by 85% by 2030, keeping 2015 as a baseline year.

The retailer is also aiming to reduce absolute scope 3 emissions from its energy and industrial sources by 55% by 2032 and from its forest, land and agrirculture emissions by 39% until 2032, keeping 2019 as the baseline year for both targets.

All emission reduction goals have been set out through Tesco’s 'Planet' agenda, with its associated activities to be categorised into six areas.

These six areas are Decarbonise Transport, Eliminate Waste, Improve Products, Protect Nature, Reduce Store Emissions, and Support Sustainable Consumption.

Tesco aims to transition to fully recyclable packaging for all its own-brand products by 2025.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said: “With the effects of climate change now upon us, we are absolutely committed to achieving our target of net zero by 2050.

“It will require us to transform the way we run our business, from how we produce our products in partnership with our suppliers, how we run our stores and transport network, and how we encourage our customers to make healthy and sustainable choices.”