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About the initiative

A group of CEO’s of leading bakery companies, under the governance of AIBI, have put sustainability high on the strategic agenda of the bakery industry. European bakeries rely on healthy soils for the availability & quality of their main raw material, wheat. According to the EU Soil Observatory 90% of European agricultural soils are considered unhealthy due to unsustainable farming practices and climate change. As a sector we want to take our responsibility to help transition our wheat farmers to sustainable agriculture. This is essential to meet our sustainability goals and to safeguard the resilience of the European bakery value chain in the face of climate change.

While many bakery companies embark upon ambitious greenhouse gas reduction pathways with regenerative agriculture as a core solution, these initiatives are still largely individually scattered, experimental and tactical efforts between bakery companies & farmers. This makes it difficult to create a roadmap and value model for the regenerative agriculture transition at scale. With the Sustainable Wheat Initiative we want to create a shared vision between the bakery industry, millers and agriculture, with overarching targets and a framework of mutual trust, where we can all evolve in a more efficient and orchestrated way towards net zero in 2050, with a first important milestone in 2030.

2030 ambition & roadmap

The bakery sector in Europe, including both bakery industry and artisan bakers, accounts yearly for more than 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions linked to wheat & wheat flour. Through their combined buying power, bakery companies have the opportunity and responsibility to accelerate adoption of low-carbon wheat.

As European bakery sector we express our ambition to reduce our wheat & wheat flour emissions with 30% by 2030 compared to 2022, in line with the latest climate science. This ambition represents a gradual shift of conventional wheat & wheat flour volumes to sustainable wheat & wheat flour with a -30% carbon footprint per kg by 2030.

Discover the Manifesto
SIGN UP & JOIN THE COALITION OF ACTION
2030 ambition & roadmap

The bakery sector in Europe, including both bakery industry and artisan bakers, accounts yearly for more than 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions linked to wheat & wheat flour. Through their combined buying power, bakery companies have the opportunity and responsibility to accelerate adoption of low-carbon wheat.

As European bakery sector we express our ambition to reduce our wheat & wheat flour emissions with 30% by 2030 compared to 2022, in line with the latest climate science. This ambition represents a gradual shift of conventional wheat & wheat flour volumes to sustainable wheat & wheat flour with a -30% carbon footprint per kg by 2030.

Discover the Manifesto
SIGN UP & JOIN THE COALITION OF ACTION

The bakery sector’s joint ambition for 2030:

Reduce carbon emissions from wheat & wheat flour by 30% by 2030

(vs 2022 baseline)

Sign the Manifesto & join the coalition of action

We will need to forge strong partnerships across the wheat value chain & broader ecosystem. This starts with AIBI, the European federation of large bakeries, by jointly making bold commitments and developing a shared vision for sustainable agriculture, as summarized in the Manifesto.

We invite bakery companies, craft bakers, millers, cooperatives and farmers – the core partners in the bakery ecosystem – to sign the Manifesto and join the coalition of action.

Federations, suppliers, customers and other value chain partners can express their support to the initiative as well and sign up as supportive stakeholder. Bakery companies for whom joining as active member is too soon as they need more time to prepare their roadmap, can first join as a supportive stakeholder and join later as an active member.

We invite you to sign up prior to the official launch moment at the Sustainable Wheat Initiative symposium in June 2025, yet it is possible to sign up any time also during and after the symposium.

I want to sign the manifesto
Sign the Manifesto & join the coalition of action

We will need to forge strong partnerships across the wheat value chain & broader ecosystem. This starts with AIBI, the European federation of large bakeries, by jointly making bold commitments and developing a shared vision for sustainable agriculture, as summarized in the Manifesto.

We invite bakery companies, craft bakers, millers, cooperatives and farmers – the core partners in the bakery ecosystem – to sign the Manifesto and join the coalition of action.

Federations, suppliers, customers and other value chain partners can express their support to the initiative as well and sign up as supportive stakeholder. Bakery companies for whom joining as active member is too soon as they need more time to prepare their roadmap, can first join as a supportive stakeholder and join later as an active member.

We invite you to sign up prior to the official launch moment at the Sustainable Wheat Initiative symposium in June 2025, yet it is possible to sign up any time also during and after the symposium.

I want to sign the manifesto
About member types

SIGN AS ACTIVE MEMBER

You join the coalition of action and commit to the ambition of reducing the carbon emissions of wheat & wheat flour you purchase with 30% per tonne versus your 2022 baseline, and this by 2030.

To track progress, you will publicly report (on your website, in your sustainability report) your Scope 3 carbon footprint and wheat & wheat flour carbon footprint yearly, at the latest as of 2027, aligned to the European CSRD reporting timelines.

Download the accounting and reporting instructions
DOWNLOAD THE ACTIVE MEMBER LOGO

SIGN AS SUPPORTIVE STAKEHOLDER

You support the overall ambition & initiative but cannot commit (yet) to a 30% reduction roadmap as you are not actively purchasing wheat/flour or have no roadmap defined yet. In case of the latter, you engage to prepare and join the coalition of action soon.

DOWNLOAD THE SUPPORTIVE STAKEHOLDER LOGO
Sustainable agriculture at the heart of the Sustainable Wheat Initiative

Sustainable farming is the key lever for tackling wheat flour emissions, securing future flour supplies and improving farmer livelihoods. It is a holistic approach to farming with a set of pragmatic agricultural practices that aim to regenerate soil health to reduce climate impact and improve yield resilience.

Over 80 percent of emissions related to wheat flour are incurred pre-field (i.e. mainly production of agro-chemical inputs) and on-field. By adopting sustainable practices, wheat farmers can reduce their carbon footprint through reduced reliance on carbon-intensive inputs and carbon sequestration in the soil. The potential carbon footprint reduction is dependent on a lot of contextual and agronomic factors. Examples of sustainable practices are diversified cropping, cover crops, reduced tillage, precision farming techniques and increased use of organic and low-carbon fertilizers.

Academic research and pilot projects confirm that a wheat footprint reduction of around 30% through regenerative agriculture practices is reasonable and achievable.

Watch the movie
Regenerative agriculture at the heart of the Sustainable Wheat Initiative

Sustainable farming is the key lever for tackling wheat flour emissions, securing future flour supplies and improving farmer livelihoods. It is a holistic approach to farming with a set of pragmatic agricultural practices that aim to regenerate soil health to reduce climate impact and improve yield resilience.

Over 80 percent of emissions related to wheat flour are incurred pre-field (i.e. mainly production of agro-chemical inputs) and on-field. By adopting sustainable practices, wheat farmers can reduce their carbon footprint through reduced reliance on carbon-intensive inputs and carbon sequestration in the soil. The potential carbon footprint reduction is dependent on a lot of contextual and agronomic factors. Examples of sustainable practices are diversified cropping, cover crops, reduced tillage, precision farming techniques and increased use of organic and low-carbon fertilizers.

Academic research and pilot projects confirm that a wheat footprint reduction of around 30% through regenerative agriculture practices is reasonable and achievable.

Watch the movie
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