A woman buying plant-based items in a supermarket. Image credits: Helena Lopes/Pexels

You may not believe it, but food production generates more greenhouse gases than every car, truck, ship, and plane put together. Supermarkets play a big role in driving those emissions. 

What they choose to sell, promote, and discount directly influences what people consume and how large their climate footprint ultimately becomes.

A new eye-opening report suggests that supermarkets are so powerful in driving consumer behavior that a simple shift on their shelves — selling more plant-based food and less meat — could dramatically cut emissions, lower costs, and transform diets in many parts of the world.

“The powerful market position of supermarkets, along with their concentration in a few, often multinational companies in each country, gives them exceptional leverage within the food system,” the report notes.

Ranking supermarkets on climate action

The findings come from a major new report titled Superlist Environment Europe 2026. It is developed by researchers from the European thinktank Questionmark and its partners, which include World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Netherlands, ProVeg International, and Madre Brava

The researchers compared 27 large supermarket chains across eight European countries, asking a straightforward but powerful question: Are supermarkets aligning their business with climate science?

To find the answer, they created a ranking based on two main checks. First, they looked at whether supermarkets have climate plans that match the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. This includes whether retailers set clear emission reduction targets, track their progress, and publicly share their data. 

Image credits: Superlist Environment Europe 2026/Questionmark

Second, they examined whether supermarkets are actively shifting sales away from animal-based proteins toward plant-rich foods. This was a crucial step because animal products account for about half of supermarket-related emissions on average.

Why focus on protein? Because meat, especially beef and lamb, has an outsized climate footprint. Producing just 100 grams of beef releases about 15.5 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent — roughly the same emissions as driving nearly 79 kilometers. Multiply that by millions of meals every day, and the climate cost becomes staggering.

Supermarkets earned higher scores if they were transparent, set ambitious targets, and tracked how much meat versus plant-based food they sell. The results showed a mixed picture. 

Chains in Germany and the Netherlands dominated the top of the rankings, with Lidl (particularly in the Netherlands and Poland), Albert Heijn, Jumbo, REWE, and Aldi Süd standing out for strong commitments to rebalancing protein sales.

However, progress has been slow in real terms. Only five supermarkets; ICA, Jumbo, Kaufland, Migros, and REWE have actually reduced their emissions since they started reporting them. At the bottom of the list were E.Leclerc in France, Coop in Sweden, and Aldi Nord in Germany, which scored poorly on both climate planning and protein transition.

“Those supermarkets that have not scored so well must catch up and take responsibility for the food they sell to their customers,” Nico Muzi, co-founder of Madre Brava, said

The results have global consequences

While the superlist focuses on Europe, the message is global. This is because not just in Europe but supermarkets everywhere — from Asia to Africa to the Americas — increasingly shape what farmers grow and what consumers eat. That gives them immense leverage over emissions, public health, and food prices. 

“Supermarkets hold tremendous influence over what ends up on our plates and, ultimately, the health of our planet,” Charlotte Linnebank, General Director of Questionmark, added.

The data from the report clearly shows that selling more plant-based foods not only cuts emissions but also lowers costs, since plant proteins are generally cheaper to produce than meat. That makes this strategy attractive even in countries where affordability is a major concern. 

“The reported data confirm that animalproteins have the largest carbon footprint of all food categories, highlighting the need for a transition to more plant-rich diets,” the report stated.

“Beyond the climate and health benefits, selling more plants and fewer animal products is also good business for supermarkets: it lowers costs and could increase profits. And it’s good for consumers: plant-rich diets are cheaper, helping cash-strapped consumers eat more healthily,” Muzi added.

The next phase is about scale. If the lessons from a handful of European frontrunners spread globally, supermarkets could quietly become one of the most powerful climate tools available — not through futuristic technology, but through everyday food choices made at checkout counters around the world.

“My hope is that in the near future, Europe’s supermarkets will turn their commitments into visible progress – and lead the way toward a food system that truly sustains people and the planet,” Linnebank said.

You can read the Superlist Environment Europe 2026 here.