2024 was the warmest year on record globally, and the first year that was likely more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a stark reminder that global temperatures are continuing to rise.

Last year recorded the highest temperature in any year since the record began, and it will be the eleventh year in succession that it has equalled or exceeded 1.0°C above the pre-industrial average period (1850-1900).

The latest figures highlight how the world is getting warmer and closer to breaching the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C, which considers the longer-term average temperature.

Our focus on limiting our impact on climate change continues in 2025, we saw some fantastic efforts in distribution reducing their CO2 emissions by using Biofuel, this year we are targeting 90% of the fuel we use to deliver our kitchens will be Biofuel. In operations we have gained a good understanding of our energy use, making some behavioural changes leading to significant reduction in usage and cost, This January saw further changes, using our energy monitoring platform to identify more opportunities by isolating key equipment when not in use saving over 200kwh per night!

Our 2025 Carbon target is to reduce our own emissions by 70% from our baseline, we have also begun to reach out to our supply chain to understand their climate impact and see if there are any opportunities for us to collaborate not only on carbon reduction but a range of sustainability challenges, such as circular economy, waste and equality and diversity.

Climate Stripes were created by Professor Ed Hawkins. For more information about Climate Stripes, please visit the University of Reading's website