The Pork Environmental Roadmap

The Pork Environmental Roadmap brings together evidence, insight and practical action and sets out a route for environmental improvement and a sustainable future. It also shows that British pork already has a strong story to tell.

Over the past two decades, the pig sector has made substantial progress in improving environmental performance, driven by long-term gains in efficiency, productivity and innovation.

Emissions have fallen significantly, and between 2008 and 2023, the carbon footprint of British pork fell by 18%. Over the same period, land use and land-use change emissions fell by 71%, reflecting major changes in feed sourcing and formulation.

The roadmap has been developed by an industry-led steering group and facilitated by AHDB.

Providing evidence and documenting these achievements matters because expectations on food production are changing.

The roadmap:

• Provides a clear, credible account of where the sector is today
• Creates a shared platform for action
• Supports market confidence

Retailers, policymakers, investors and consumers all want proof of environmental performance and continuous improvement.

The roadmap helps the pig sector stay in control of its own story by using robust data rather than assumptions or global averages that don’t reflect British production systems.  

The roadmap focuses on seven priorities and provides a clear, evidence-based pathway for continued environmental improvement.

It sets out where the sector is now and how it will demonstrate measurable progress in environmental performance over the next five years while continuing to build on its strong foundations of efficiency and sustainability.

The seven priority areas are:

• Net carbon and climate impact
• Air quality
• Water stewardship
• Slurry, manure and nutrient management
• Biodiversity
• Waste and recycling
• On-farm energy

Across each area, the roadmap brings together data, industry initiatives and farm case studies to show progress in practice.

Sector-wide progress will be monitored through a life cycle assessment of British pork that will be conducted every five years, helping to ensure that change is measured consistently and transparently over time.

At its heart, this roadmap is about progress. It’s not about starting from scratch but about recognising what has already been achieved, identifying where further gains are possible, and providing a credible platform for sector leadership.

British pig producers are already delivering environmental gains, often ahead of policy and market expectations. This roadmap makes that progress visible, credible and defensible while strengthening the long-term resilience and competitiveness of the British pork sector.