Farm solar and Lidl GB supplier climate targets: what to check

We found no Lidl programme called Good & Better in public sources on 20 October 2026. This page uses Lidl GB’s published climate announcement instead and explains the Scope 1, 2 and 3 terms in it. It makes no claim that Lidl requires, accepts or rewards farm solar.

What Lidl GB publishes

Lidl GB’s release of 2 October 2024 sets net zero by 2050, a 70% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 (from 2019) and 2034 Scope 3 cuts (from 2022) of 42.4% for agriculture, forestry and land use and 35% for energy and industry. Strategic suppliers covering 75% of product-related Scope 3 emissions are to have SBTi-aligned targets by 2026, and its Sustainable Beef Group financially rewards carbon intensity reductions among its farmers. The solar it mentions is on its own new stores and distribution centres.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 on a farm

The vocabulary comes from the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard: Scope 1 is direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, Scope 2 is emissions from purchased electricity the business consumes, and Scope 3 is other indirect emissions, such as those from purchased materials. The Scope 3 Standard lists purchased goods and services as a category, and food a retailer buys falls within it.

What an on-farm array changes

Illustrative arithmetic: if an array lets a farm stop buying 75,000 kWh a year, the DESNZ 2026 UK electricity factor (0.13096 kg CO2e per kWh, Scope 2) gives 9,822 kg, about 9.82 tonnes CO2e. DESNZ lists transmission and distribution losses separately as Scope 3 (0.01299), so check whether a request wants them added. This is a worked example, not a forecast.

What to ask your buyer

A useful list for the first call with your buyer:

• what the retailer counts as supplier emissions data;
• which scopes and years are in scope;
• who audits the figures, if anyone;
• whether the template has a field for self-generated electricity;
• what happens if you cannot supply the data.

Do not size an array around a supplier scheme

None of the Lidl pages cited says farm solar is required, accepted or rewarded. Treat any claim that a retailer requires, accepts or rewards farm solar as unverified until your buyer confirms it in writing. Size the array to the farm’s own load: farm solar cost guide and grants and funding cover the baseline and tax, and solar panel weight and roof loading the roof.

For the building and system, see solar panels for agricultural buildings. Suppliers to Aldi UK, Asda and M&S will find the same checklist on their pages.