Retailers and civil society organizations gather in Berlin for the launch of the Plant-Rich Europe call to action
Last week in Berlin, at the What’s in Store: Retail & the Future of Protein summit, we launched Plant-Rich Europe: A Joint Path for Retailers and Society. The call asks supermarkets to drive healthier, more sustainable food choices by rebalancing their sales of plant- and animal-source foods in line with the Eat-Lancet Commission Planetary Health Diet (PHD).
Plant-Rich Europe is an initiative from ProVeg International, Madre Brava, WRI, and WWF and already has the backing of 25 civil society organizations from 12 European countries.
The call to action says retailers must measure, disclose, set targets, and take action to rebalance the proportion of plant and animal-based food sales.
It reflects growing alignment among civil society on both the urgency of dietary change and the central role of retailers in delivering it.
Why it matters
Supermarkets must enable more plant-rich diets because:
- Supermarkets are powerful gatekeepers of the food environment, shaping what people buy and eat through product availability, pricing, placement, and promotion. As a result, they exert a decisive influence on dietary patterns.
- Shifting diets towards plant-rich foods is essential to meeting climate, nature, and health goals. Yet in many European countries, consumption of animal-based foods continues to exceed both dietary recommendations and planetary boundaries.
- Supermarkets face increasing business and supply chain risks linked to continued reliance on animal-based products, from climate volatility to land and water constraints, as well as growing pressure to meet science-based climate and nature targets. This makes plant-rich sales a core resilience and risk management strategy, not just a matter of consumer choice.
- Alongside the environmental and health benefits, a shift towards more plant-based foods and less meat and dairy can also help buffer household budgets, offering more affordable options for consumers facing the cost-of-living crisis.
Mariella Meyer, Senior Manager, Corporate Sustainability at WWF Switzerland, said: “This is a clear, united call from civil society, asking supermarkets to act now in a way that will provide their customers with healthy, affordable food and bring down the sector’s emissions.”
A clear roadmap for retailers
The Plant-Rich Europe initiative calls on supermarkets to:
- Measure the ratio of plant- to animal-source food sales.
- Disclose progress annually.
- Set targets aligned with the EAT-Lancet Commission’s Planetary Health Diet.
- Take action across pricing, promotion, placement, and product ranges.
The founding group calculated that, to stay on track to meet the goal of 75% of food sales being plant-based by 2050 (the PHD target), plants need to make up at least 60% of food sales by European supermarkets by 2035.
“This call shows the consensus among civil society groups on the importance of the issue for planetary and human health, as well as strong agreement on who is best placed to act. It’s clear there is a huge appetite for action and great interest in being part of the solution,” said Nico Muzi, Chief Programs Officer at Madre Brava
“Civil society groups are challenging the supermarkets, but we’re also saying ‘we can support you in this shift’.”
Retailers are already engaged
The Berlin event, where the call was launched, brought together representatives from major European retailers, including Ahold Delhaize from the Netherlands, Lidl from Germany, and Tesco from the UK, alongside producers, policymakers, and civil society leaders.
The launch marks the beginning of a broader movement to align expectations across Europe, and to support retailers in turning ambition into action.
“Science alone doesn’t create change, bold leadership does. That’s why we were thrilled to bring together Europe’s leading retailers to build a shared future for a Plant-rich Europe,” said Joanna Trewern Jimenez, Partnerships Director at ProVeg International.
For more support on your protein strategy, get in touch with our team at [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter.
Gemma Tadman
Business Communications Manager
