Marks & Spencer’s Insetting Strategy: A Blueprint for Scope 3 Emission Reduction

Addressing Scope 3 emissions, the indirect emissions that occur across a company’s supply chain, is one of the greatest challenges facing businesses today. Marks & Spencer (M&S) has taken a bold step forward through its Plan A for Farming initiative, embedding climate action directly into its supply chain.

This approach, known as insetting, focuses on reducing emissions at source rather than simply compensating for them elsewhere. It’s a model of how businesses can take ownership of their climate impact while building resilience into their value chains.

M&S Plan A for Farming: Decarbonising Agriculture from Within

Launched in 2025, Plan A for Farming is a five-year programme that redefines how M&S works with its agricultural suppliers. By 2030, the company has pledged that all its UK farms will adopt regenerative agricultural practices: restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and cutting carbon intensity.

Key elements include:

• £14 million investment in farmer support, covering soil monitoring, digital tools, and expert training.
   
• New sourcing standards for beef and dairy, combining animal welfare with regenerative farming and AI-enabled monitoring.
   
• Methane-reducing dairy trials, investing £1 million to test innovative cattle diets that could cut the footprint of fresh milk by more than 8%.
   

M&S’s insetting approach is not only about reducing emissions but also about future-proofing British farming by embedding sustainability into the supply chain itself.

Why Insetting Matters

For M&S, insetting means measurable change at the source of emissions, a powerful way to address Scope 3 challenges. But it’s also a reminder that no business can reduce emissions to zero through insetting alone. Some carbon outputs will remain, no matter how efficient or regenerative the supply chain becomes.

That’s where offsetting comes in. High-quality carbon projects complement insetting by addressing the residual emissions that cannot be eliminated. When both strategies are combined, companies can move decisively towards credible net zero targets.

From Insetting to Offsetting: Completing the Journey

At One Tribe, we source verified, high-integrity carbon projects to help businesses take the final step on their climate journey. While M&S’s work shows the power of insetting, many organisations need a hybrid approach: reducing emissions at source, and then offsetting what remains.

Examples of projects that illustrate this pathway include:

• In the UK, our Agreena Carbon Soil Restoration project helps farmers shift to regenerative practices that improve soil health and capture carbon.
  
  
• In East Africa, the Cultivating Carbon project restores degraded soils, strengthening food systems and delivering verified carbon removals.
  
  
• In South America, Reviving Grasslands regenerates vast rangelands through better grazing systems, increasing carbon storage and supporting rural livelihoods.
  
  

Each of these projects is rigorously verified to international standards, ensuring climate action is not only effective but also trustworthy.

Climate Leadership with Integrity

M&S’s insetting model demonstrates how companies can lead on Scope 3 emissions by working directly with their suppliers. Yet it also underscores the need for a complete climate action toolkit: insetting where emissions can be reduced, offsetting where they cannot.

At One Tribe, we help businesses make this transition with confidence, combining visible, verified insetting partnerships with carefully sourced carbon credits that deliver real-world impact.

Because climate action should do more than check a box. It should be measurable, credible, and valuablefor the planet, for supply chains, and for business growth.

Let’s make a plan. Book a free consultation today.