The Co-op is to price-match its vegan and meat products with the goal of making its own-brand food and drink carbon-neutral by 2025.
The grocer will invest £1.7 million to reduce the cost of 29 plant-based foods from today.
It hopes to encourage customers to adopt a “flexitarian” diet who would have been put off by the higher price-tag.
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“Plant-based alternatives are usually priced higher than their meat and dairy counterparts,” Co-op chief executive Jo Whitfield said.
“It’s Co-op’s ambition to make our plant-based range, GRO, even more accessible to our members and customers, helping them make decisions that collectively will have an impact on the world.
“Emissions from our operations and our own-brand products are where we have the greatest responsibility and can make the biggest difference.”
The initiative is part of a 10-point plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Other targets include expanding the Co-op’s renewal energy offering, investing in natural restoration projects, and funding carbon reduction research.
The news comes after the grocer admitted that it was on course to fail ten per cent of its “Co-operating for a Fairer World” sustainability goals last month.
Plans to reduce the environmental impact of sourcing ingredients such as soy have been delayed until 2022.
