Huel Impact Materiality & Environmental Assessment Methodology

Introduction

This document sets out the methodology behind two assessments Huel completed in 2025 and 2026: the Impact Materiality Assessment and the Environmental Assessment. Together, they form the basis of our approach to identifying and prioritising the issues that matter most across our value chain, for people, the planet, and our business.

Impact Materiality Assessment

In 2025, we carried out our first Impact Materiality Assessment (IMA) to understand how our business impacts
people and the planet, and to focus our efforts on the issues that matter most.

Scope

Our assessment covers impacts across our full value chain (upstream, operations and downstream), including:

  • Environmental, social and human rights impacts
  • Governance-related impacts

It includes both issues addressed in external standards and additional topics relevant to our business and stakeholders. We focus on impact materiality, how our activities affect people and the planet, rather than only financial risk.

Our approach

Our approach followed four steps: mapping our full value chain to identify where impacts occur; identifying a broad set of environmental, social and governance impacts, including positive and negative, actual and potential; scoring each impact based on severity and likelihood; and grouping impacts into material topics.

A topic is considered material where it includes at least one critical or significant impact. We assessed over 150 impacts in total.

Stakeholder input

Stakeholder perspectives were central to our approach.
We engaged, or incorporated input from:

  • Employees
  • Suppliers
  • Customers
  • Investors
  • Community partners
  • The environment (through data, research and expert frameworks)

We built on existing engagement channels, such as employee surveys, supplier processes and customer feedback, complemented by targeted stakeholder interviews.

Our material topics & targets

Below is a list of our material topics (both positive and negative impacts) and corresponding target set for each. We will report progress against these targets annually.

Status definitions:

  • On track: progressing in line with target timelines
  • In progress: active work underway
  • Planned: scheduled to begin
Climate 

Reduce carbon intensity to 0.28 kgCO2e by FY27 and keep all products below 1.5°C climate-aligned thresholds

On track

Upstream  environmental impacts

Ensure 75% of co-manufacturers by volume monitor + report on energy, water and waste by end FY27 

Integrate water and biodiversity risk assessment into our annual Country Risk Assessment by Q4 FY26

In progress 

Planned

Downstream  environmental impacts

Transition labelled pouches to pre-printed on core large format ranges across H2 FY26 

Transition all non-recyclable plastic packaging to recyclable materials by 2030

In progress 

Planned

Worker rights and  wellbeing

Keep increasing overall team happiness at Huel - 70% of the team reporting high engagement and an improvement on ENPS

On track

Supply chain worker rights and wellbeing  Nutrition & customer education  Community impact Ethics & compliance 

Maintain ≥95% of ingredient volume and ≥90% of ingredient spend with suppliers holding a verified ethical audit 

Extend human rights due diligence to Tier 2 suppliers covering 50%+ of volume and 100% of high-risk categories by end FY27 

Conduct quarterly reviews of product nutrition to check alignment with evolving regulatory requirements + current nutrition science 

Deliver the 1% Community Fund annually, supporting programmes aligned to nutrition, food access and community wellbeing 

Ensure >95% of suppliers sign our Supplier Code of Conduct by Q4 FY26 

On track 

Planned 

In progress 

On track 

On track

Responsible sourcing & human rights  Governance and  transparency

Complete a 4-pillar SMETA audit of the Milton Keynes site by Q2 FY26 and implement all corrective actions within 12 months 

Develop and approve a Stakeholder Governance Policy by Q3 FY26 

In progress 

In progress

Regenerative farming & collective action

Complete and publish results of oat/clover regenerative trials by Q2 FY27 and share insights publicly to support collective progress on regenerative agriculture.

On track

Governance and review

The assessment was led by our Sustainability team, with input from senior stakeholders. Results are reviewed at leadership level, with oversight from our Board, and directly inform our strategy and decision-making. Each target has a clearly assigned internal owner responsible for delivery.

We will repeat this full assessment at least every three years. Between full assessments, we will carry out interim reviews with selected stakeholders to ensure our material topics remain relevant and up to date. Once a target is achieved, we set new targets to continue driving progress.

Environmental Assessment

Building on the Impact Materiality Assessment, we completed an Environmental Assessment in April 2026 to map environmental impacts in greater detail across our full value chain. The assessment identifies and prioritises the environmental issues where Huel has the greatest responsibility to act, using recognised external frameworks and datasets alongside internal operational data.

Scope

The assessment covers environmental impacts across Huel's full value chain, including:

  • Raw material sourcing and ingredient processing
  • Packaging production and use
  • Manufacturing (in-house and third-party)
  • Transport and logistics (inbound and outbound)
  • Business operations
  • Use and end-of-life disposal

Both actual and potential impacts are considered, covering the five drivers of nature change: climate change, land and sea use change, resource use, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Our approach

The assessment follows an eight-step methodology: value chain mapping; identification of specific commodities with significant global environmental pressures; ingredient-specific impact analysis; value chain hotspotting; impact scoring; assessment of actual and potential impacts; location-specific risk analysis; and supplier prioritisation. Impacts were scored based on their scale (the extent of the impact), scope (geographical spread), and irremediability (how reversible the impact is). These factors were combined to determine overall severity, assessed alongside likelihood to identify material impacts.

Data sources

The assessment drew on the following external frameworks and datasets:

  • Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) - high impact commodity identification
  • HowGood database - ingredient-level environmental impact data
  • WWF Risk Filter - water stress and biodiversity risk assessment
  • Huel Product Carbon Footprint data - internal emissions data by product

These were supplemented by desk-based research and stakeholder input from Huel's procurement and product teams.

Results

The most significant environmental impacts are concentrated in raw material sourcing, ingredient processing, packaging and disposal, with upstream supply chain activities driving the majority of impacts.

Priority material environmental impact areas:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Energy use
  • Water use (associated with agricultural production and ingredient processing)
  • Non-renewable materials and waste
  • Land use change and biodiversity (concentrated in specific high-risk commodities including cocoa, coconut, and tapioca)

High impact commodities identified:

  • Cocoa
  • Coconut
  • Brown rice protein
  • Tapioca
  • Key oils (including rapeseed and sunflower)
  • Pea protein, oats, and flax (material due to scale and associated agricultural emissions)

Governance and review

The Environmental Assessment was led by Huel's Sustainability team and is reviewed annually. Results are considered alongside the Impact Materiality Assessment findings in Huel's strategy and decision-making.