Tracking Methane Action in the Dairy, Coffee and Retail Sectors: October 2026 insights
October 2026 update
The Methane Action Tracker provides regular assessments on the methane action of the largest food companies: from disclosing methane emissions to setting reduction targets and implementing action plans. This is the fourth assessment of dairy and coffee companies and third for retailers.
We previously assessed retailers in April (alongside Mighty Earth) and dairy and coffee companies in May. This latest round of assessments allows us to track how corporate action has evolved since. Dairy and coffee companies and retailers are assessed using separate methodologies tailored to their respective roles in the food system, meaning direct comparisons are not possible, but we can get a sense of momentum across sectors.
There are encouraging signs of progress in the dairy and coffee sectors, with more companies disclosing methane emissions, publishing methane action plans and strengthening their approach to methane reduction. Members of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA) continue to outperform non-members, with some of the strongest improvements in this update coming from the Alliance’s most recent joiners. These improvements suggest that companies can make meaningful progress in a relatively short period of time. Independent monitoring, such as the Methane Action Tracker, and corporate engagement play an important role in holding companies accountable for their commitments and ensuring that voluntary action translates into sustained emissions reductions.
But progress remains uneven – and action still falls far short of the pace and scale of methane reductions needed this decade. Too few companies have set ambitious, absolute methane reduction targets, and while there has been progress in methane emissions reporting, 29 companies still have no methane-specific actions in place: all retailers assessed, five dairy companies and four coffee brands.
Retailers are particularly important in closing this gap. As major buyers and gatekeepers within the food system, they can influence suppliers, shape supply chains and affect consumer choices at scale. Yet none of the world’s largest food retailers are taking methane-specific actions, creating a clear leadership vacuum around the most important short-term climate lever.
Explore the latest rankings: https://methaneactiontracker.org/dairy-rankings/
You might also like...
Hot Money: 40 Financial Institutions are funding a climate-changing agri-methane footprint
This report focuses on the 20 investors and 20 banks that are funding the methane generating activities of 15 of the leading meat and dairy companies worldwide. Collectively these financial institutions fu...
Methane Matters: Towards a global methane agreement
At the 2021 Climate Change Conference, over 110 countries joined a pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This crucial commitment under the ‘Global Methane Pledge’ came at a time of scient...
Blindspot: How lack of action on livestock methane undermines climate targets
The livestock agricultural sector is the single largest contributor to man-made methane emissions. Enteric fermentation in stomachs of ruminants, such as cows and goats, and manure management is responsible ...