At Sainsbury’s we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and aim to be leaders in the UK for environmental innovation.

This means being environmentally responsible in the way we run our business, using innovation where we can in stores, products and packaging but also making it easier for our customers and colleagues to make more sustainable choices.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we all face. We source products from all over the world, which means we have an important part to play, both in the evolving environmental debate, and in doing what we can to reduce our carbon and wider environmental footprint.

Every major business has both direct and indirect impacts, but in retail the distinction is particularly significant. It means we don’t just have to think about our own environmental performance, but need to take into account the carbon that goes into the construction of our buildings, and the environmental consequences of the products we sell and how they are used.

During the past year we have evolved our approach on environment to a Climate Change Strategy. It divides the business into three elements: Our Operations, Our Products and Our Customers.  In the past year we have been concentrating as much on the way our stores and distribution systems manage issues like waste, carbon and water as on our product range and the crucial work we can do to help our customers shop and live more sustainably. We have already been given an 'A rating' in the Consumer Focus 'Green to the Core?' survey which ranked the major supermarkets according to how easy they made it for consumers to go green. In the survey we were praised for having 'excellent sustainable farming and fish policies' and the 'high proportion of sustainable products available'.

Looking to the future, our strategy will help us to put in place new targets, aims and ambitions in relation to our operations, products and customers to 2020 and beyond.

To help us achieve our ambitions we are investing in a partnership to help secure our position as leaders in environmental innovation. In March 2010 we announced a new five-year partnership with Imperial College, London and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change. The aim is to research the latest ideas in engineering and building design, which could dramatically help us to reduce our carbon footprint. This might include developing ‘carbon positive’ stores or providing heat and recycled water to customers’ homes. We also hope to extend the partnership to help reduce the environmental impact of products, supply chains and packaging.