Goal: Reduce the waste we produce from our own operations, recover as much as is practical and ensure the remainder is disposed of responsibly. Encourage customers to recycle where appropriate.
Due to the nature of retailing, most of the waste the Group produces is in store often associated with fragile and short-life products. With rapid changes in weather and other factors, it is not always possible to match supply to demand perfectly. So whilst it is in the company's interest to reduce waste, we are unlikely to be able to eliminate the generation of waste altogether.
Efficient waste management reduces the business' impact on the environment, conserves resources and saves money. So we want to produce less waste, recover as much as is practical and make sure the remaining waste is disposed of responsibly.
Waste and Recycling Programme
Overall, Sainsbury's Supermarkets waste volume is the greatest of the operating companies. Its management programme includes:
Producing less waste:
The "Stockwise" campaign continues to challenge the business to generate less waste, be it damaged goods not fit for sale or food past its display-until date.
A central performance improvement team is addressing resource productivity, through reviewing products to engineer out potential waste.
Reusing
Many products are being moved from cardboard boxes to reusable crates, (which have a life of over ten years), thus avoiding the use of additional tonnes of cardboard.
Recycling
Sainsbury's Supermarkets has been recycling cardboard for about 100 years and plastic too since the 1980s. Stores segregate the recyclable material on the shop floor using specially designed pouches; high density compacted bales of the sorted material are sent to the recycler.
Each store has recycling targets and there is a communications campaign in stores highlighting the environmental and financial benefits of recycling. An intranet site where store colleagues can learn more about recycling and composting initiatives backs this up.
Sainsbury's Supermarkets encourages recycling by selling recycled products such as the Revive range of kitchen towels, toilet rolls, writing paper and envelopes; bin bags; as well as the "Remarkable" range of stationery, containing such things as pencils made from recycled plastic vending cups and mouse mats made from recycled tyres.
Wherever possible Sainsbury's Supermarkets provides space at stores for local authorities and charity recycling banks to encourage customers to recycle their used packaging, textiles, shoes and books.
Donation
Sainsbury's food donation programme, where food of good quality past its 'display until' date but not its 'best before' date continues to expand. Food is donated to around 400 charities. These work with the homeless, with marginalised people who may be suffering the effects drug, alcohol, or substance abuse or even with animal care. A number of stores both donate and compost - unique in retailing in the UK.
Redundant but serviceable equipment and non-food continues to be donated from stores and also depots.
Composting
Sainsbury's has been trialling composting for seven years. One scheme in E & SE London is now cost effective and commercial. Another is currently being evaluated, and a third is to be set up in an urban situation. The company has more stores sending waste for composting than any other retailer, with over 30 stores involved in composting.
Waste generated at Sainsbury's Supermarkets and Shaw's stores.
(Total tonnes of waste)
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Shaw's diversion |
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Shaw's disposal |
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Sainsbury's disposal |
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Sainsbury's diversion |
Notes to Graph:
Sainsbury's Supermarkets data:
- Diversion includes materials sent from recycling, composting or food donation. All other waste is sent to a landfill site.
- Donations for years since 2000/01 are estimated on audit data from inputs to Fareshare.
- Composting data are based on contractors' estimates.
- Data are for solid waste only. No records were obtained for special waste. In some instances where data are incomplete, some assumptions have been made.
- Methodology of data collection has changed over the period with some materials moving from internal to external source data.
Shaw's data:
- Waste disposal showing 61,062 tonnes (67,310 tons) are calculated from an average skip weight and average number of lifts per store/year from a sample of 25 stores.
- Diversion data are derived from financial sales data from participating stores and comprise 37,550 tonnes (41,392 tons) of cardboard and 344 tonnes (379 tons) of plastic.
- For US data purposes, 1 ton equals 2,000 lbs.
- 2000/01 data did not include stores acquired from Grand Union.
Performance Overview
Sainsbury's Supermarkets performance
We have improved performance this year and have now reduced waste relative to turnover by 5.4% against the baseline of 1999/2000. We are still hopeful of meeting the 10% reduction by March 2004. The continued increase in the use of reusable crates within our supply chain has meant less cardboard and plastic transit packaging is available to be recycled (-6.4%). In addition, emphasis on increasing sales of fresh foods has meant that more waste was sent to landfill last year (+5.8% relative to turnover), despite increased food donations. We have continued to increase levels of food donation and composting, albeit from small bases.
Shaw's performance
Cardboard recycling volumes have declined 8.2% due to the increase in use of reusable totes within the business. There has been a revival in the market for recycled plastic, which has meant a resumption of material being provided for recycling. It is projected this will amount to 344 tonnes during the year, with more being returned from stores to a third party distributor, but regrettably unmeasured.
A change in the method of data measurement for total waste this year means that comparisons are best made with 2000/01. Waste has fallen by 0.3% over this time, despite an increase in sales of 9.4%, a creditable achievement.
© J Sainsbury plc 2003