Respect for our environment

Respect for our environment

At Sainsbury's, respecting the environment is about doing the right thing. We aim to be the UK's greenest grocer, which is great for our business but even better for the environment.

Climate change represents a huge global challenge, and tackling the issue means addressing factors that affect the environment both directly and indirectly. This is particularly true in retail, as we need to consider not only our own environmental performance, but also that of our supply chain, while also considering how we can help our customers make more sustainable choices.

Wherever practical, we are taking steps at every level of our business to reduce our carbon and wider environmental footprint. We have divided our climate change strategy into three key sections: our operations, our products and our customers.

Over the past year, we have continued to reduce the impact of our operations by using new innovations in the way we build and sustain our stores. We do all we can to reduce energy consumption to limit our carbon emissions, focusing on the latest available renewable energy technologies and our energy efficiency programme, Reset .

Working closely with our suppliers has become an increasingly important part of our environmental agenda. This year we have launched a supplier sustainability scorecard, which will help us to track and measure supplier environmental footprints while encouraging them to grow with us sustainably. We have also increased our focus on biodiversity, with our farmers and growers, and uniquely at our stores too.

The relaunch of Sainsbury's Energy, in partnership with British Gas, has encouraged customers and colleagues to be environmentally responsible and shown them the importance of sustainable energy.

Our 'Respect for our environment ' value is about "doing more with less" and we are very proud of the progress we have made in reducing our environmental impact. We know we can continue this over the coming months and years.

Commitments and progress

Water stewardship
Our commitment By 2020, through robust water stewardship we'll ensure that our supply chain approach is sustainable in areas of water vulnerability. Read more in Sainsbury's view on water stewardship.	Our progress to date 30 per cent relative reduction in water use in our existing store operations compared with 2005/06. 50 per cent relative reduction in water use in new stores and extensions compared with 2005/06. All new supermarkets fitted with rain water harvesting, water-efficient taps, low-flush toilets and waterless urinals as standard.
Positive waste usage
Our commitment By 2020, we'll put all waste to positive use. Read more in Sainsbury's view on food and waste recycling.	Our progress to date Our supermarkets and depots send no food waste to landfill, with the majority of surplus food going to charities or anaerobic digestion. First retailer in the UK to offer customers battery and light-bulb recycling at every store, along with general recycling facilities. Launched the UK's first mobile handset charger recycling initiative. Since 2004 we have offered our customers plastic bag recycling across our stores.
Sustainable and Innovative packaging
Our commitment By 2020, we'll make sure that our own packaging has been reduced by a half compared to 2005. Read more in Sainsbury's view on reducing packaging.	Our progress to date We have cut packaging levels by 12 million kilos over the past year (2010/11) - including introducing heat-seal lids on soft fruit lines, cutting packaging by 440,000 kilos each year. An 11 per cent reduction of packaging has been removed from Sainsbury's own brand products through new packaging design in the last 2 years. First major UK retailer to offer milk in bags, reducing packaging by 75 per cent. First UK retailer to replace glass used in our peanut butter jars with plastic, cutting packaging by 83 per cent or 882,000 kilos. We have reduced our Easter egg packaging by 57 per cent since 2008. We helped to design the On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) with WRAP and the British Retail Consortium. This labelling has now been adopted by many other retailers and manufacturers. Customers are offered a Nectar point each time they reuse a bag. Last year, we gave out around 18 per cent more Nectar points in this way than the year before - a total of over 563 million.
Operational carbon emissions reduction
Our commitment By 2020, we'll have reduced our operational carbon emissions by 30 per cent absolute and 65 per cent relative, compared with 2005 (this is part of our broader target of an absolute carbon reduction of 50 per cent by 2030). Read more in Sainsbury's view on reducing our carbon emissions.	Our progress to date World-first use of award-winning geothermal technology, enabling our Crayford store to supply 30 per cent of its energy from on-site renewable sources. Opened the first supermarket in the world to use a Smart Grid system, which monitors the National Grid and activates a biofuel generator when there is an increased demand for electricity. Installed a total of 20 biomass boilers since 2008, which use wood chips or pellets - a renewable resource - to heat the store rather than fossil fuel-based gas. In 2010/11 we achieved an absolute reduction in direct carbon emissions of 18,933 tonnes compared to last year. We were the first UK supermarket to commit to switching our entire refrigeration network to natural refrigerants by 2030 (i.e. CO₂).
Supplier carbon emissions reduction
Our commitment By 2020, we'll have worked with our own brand suppliers to reduce carbon emissions across all of our own brand products by 50 per cent relative. Read more in Sainsbury's view on reducing our suppliers' carbon emissions.	Our progress to date Developed a carbon footprinting tool specially designed for our farmers, which has the potential to reduce their energy costs and their carbon footprint by 10 per cent annually. We are actively working with suppliers to develop products with a reduced environmental footprint. Sainsbury's Energy is helping our customers to reduce their environmental footprint.