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Refrigeration

Refrigeration accounts for approximately a third of our direct carbon footprint and even more than that when the necessary energy consumption is factored in. However, we will always need effective fridges to ensure that our products are kept fresh from field to fork, which also helps reduce unnecessary food waste. In 2009, we were the UK's first retailer to make a firm commitment to phase out harmful refrigeration gases from our stores, pledging to switch all our fridges to new CO2 technology by 2030. We have already earmarked 135 stores to use this technology by 2014 and it will now be installed in all our new stores. By 2030, this will help us cut our carbon footprint by more than a third. This is because the harmful gases we are replacing contribute far more to climate change than CO2 - 3,000 times more, in fact. Fridges also use a lot of energy and the new versions are more energy efficient. Our leadership announcement was recognised by Greenpeace UK:

“Sainsbury’s announcement of a timetabled phase-out of these dangerous chemicals is a signal that their removal is economically feasible as well as environmentally necessary. The leadership the company is showing on F-gases stands in stark contrast to our political leaders’ timid reluctance to be the first mover on anything - they must learn from this.”

Doug Parr, Chief Scientist, Greenpeace UK

Renewable Energy

Our new Westhoughton store is our first to be equipped with ‘clean’ refrigeration and we have also included a number of other environmental features designed to reduce our carbon impact.

This includes the introduction of Europe’s first biomass generator, which uses wood pellets from renewable sources to generate heat and electricity to power the store. We predict that this will produce approximately 50% of the store's energy, making it one of the most carbon efficient stores in the country. Likewise, more than 90% of the waste generated during construction was reused or recycled rather than being sent to landfill.

Other environmental features at Westhoughton include:

  • A rainwater harvester that will provide water to flush the toilets
  • ‘North lights’ that are north-facing windows designed to maximise daylight
  • Automatic dimmer to reduce energy use on brighter days
  • LEDs in place throughout the store and car park – another first for Sainsbury’s – which use less energy
  • Blinds over our fridges that can be pulled down at night. This saves 5% on our energy consumption per year, which is the equivalent of making 2.5 million cups of tea
  • The retrieval of cold air from our fridges that is re-used to keep the checkout areas cool
  • A ‘cyclepod’ that makes it easier for customers to shop by bike. The cyclepod is made from over 12,500 recycled aluminium cans, which has saved enough energy to power a TV for 600 hours
  • Energy monitoring via web-based technology that shows how much energy is being consumed in each part of the store

We are working to implement the same high energy management standards at all our stores, including a trial of automated building management systems at 20 convenience stores.

Milk bags

Milk is one of our best-selling products, selling over 436 million litres a year. Our semi skimmed or ‘2% milk’ is particularly popular. Milk bags offer customers an alternative to plastic bottles and are a great way to reduce the plastic involved in packaging this essential product. Bags are now used by around 60% of consumers in Canada, the US and Australia. The UK has been slower to adopt them, but we led the way in rolling them out to all our stores. The two pint version uses 75% less packaging than the equivalent plastic bottle and if all our customers switched from bottles to bags it would save 1400 tonnes of packaging every year. The bags will also save customers money and will be easy to recycle at any of our stores. Since launching the milk-bags, sales have exceeded expectations and now account for over 10% of all our milk sales - which demonstrates that customers really like the lower packaged version.

Alongside the bags, we are now planning to use 10% recycled material in our plastic milk bottles. We will be the first big retailer to do this and it will save 900 tonnes of virgin packaging a year.

Our electric fleet

With 70 in use already, we believe we have the world’s largest fleet of electric vans. They keep inner city air clean and the energy that powers them produces 100% less carbon than diesel at the point of use. They also use regenerative braking, which recaptures the energy used while the vehicle is slowing down to help recharge the batteries.

We now have an electric recharge point network at our ten of our London stores, which allows customers to charge their electric vehicles free of charge, while they shop.

One Stop Energy Shop

In December 2009, Sainsbury's Energy took its first steps towards creating a 'One Stop Shop' for customers' home energy requirements. We are working in partnerships with EDF Energy to pilot three Home Energy Centres in our Watchmoor Park, Kidderminster and Glen Road Stores where customers can buy a range of renewable products and services.

As a result, we are now the first UK retailer to sell solar PV systems, solar thermal and air-source heat pumps, as well as other services that help customers save money and energy, like energy contracts, DIY insulation, fitted insulation and home energy audits. Since the launch we have completed over 900 audits and 80 micro-generation surveys.

We have also launched a scheme called the Sainsbury’s Energy Savings Challenge, every customer that signs up to Sainsbury’s Energy will automatically join this scheme, and will receive regular information, tips and advice on how to save money on their energy bills and reduce their own carbon footprint.