Sainsbury commits to net-zero GHG target by 2040

London — J Sainsbury, trading as Sainsbury’s, has said it will spend £1bn on a plan to reach net-zero greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2040

The UK grocer intends to halve plastic packaging by 2025, reduce food waste and lower its water usage, according to a statement on Tuesday. It will also install LED lights in stores, use more electric vehicles and alternative fuels, and plant more than 1.5-million trees by 2025.

Sainsbury joins a growing roster of companies pursuing a goal of zero net emissions, meaning they aim to eliminate as much of their carbon footprint as they can and offset the rest. Nestlé, Qantas Airways and Thyssenkrupp have committed to be net-zero by 2050. Earlier this month, Microsoft pledged to be “carbon negative”, meaning it will remove more carbon than it emits, by 2030, while Starbucks outlined a goal of becoming “resource positive” in the long term.

Sainsbury said it will focus on emissions from its operations and the electricity it buys, while stopping short of pledging net-zero status for its supply chain — a goal some of the other companies are pursuing. The supermarket operator said it will ask suppliers for their own carbon-reduction commitments.

The retailer plans to reach net-zero a decade earlier than the UK government. Last year, Britain agreed to become the first major economy to pass a law requiring it to reduce GHG emissions to the point where it makes no net contribution to rising global temperatures. Sainsbury also plans to reach net-zero a decade earlier than bigger rival Tesco, which, more than a decade ago, set that as a target for 2050.

Price pressure

The announcement comes as Sainsbury faces continued pressure amid a brutal price war in the UK grocery sector, fueled by the growth of the discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The £1bn will be invested at a rate of £50m a year for the next two decades and will form part of planned capital expenditure. A large part of it will be spent on improving the efficiency of refrigeration in stores, the company said.

It’s a parting shot for CEO Mike Coupe, who is leaving in May, less than a year after the collapse of a planned purchase of Walmart’s Asda. He will be succeeded by the grocer’s retail head, Simon Roberts.

Coupe said in the statement, “We recognise that we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the changes needed to help the planet exist sustainably.” 

Bloomberg