Sainsbury's crewe packaging

Goal: Reduce the waste we produce from our own operations and recover as much as is practical, ensuring the remainder is disposed of responsibly. Encourage customers to recycle where appropriate.
The Group uses packaging in the retail of food and non-food products. Packaging is associated with the product ('primary' packaging), its transport ('secondary' packaging), and sometimes display of the product ('tertiary' packaging such as display trays). A variety of essential functions are provided by packaging; to protect the product from damage, to maintain the quality of the product (and in food the hygiene and safety of the product), to provide information (often required by law), and in some cases to keep customers safe e.g. child-proof closures on pharmaceuticals. Packaging also helps to promote and sell the product.
Packaging optimisation reduces the business' impact on the environment, saves resources and can help to reduce the cost of product. The company wants to optimise the use of packaging and minimise its use while achieving the required functionality in the most cost-effective way. This also helps address the challenge of disposal or recycling of packaging 'waste'.
Packaging Programme
Sainsbury's Supermarkets sells the majority of the packaging used by the Group in association with the products sold. Typically there are around 25,000 products on the shelf at any one time, and approximately 10,000 are own-brand. Examples of Sainsbury's packaging programme include:
Packaging optimisation
Sainsbury's Supermarkets uses a packaging management process that ensures packaging is automatically built into the process of product development. Packaging requirements are being incorporated into the company's product management system, and key members of staff have been trained.
Suppliers are involved in finding alternative (lighter, thinner etc.) packaging for new and revised products.
Reusable packaging
We are introducing reusable crates where feasible to replace cardboard packaging transit outers. This not only reduces packaging waste but also improves product protection.
We encourage customers to reuse their carrier bags through Sainsbury's Supermarkets 'Penny Back' scheme, this has been running since 1991 and gives a customer a penny back for every carrier bag they reuse thus saving resources.
Sainsbury's Supermarkets also offers customers a durable Bag for Life (cost 10p), which is replaced free and recycled when worn out. This encourages customers to reuse the bag a number of times. The supershopper bag (cost 75p), twice the size and strength of the free carrier bag, was introduced last year in response to customers' requests for greater choice in reusable shopping bags. It has a solid base, strong easy-to-use handles and a Velcro pad to close the bag. The response from customers has been very positive with sales of bags running between three and four times the original estimate.
Packaging and recycling
Wherever possible, Sainsbury's aims to ensure packaging is designed to be recyclable e.g. using single materials that are easier to recycle.
We provide information labels on the packaging to identify the material it is made out of to make segregation for recycling easier.
We help create markets for recycled material by including a recycled content in paper, cardboard, metal and glass for packaging.


Packaging used on products for sale in Sainsbury's Supermarkets stores(total tonnes)
Notes to Graph:
The data apply to Sainsbury's Supermarkets only.
1999/00 data were compiled using the SEQUIOA index of packaging weights related to turnover. Subsequent years use Sainsbury's own database of packaging weights compiled to complete the submissions for the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. Data were taken from a sample of products and extrapolated to reach the total.
Packaging tonnage data are compiled for calendar years ending 31 December 2002.
Data for 1999/00, 2000/01 and 2001/02 have been restated from previous reports to take into account double counting of some categories of packaging.
Performance Overview
Sainsbury's Supermarkets performance
Actual performance is still 10% better than baseline target even though relative to turnover the amount of packaging rose by 4% during the year. This increase has mainly been due to a rise in sales of beers, wines and spirits, which being predominantly packed in glass are proportionately heavier than other packaging. The introduction of reusable crate systems has continued during the year, helping to reduce the amount of transit packaging used within the business.