Environment
Highlights for 2004/05
- We continued to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from stores, due to energy-saving investments, for example through lighting upgrades and technical measures such as voltage supply reduction and buying 10% of our energy from renewable sources. This means that we have beaten our 2005 target by a substantial margin.
- We began reviewing our environmental policies and are committed to agreeing and communicating an updated policy by the end of 2005.
- We reviewed and reinvigorated our environmental management system.
- We are keen to reduce food miles – the distance food is transported. We have increased the proportion of products sourced from the UK while still ensuring we offer customers the products they want. We estimate that we source domestically 90% of the food that can be grown in this country.
- We have a large food donation programme which gives food to charity that is beyond its display-by date but within its use-by date. This helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
- We have achieved a steady decline in waste sent to landfill, relative to our sales. In 2004/05 we landfilled 5.73 tonnes of waste for every £1 million sales, compared to 6 tonnes in 2002/3.
- We emphasise the financial and environmental benefits of recycling for stores and recycled 118,000 tonnes of cardboard and over 5,000 tonnes of plastic.
We use five key indicators to monitor progress. The table shows our performance in 2004/05 compared to previous years. We continued to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from stores, due to energy-saving investments and buying energy from renewable sources. This means that we have beaten our 2005 target by a substantial margin.
| Key indicator | 2004/05 | 2003/04 | 2002/03 | 2001/02 | 2000/01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *data is not yet available for these items | |||||
| Carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy use at stores (tonnes) | 617,996 | 647,438 | 685,060 | 668,414 | 663,307 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from transport (tonnes) | * | 125,367 | 117,337 | 125,100 | 124,032 |
| Waste generated at stores (tonnes) | 226,669 | 213,187 | 212,940 | 209,796 | 191,773 |
| Packaging used on our products (tonnes) | 561,402 | 524,064 | 570,279 | 532,170 | 540,577 |
| Refrigerant volume held in stores (tonnes) | 1,040 | 1,005 | 986 | 947 | 914 |
We recognise that virtually all our activities have some impact on the environment. Our aim is to minimise these impacts through a programme of continuous improvement.
We address both direct and indirect environmental impacts. Our suppliers' activities have important environmental consequences. Although they are outside our direct control we want to use our influence as a major customer to promote more sustainable practices in our supply chain.
Our environmental work covers many issues of concern to consumers, including animal welfare, organic farming, food safety, pesticides and genetically modified food. We discuss these issues in detail in the suppliers and customers sections.
In 2004/05 we began to review our environmental management system and environmental policies. We are committed to agreeing and communicating an updated policy by the end of 2005.
Reports archive
Environment Reports from previous years are available in our Reports archive.
