Asda on target for £800m sustainability savings

The supermarket’s sustainability initiatives are set to deliver £800m of cumulative savings by 2020 – efficiencies it has committed to reinvest in low prices.  

So far the retailer has saved £70m through reducing waste and energy usage in its operations since parent company Walmart revealed commitments to sustainable sourcing and reductions in energy use and waste in 2005.

Asda said it is four years ahead of schedule on its promise to reduce absolute carbon emissions throughout its operations by 10%.

The announcement comes a month after Sainsbury’s announced its 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan which includes targets to increasing fairly traded product sales to £1bn by 2020.

Asda has eliminated 149,000 tonnes of carbon from its operations since 2007 – the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road for a year; eliminated 900 jumbo jets worth of packaging from its products and reduced energy use in stores equivalent to that used by more than 55,000 homes every year.

Asda said it is taking a “no lectures” approach on green issues with its shoppers.

Paul Kelly, external affairs director at Asda, said: “Our approach to sustainability is based on the belief that protecting the environment and saving people money go hand in hand. Wasting resources is a waste of money – and we hate waste of any kind.

“Our customers also see ‘green living’ as part and parcel of living as efficiently as possible in their everyday lives.

“They have told us loud and clear that caring about ‘green issues’ isn’t dependant on income and we will continue to make sure we work with them to deliver savings for their pockets and the planet.”