UK supermarket chain J Sainsbury has been named the leading food retailer for the third year running in the Index of Corporate Environmental Engagement, published by Business in the Environment.
The retailer was also ranked third out of the 78 FTSE 100 companies surveyed and improved its position in the overall ranking from fifth to fourth place out of 192 companies that took part.
As part of a 'greener' approach the supermarket issued a 'Raising the Standard' brochure to 1,250 own-brand suppliers to increase environmental best practice among its supply chain. The company has also stocked the world's first wild Alaskan salmon sourced from fisheries certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council and the company has begun working with own-brand suppliers to phase out 27 priority chemicals on the Oslo Paris Convention (OSPAR) list by December 2005, ahead of the target year of 2020, to stop these chemicals accumulating in marine ecosystems.
Waste minimisation has also been tackled with an increase of 43 per cent from 1,633 tonnes to 2,343 tonnes in the amount of food donated to charity and local community in 2001.
Sir Peter Davis, group chief executive, said:
"I am pleased that Sainsbury's is now recognised as leading our industry in this important area and that we have scored consistently well year after year. This demonstrates how we are building environmental responsibility into our business processes and responding to our customers' concerns."