Commercial property chain Sainsbury’s have come up with a new way to reduce their carbon footprint – and, according to them, it is nothing to be pooh-poohed at!
The cardboard tubing inside its own-brand toilet rolls will be reduced in diameter in an attempt to save up to 500 lorry deliveries per annum. With 500 less journeys by Heavy Goods Vehicles every year, the company could be saving up to 140 tonnes of carbon dioxide on trips between the supply depots and the stores.
Currently, the tubes measure 123mm, but under the new proposals, these would be slimmed down to 112mm. Kate Tucker, a spokesperson for the commercial property giants, said these changes would help Sainsbury’s become more environmentally friendly, giving “an essential household product a lower carbon footprint.”
She added; “We wanted to shrink the tube as much as possible and this was as far as we could go to guarantee that it will still fit customers’ toilet roll holders.
“Shoppers will get the same amount of toilet paper but with a smaller tube and therefore less packaging – including the outside film.”
The new-look loo rolls, which have 240 sheets, will go on sale at Sainsbury’s commercial properties throughout the country next month. The price will also remain the same, at £1.99 for four rolls.
However, squeezing more toilet rolls on to lorries is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to initiatives aimed at ethical retailing – from May 1st, the commercial property group will also be introducing a Cost Of Production (COP) model to reward farmers in Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group for “outstanding animal welfare and environmental standards.” This will mean that the payment farmers receive from Sainsbury’s will change to reflect the rising costs of feed, fuel and fertiliser – meaning the 324 farmers involved will not lose out by keeping their animals in the best possible conditions.
CEO of Sainsbury’s, Justin King, says; “This is great news for farmers and testimony to the incredibly close relationships we’ve built over the past five years through our industry-leading Dairy Development Group.
“This is also good news for customers who want retailers to do the right thing on their behalf. This move is a great example of how our values make us different.
“It is a natural next step towards our wider commitment to source with integrity, including our pledge to source all key raw materials sustainably by 2020, and to double the amount of British food we sell.”
As around 5 billion litres of milk are sold in the UK each year, and each person in the country will use 50 toilet rolls on average annually, these essential items are clearly highly in demand. By reducing their carbon footprint, and buying ethically, Sainsbury’s commercial properties can truly claim to be very environmentally friendly.
Do you buy organic products and items that have been ethically sourced in your local commercial property? Or do you believe keeping costs low is just as important as where your shopping comes from?
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