Sainsbury’s has appointed data and technology provider Foodsteps to help it measure and reduce the environmental footprint of its supply chain.
With a focus on food sustainability, Foodsteps will work with the retailer to develop detailed and auditable reporting across Sainsbury’s product range.
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The companies’ goal is to create a data set granular enough to assess the supermarket’s portfolio and support action with suppliers.
The initiative sits within Sainsbury’s Plan for Better strategy, under which the retailer has said it has embedded sustainability more deeply in its operations.
Sainsbury’s has publicly committed to reaching net zero across its value chain by 2050 and has positioned a more sustainable food system as part of its customer proposition.
Sainsbury’s sustainability director Ruth Cranston said: “As the food system faces mounting pressures from climate change and wider global uncertainty, it’s more important than ever that we work together to drive the resilience and sustainability of our supply chain.
“By partnering with Foodsteps, we gain higher quality carbon data that will help us track our emissions reductions and advance our ambitions to protect and restore nature, supporting our Plan for Better commitments and helping us to drive real and lasting change for people and the planet.”
Under the partnership, Sainsbury’s will use Foodsteps’ product-level, science-based data alongside supplier information gathered at scale via Foodsteps’ AI-enabled Supplier Hub.
Foodsteps said this approach is intended to make sustainability a standard topic in supplier discussions.
It also pointed to its involvement in industry initiatives, including the Led 4 Food and Hestia projects, saying the work with Sainsbury’s is designed to move past broad estimates and towards greater transparency and measurable progress across the UK food system.
Foodsteps founder Anya Doherty said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with Sainsbury’s on its ambitious Plan for Better journey. At Foodsteps, we are on a mission to empower the food industry to accelerate its transition to net zero.
“Working alongside a retail leader like Sainsbury’s allows us to scale that impact, driving collaborative change that benefits suppliers, customers, and the planet.”
