Sainsbury's is the UK's second-largest supermarket retailer by market share, operating over 1,400 stores across groceries, general merchandise, and clothing.
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Sainsbury's has cut operational emissions 53% since 2018 and achieved 100% renewable electricity, but Scope 3 emissions—98% of total—are flat. Supply chain decarbonization is stalled despite SBTi targets. Plastic reduction fell short of 2025 goals. Nature commitments remain largely unverified.
J Sainsbury scores 43/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified October 2026.
That places J Sainsbury joint 296th of 847 companies scored, and joint 13th of 48 in Retail (non-fashion).
Where J Sainsbury sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 48 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, J Sainsbury is tied =13th of 48, with 3 others.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
Scope 3 essentially flat: 27,692,972 tCO₂e (FY2023/24) to 27,581,158 tCO₂e (FY2024/25)—only 0.4% reduction.
Deforestation pledge not yet independently verified; supply-chain nature quantification incomplete.
50% plastic reduction target by 2025 not achieved.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Evidence that isn't public can count through an evidence review.
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Get in touch →Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Energy Source (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 6/10).
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above J Sainsbury.
Wickes has credible emissions reporting with SBTi-validated targets, but total footprint rose 28% in 2022 due to Scope 3 methodology improvements masking weak absolute trajectory.
See the breakdown →Screwfix has halved its operational emissions in four years while expanding stores, backed by third-party verification.
See the breakdown →Travis Perkins has achieved real operational emissions cuts through renewable electricity and fleet transition, but Scope 3 absolute trajectory remains ambiguous—the company uses intensity language during sales decline.
See the breakdown →J Sainsbury's score has moved from 44 to 43 across 3 recorded reviews, down 1 point.
Aggregator-citation sweep: broker citations replaced with the primary disclosures they mirror, re-scored through the guarded pipeline under pinned code 9196601.
Rescore 45→42 (promote-refresh, frozen base 48)
Initial score at platform launch
The formula and all 16 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale16 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
8 of 16 sources are independent of the company.
“448,734 tCO2e of absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our own operations — Down 2.2% year-on-year, Down 52.8% versus baseline”
“Absolute GHG emissions within our own operations (tCO2e): 2018/19 baseline 949,744; 2024/25 FY 448,734”
“Absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions (tCO2e): FY 2023/24 27,692,972; FY 2024/25 27,581,158”
“The turbines are expected to produce around 92,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity every year — approximately 8% of Sainsbury's annual energy usage”
“Soy sourced to an independent sustainability standard: 6% 2019; 43% [FY2022/23]; 88% [FY2023/24]; 100% 2025 target”
“Across food, we delivered a further 2,812 tonne reduction in plastic in 2024/25, an absolute reduction of 18.7 per cent since our baseline in 2018”
“Sainsbury's is now using more new-to-planet renewable energy... the introduction of the new, market-leading recycling system by Sainsbury's”
“Absolute water usage within our own operations (m³): 2018/19 baseline 3,224,000; 2024/25 FY 2,562,660 — water neutral [target] 2040/41”
“Sainsbury's have purchased the Replenish volumes associated with The Rivers Trust's Wyre Catchment Natural Flood Management Project”
“By 2030, the retailer has now committed to reducing its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% and scope 3 emissions associated with energy, industry and transport by 50.4%”
“Sainsbury's has set a bold 2030 target to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions, approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative”
“Sainsbury's 2024-25 Plan for Better Report Limited Assurance Report [covering Scope 1&2 and water data, verified by ERM CVS]”
“Sainsbury's has been recognised for leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its annual 'A List' for the 10th consecutive year”
“In 2021-23, Sainsbury's engaged positively with top-line messaging on climate policy. Its positions on climate policy were limited but appeared broadly positive.”
“Sainsbury's has no target for reducing its overall sales of meat and dairy, without which it cannot hope to meet its net zero target for all its emissions”
“food retailers Morrisons and Sainsbury's [are among the new adopters of TNFD recommendations at COP16]”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Sainsbury's is the UK's second-largest supermarket retailer by market share, operating over 1,400 stores across groceries, general merchandise, and clothing. Founded in 1869 and headquartered in London, it is a major food distributor with significant supply chain leverage across agriculture, dairy, and consumer goods.
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