Sainsburys plastic peanut butter jars

The new jars are just as functional as the previous ones, but the reduced weight means not only do they have a lower environmental impact, they also require less fuel to transport. As such, the new jars could reduce Sainsbury's carbon emissions by over 150 tonnes.

"We have the most ambitious packaging reduction target in the industry and meeting it will require hundreds of initiatives such as this," says Stuart Lendrum, Sainsbury's head of packaging. "Our work on peanut butter is a great example of how you can reduce packaging without sacrificing its effectiveness. In fact, the new jars will be less prone to breaking making them even better than the previous ones.

"Excess packaging is one of the top concerns among customers, so it is a real priority for us. It is vital that we strike the correct balance between ensuring packaging is functional and reducing the volume we use."

Sainsbury's has cut packaging levels by 12 million kilos over the past year, meaning around seven per cent of packaging has been removed from Sainsbury's own-brand products through new packaging design. This equates to an 11 percent reduction over the past two years.

Sainsbury's has made hundreds of changes to its packaging over the past year. Taste the Difference ready meals for example, have had the size of their outer sleeves reduced by 45 perdent, leading to a saving of more than 5,500,000 kilos of paperboard each year.

Other packaging changes that have contributed to the 12 million kilo total include:

•introducing heat-seal lids on soft fruit lines, yielding over 440 tonnes of packaging reduction each year
•reducing our Easter egg packaging by 57 percent since 2008
•removing the cartons from our canned Ventresca tuna fillets, reducing the packaging by 20 percent and saving around 880 kilos of cardboard each year
•reducing the cardboard on our pizza base mix, saving 87 percent of packaging or 8,900 kilos each year.

Sainsbury's has been at the forefront of packaging reduction for many years, and was an original signatory to the first Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement with WRAP to improve resource efficiency and reduce the carbon and wider environmental impact of grocery retail. The supermarket has remained committed to this responsibility deal, during the development and launch of Courtauld II and is currently working with WRAP towards Courtauld III.

Source: Sainsbury's

.