As over 90% of Asda's environmental impact lies within its supply chain, the supermarket chain has made this a focus of its sustainability activities and has seen a difference in 12 months.
One supplier has saved nearly £200,000 and over 80,000kg of CO2e after finding out about an energy efficient cold store on the forum. Another, a family-owned vegetable business, is predicted to save £3.5m over 25 years after installing solar PV.
The company created an online tool called the Sustain & Save Exchange (SSE) to help suppliers reduce their environmental impact as well as making the overall supply chain more efficient. In the past 12 months, the number of suppliers using the system has doubled to 849, with participants across the fresh, frozen and chilled produce areas.
The web-based tool is supported by free live events, which give suppliers access to information and ideas about how to increase resource efficiency and offering them a forum to share best practice. Asda believes one of the main reasons for the success of the exchange is that it is funded directly by its trading teams guaranteeing that the company's buyers, a group previously hard to engage in sustainable thinking, are deeply involved. Each produce department has a "hero buyer" to ensure the sustainability message is driven through all supplier relationships.
Since 2005 Asda has also reduced energy use in stores by approximately a third, and in new stores by 45% – together the equivalent of the energy used every year by 60,000 homes.
Today Asda's goods travel 18m fewer road miles than in 2005, and the company has also diverted over 90% of its waste away from landfill.
Nicolette Fox is part of the wordworks network
The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards.
