In 2017, Sainsbury’s became the first UK supermarket to rollout an F1 inspired fridge technology. The aerofoil technology, used to make F1 cars more aerodynamic, helps to chill food while creating energy savings of up to 15% and keeping aisles up to 4C warmer for customers. Designed by F1 engineers William Advanced Engineering, the system steers cold air directly back down fridge units to stop cold air from spilling out onto the aisles.
Three years on, Sainsbury’s has fitted its 400,000th Aerofoil at its new Battersea Park Station, meaning all of the retailer’s convenience stores and supermarkets are now fitted with the technology. It is the millionth energy-saving Formula One fridge fitted in the UK, with Asda amongst the businesses also installing the technology across its stores.
The technology has delivered annual carbon savings of 8,783 tonnes of CO2e for Sainsbury’s.
Sainsbury’s carbon, utilities and engineering manager Dave Merefield said: “We’re committed to becoming a Net-Zero business by 2040 and have already begun to make headway by investing substantial time, research and money into different areas that can help us achieve this goal – including the fitting of the pioneering Aerofoil technology.
“Since rolling out Aerofoils, we’ve seen a 15% reduction in energy created from fridges across our estate, and over the next few years we’ll continue innovating and investing in technology to help us combat climate change.”
Net-zero shopping
Sainsbury’s has pledged to invest £1bn over the next 20 years in order to become a net-zero business across its own operations by 2040. The £1bn investment covers a raft of programme changes to reduce carbon emissions, food waste, water use and plastic packaging while increasing biodiversity and improving healthy and sustainable eating for customers.
The investment will cover Sainsbury’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions and the retailer will work with the Carbon Trust to set science-based targets. The retailer’s current carbon footprint is one million tonnes, which is a 35% absolute reduction in the last 15 years despite the size of the company increasing by 46% over the same timeframe.
Sainsbury’s will work with suppliers to help them set individual net-zero commitments.
The retailer has previously invested £260m across more than 3,000 sustainability initiatives in the past 10 years, including a nationwide LED lighting programme – by the end of 2022, all Sainsbury’s stores will be 100% lit by LED.
Matt Mace