Better Health for All

Sainsbury's demonstrates a strategic focus on health-positive impact, with 81.9% of its total sales tonnage and 88.3% of own-brand sales tonnage classified as Healthy and Better for you products.

The company aims to increase total healthy sales tonnage to 85% by FY2025/26. Sainsbury's has achieved a 20% reduction in sugar across five government categories by 2020. and 93% of products meet maximum kcal per portion guidance. It has also removed industrial trans fatty acids from own-brand products since 2007 and discontinued multi-buy offers on less healthy food and soft drinks. Sainsbury's has implemented moderate addiction controls by discontinuing multi-buy offers on food and soft drinks in 2016 , removing confectionery from checkouts since 2004 , and maintaining a Responsible Retailing of Alcohol Policy. Sainsbury's does not offer health-related products or services requiring accessibility considerations as per the rubric, nor does it conduct clinical trials or manage health-related data from customers or patients. Its operations do not intersect with healthcare workforce development.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Sainsbury's Bank was found by the Financial Ombudsman Service to have failed to complete reasonable and proportionate checks to ensure a customer could sustainably repay a loan.

This resulted in an order to refund all interest, fees, and charges, plus 8% simple interest on overpayments. The company has also announced a phased withdrawal from its core banking business, ceasing the acquisition of new personal loan and credit card accounts. This strategic shift means there are no new APR or fee structures for consumer credit products to evaluate.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Sainsbury's reported a CEO median pay ratio of 195:1.

Between December 2022 and November 2023, the company was linked to three cases of labor-related issues, including racism, wage theft, and threats of unfair dismissal. For 2024/25, the median gender pay gap decreased to 6.1% in favor of men, while the median ethnicity pay gap is -5.8% in favor of ethnically-diverse colleagues.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Sainsbury's demonstrates high levels of certification for many commodities, with 100% of black tea, bananas, palm oil, and farmed seafood certified.

Other certified rates include 98.2% cotton, 96.7% soy, 98% timber, 98.9% leather, 91.4% manmade cellulosic fibres, 86.8% wild-caught seafood, 64% coffee, and 65% cocoa. For audit frequency, direct supplier sites are audited at least every three years, with low-risk food sites having a minimum frequency of four years. In the 2024/25 financial year, 366 critical non-compliances linked to indicators of forced labour were identified through third-party ethical audits. The company publishes its tier 1 supplier list on Open Supply Hub and achieves deep traceability (to source/farm/vessel level) for timber, own-brand black tea, coffee, fresh produce, and seafood. However, mapping for garments, agency labour providers, and protein supply chains is currently to tier 2. The Group-wide Ethical Sourcing Policy is a contractual requirement for all own-brand and owned-brand suppliers, with compliance expected from branded suppliers.

Honest & Fair Business

Sainsbury's audit procedures covered 100% of revenue and 99% of total assets.

The company scored 51% on the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index. Its Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of 23.4 places it 99th out of 189 companies in the industry. Sainsbury's has received an A rating for its Climate Change CDP submission for ten consecutive years and an A- for water disclosure. The company publicly discloses its first-tier supplier list and receives third-party limited assurance for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and other selected metrics from ERM CVS.

Kind to Animals

Sainsbury's has obtained Leaping Bunny certification for its own-brand cosmetics and toiletries, demonstrating a cruelty-free commitment for these products since 1988.

The company achieved a Tier 2 ranking in the 2025 BBFAW report, indicating that farm animal welfare is an integral part of its business strategy. Sainsbury's has committed a £50 million investment in pig welfare standards and AI monitoring technologies. It has also partnered to implement AI for monitoring animal welfare on 30 dairy farms, with plans for broader rollout. Furthermore, Sainsbury's has increased living space and introduced enrichments like bales and perching platforms for chickens to enable natural behaviors. The company is also involved in an agroforestry initiative with the Woodland Trust, committed to planting 6.5 million trees by 2025 to enhance biodiversity and promote animal welfare through shade and shelter.

No War, No Weapons

Sainsbury's Ethical Sourcing Policy mentions alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

No other specific, quantifiable evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Sainsbury's against the defined Key Performance Indicators for the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value.

Planet-Friendly Business

Sainsbury's climate targets were validated by the SBTi in March 2024

, including a 2035 net-zero target for its own operations and a 2050 net-zero target for its value chain , with interim 2030 goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% , Scope 3 FLAG emissions by 36.4% , and Scope 3 non-FLAG emissions by 50.4% . 100% of the company's electricity has been sourced from renewable sources since January 2022 , with 20% of UK supermarket assets having on-site renewable energy generation . 39.8% of Sainsbury's Scope 3 emissions are covered by suppliers with SBTi 1.5°C aligned targets . The company has a formal zero-deforestation and conversion-free policy for own-brand products by December 2025 , with 100% of palm oil , 98% of timber , 96.7% of soy , and 98.9% of leather sourced to independent sustainability standards in 2024. 99.9% of beef is from low-risk origins , with meatpackers using satellite monitoring . Sainsbury's publishes a full TCFD Report within its 2024 Annual Report and Accounts , which includes a TCFD statement and quantitative climate scenario analysis .

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The company supported 605 local initiatives through its 'Good food for all of us' community grant program in the last year.

There are no reported cultural appropriation incidents. Sainsbury's raised £33.8 million for good causes in 2024/25. , , , But the portion specifically allocated to cultural initiatives was not specified.

Safe & Smart Tech

Sainsbury's states it uses personal information in specific ways and enforces a 'need to know' policy for data access

, with no documented incidents of unauthorized data use. Users have rights to access, correct, restrict use of, be forgotten, data portability, object to use, and not be subject to automated processing , and can amend alert preferences. However, one incident highlighted a requirement to submit personal identification to a third party to prove non-flagging. Sainsbury's Bank uses usernames and passwords for login and may use behavioural biometric personal data for customer authentication for electronic payments , with remote document verification and behavioural biometrics also used for personal loans and credit cards. The company states compliance with data protection legislation and GDPR , and achieved compliance with new Consumer Duty regulations for 'open book' products by July 2023 , with 'closed book' products on track for compliance by July 2024.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Sainsbury's has implemented numerous waste reduction initiatives, including saving 7,386 tonnes of surplus food and redistributing 17.6 million meals in 2024/25

, a 373% increase from its 2019/20 baseline. The company launched a £1m fund to fight food waste and began transforming food waste into biofuel for 30 delivery trucks. Sainsbury's has achieved a 21% reduction in own-brand plastic packaging from its 2018/2020 baselines. In 2023, 89.7% of its own-brand products were fully recyclable. The average recycled content across own-brand products was 31.5% in 2021. The company has set targets to reduce own-brand plastic packaging by 50% by 2025 and surplus food sent to anaerobic digestion by 50% by 2030. Sainsbury's has clear waste requirements for suppliers and uses a 'Good to Know' logo to educate customers on sustainable product choices and reduced plastic footprints.