J Sainsbury's PLC

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"As part of our vision to be the most inclusive retailer and our commitment to diversity, we have signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles that promote gender equality and women's empowerment as well as the 30% Club, Women in Finance Charter and are a diversity Champion with Stonewall."; "Our commitment to ethical and responsible sourcing is ongoing and we work with suppliers to ensure they continuously improve their performance in these areas. We also recognise the need to communicate this commitment to key stakeholders including the public, suppliers and the people who work in our supply chains."

In their 2021 Forests CDP Report, Sainsbury's state: "Our suppliers of corned beef from Brazil have public commitments in place not to source from farmers engaged in deforestation of the Amazon biome after 2009." 

"Does your organization undertake a forests-related risk assessment? Yes, forests-related risks are assessed...Tools and methods used...Internal company methods...Working with our technical teams we gather assurance from our corned beef suppliers that our beef is not connected to deforestation. Any South American origin isconsidered as high risk". 

"Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

In their 2021 CDP report, Sainsbury's report 30794.71 metric tonnes Volume of production/ consumption certified for beef By-products (e.g. glycerin, gelatin)stating "The absolute vast majority of our beef volume is sourced from within the UK or Ireland. All our fresh beef is sourced from UK or Ireland and all our TTD beef is British. All of Sainsbury's fresh and frozen beef meets the Red Tractor standard or equivalent". 

In their 2021 CDP report, Sainsbury's report 30794.71 metric tonnes Volume of production/ consumption certified for beef By-products (e.g. glycerin, gelatin)stating "The absolute vast majority of our beef volume is sourced from within the UK or Ireland. All our fresh beef is sourced from UK or Ireland and all our TTD beef is British. All of Sainsbury's fresh and frozen beef meets the Red Tractor standard or equivalent". 

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues." 

"Does your organization undertake a forests-related risk assessment? Yes, forests-related risks are assessed...Tools and methods used...Internal company methods...Working with our technical teams we gather assurance from our corned beef suppliers that our beef is not connected to deforestation. Any South American origin isconsidered as high risk". 

"Working with our technical teams we gather assurance from our corned beef suppliers that our beef is not connected to deforestation. Any South American origin is considered as high risk... Sainsbury's is actively working with its corned beef suppliers to ensure the risk of deforestation in our supply chain is addressed. We have agreements in place that our corned beef is sourced from farms outside of the Amazon biome in order to minimise the risk of beef associated with deforestation of the Amazon from entering our supply chain."

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"Smallholders play an important role in our supply chains and we have a key role to play in supporting them and creating a fair system of value distribution...We are committed to work together to increase their resilience and prosperity by committing to fair, transparent, stable and long term sourcing from small-scale food producers. For example, we have worked hard to ensure all our loose bananas are sourced from smallholders and we specify to our suppliers which cooperatives they can source from...Our Sainsbury s Fairly Traded programme enables us to reach actual smallholders, build closer relationships and gain insight into mutual needs and opportunities. We can provide long-term relationships and trade forecasts which gives the benefits of certainty and price so smallholders have continuity of trade and can invest in their businesses for the long term. We engage in ongoing conversations and ideas exchange including how to ensure a living income at farm level and the community...We are committed to support small-scale farmers to organise collectively. One example of this is in our black tea supply chains in Rwanda, Kenya and Malawi, we make clear our requirements for a participative and representative structure to the producer organizations, and ask for confirmation of this before plans for funding are approved and monies disbursed. Our local consultants meet with representatives to discuss how they could engage with farmers in order to develop the plans (e.g. Annual General Meeting, suggestion boxes etc.). In Malawi and Rwanda we have also conducted SMS and phone call surveys with hundreds of smallholders, asking them whether they had representatives that attend producer organization meetings. This has helped keep producer groups accountable. Finally in Rwanda and Malawi we funded management training to approximately 30 farmer representatives in 2019". 

"We commit to increasing the proportion of female agricultural producers or processors in our supply chain. This year, we will focus on gathering data to understand our current levels of women producers. Once established, we will aim to improve proportions and publish progress on an annual basis. We have carried out some initial needs assessments and disaggregated data by gender outlined in the case studies below". 

In their CDP 2021 Forests Report CDP list FPIC as a supplier criteria: "Secure Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of indigenous people and local communities." 

"Sourcing RSPO certified palm oil (with a full chain of custody) is a key requirement for our suppliers. The 2005 cut-off date relates to the RSPO requirements on avoiding primary forest and areas of HCV". 

"One of the major problems with deforestation is where others don't source sustainable palm oil. To address this we have been working with other retailers on the Palm Oil Transparency Coalition (POTC) to develop a way of holding large palm oil importers accountable for sourcing sustainable palm oil. This way we will be able to minimise the impact and ensure that there is no contribution to deforestation. The POTC group was established as a robust engagement and evaluation process for measuring the progress of the major First Importers of palm oil into international markets. Each year through the POTC we assess our supplier s importers of palm oil using several criteria."

"Does your organization undertake a forests-related risk assessment?Yes, forests-related risks are assessed...We work extensively with a number of different consultancies (e.g. 3Keel & Track record global) to assess our commodity specific risk for deforestation and for supplier compliance against legal requirements and our policy on Palm Oil SP005."

"Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

Sainsbury's disclose in their 2021 Forests CDP Report the total volume of palm oil sourced as 11876 metric tons and total of 11875,98 metric tons certified. 

Sainsbury's disclose in their 2021 Forests CDP Report the total volume of palm oil sourced as 11876 metric tons and total of 11875,98 metric tons certified. 

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues." 

"We work extensively with a number of different consultancies (e.g. 3Keel) to assess our commodity specific risk for deforestation and for supplier compliance against legalrequirements and our policy on Palm Oil SP005...We are in regular discussions with other key supply chain suppliers who have traceabilityprogrammes in place back to mill and plantation...We are in regular discussions with our suppliers and other actors in the supply chain regarding the continuing supply of certified palm oil. Throughdiscussions with refineries, ingredient suppliers and our product suppliers we have compiled a list of available sustainable palm oil derivatives. Thislist informs our discussions with suppliers regarding product conversion plans and provides clarity on what actions suppliers can and should take.Training and advice are also regularly provided to our suppliers on how to get certified and source sustainable material. We have a clear policy (inplace since 2007) that our palm oil should be RSPO certified and this provides clarity to suppliers"> 

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"As part of our vision to be the most inclusive retailer and our commitment to diversity, we have signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles that promote gender equality and women's empowerment as well as the 30% Club, Women in Finance Charter and are a diversity Champion with Stonewall."; "Our commitment to ethical and responsible sourcing is ongoing and we work with suppliers to ensure they continuously improve their performance in these areas. We also recognise the need to communicate this commitment to key stakeholders including the public, suppliers and the people who work in our supply chains."

"For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: ... Prior to any activity that may affect indigenous people's and local communities rights, land, resources, territories, livelihoods, and food security, their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) must be secured."  

For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: 1. Timber must not be harvested illegally from in contravention of legislation with the country of origin. 2. There must be no deforestation of High Conservation Value forests..." 

For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: 1. Timber must not be harvested illegally from in contravention of legislation with the country of origin.."; "Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

In their 2021 Forests CDP Report, Sainsbury's disclose total amount of volume for timber products as 118,629 cubic metres. 

In their 2021 Forests CDP Report, Sainsbury's disclose total amount of volume as 118,629 cubic metres and 77,013.55 cubic metres of wood and paper are FSC certified. 

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues." 

"To ensure we are constantly working towards our targets we have developed a number of commodity specific policy documents which suppliers must comply with in order to supply us products. This includes policy documents on soy, palm oil, timber and beef. In each case we collect information on supplier performance annually through a supplier disclosure process. This allows us to track performance of individual products and suppliers against our sustainability targets...We track all products (in scope of EUTR, UKTR, and FLEGT) against legal compliance and compliance to our certification requirements."

"Through discussions with tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers and other stakeholders such as the FSC we are able to understand what sustainably certified material is available on the market and predicted future trends. This market insight feeds into our sustainability plans and discussions with suppliers for converting our products. Advice is also provided to suppliers on how to source sustainable material and meet our requirements. Sainsbury's issues clear policy guidance on its sustainable timber and paper requirements for its suppliers to enable them to source sustainable material. Each year we collect data on sustainable timber/paper usage from our suppliers to understand our progress. Sainsbury's regularly meets with its suppliers to discuss compliance with our policy requirements, the availability of sustainable material and plans for product conversions.We collect information on the availability of sustainable materials from our suppliers and from tier 2 suppliers to help inform our conversion plans and discussions. Finally, we also provide technical advice to our suppliers. This includes what information is required for our legal due diligence system and also on how to obtain the necessary chain of custody for certified material."

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"As part of our vision to be the most inclusive retailer and our commitment to diversity, we have signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles that promote gender equality and women's empowerment as well as the 30% Club, Women in Finance Charter and are a diversity Champion with Stonewall."; "Our commitment to ethical and responsible sourcing is ongoing and we work with suppliers to ensure they continuously improve their performance in these areas. We also recognise the need to communicate this commitment to key stakeholders including the public, suppliers and the people who work in our supply chains."

"Whilst setting clear expectations for our own products is an important first step, we don’t think this is sufficient. We want to work with our suppliers and the soy traders they source from to ensure that they are not contributing to deforestation elsewhere in their operations. We know this will be achieved progressively, but by working with other retailers and manufacturers we believe we can send a clear market signal to bring sector-wide change."

In the 2021 CDP report, Sainsbury's report a cutoff date of 2020 for their no conversion and no deforestation related commitments 

"To address this, we have partnered with others to establish the Soy Transparency Coalition, a pre-competitive group of soy buyers who together assess the sustainability performance of soy importers and traders. The questionnaire covers traders’ commitments and policies, as well as their efforts in implementing them" "We have been longstanding members of Roundtable on Responsible Soy and are also members of the Consumer Goods Forum soy working group, collaborating on initiatives such as the Soya Buyers Coalition which looks to track and trace soya usage in the value chain right back to farm".

"Does your organization undertake a forests-related risk assessment? Yes, forests-related risks are assessed [...] With our external consultants we have mapped our soy use origin and certification status for or imbedded soy use. Through the Soy Buyer Coalition we have worked with the Trase tool to follow trade flows to identify sourcing regions, supply chain risks and assess opportunities for sustainable production. Any South American origin is considered as high risk."

"Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

In their 2021 CDP report, Sainsbury's report a total 178771 Metric Tonnes of soy production/consumption which includes soy used as an ingredient or whole in own-brand products or soy used as animal feed for own-brand products

In the 2021 CDP report Sainsbury's report 42% of total production/consumption volume certified with the volume of production/ consumption of soy bean meal that is certified as 75083.83 metric tonnes "We have conducted an analysis with 3Keel during the reporting period where suppliers have disclosed information around soy bean meal use, country of origin and certification status. Following this analysis we have released our soy policy and transformational plan publicly with an aim to certify our volumes with our suppliers by 2025".

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues." 

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"As part of our vision to be the most inclusive retailer and our commitment to diversity, we have signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles that promote gender equality and women's empowerment as well as the 30% Club, Women in Finance Charter and are a diversity Champion with Stonewall."; "Our commitment to ethical and responsible sourcing is ongoing and we work with suppliers to ensure they continuously improve their performance in these areas. We also recognise the need to communicate this commitment to key stakeholders including the public, suppliers and the people who work in our supply chains."

"For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: ... Prior to any activity that may affect indigenous people's and local communities rights, land, resources, territories, livelihoods, and food security, their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) must be secured."  

Sainsbury's report a cut-off date of 1994 for their timber specific sustainability policies

"We have been a member of WWF's FTN since 1995. We provide an annual sustainability report to the FTN as part of our membership and we participate in FTN events to discuss sustainability trends and key issues associated with paper and timber."

"For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: 1. Timber must not be harvested illegally from in contravention of legislation with the country of origin. 2. There must be no deforestation of High Conservation Value forests..." 

For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: 1. Timber must not be harvested illegally from in contravention of legislation with the country of origin.."; "Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

In their 2021 Forests CDP Report, Sainsbury's disclose total amount of volume for timber products as 118,629 cubic metres. 

In their 2021 Forests CDP Report, Sainsbury's disclose total amount of volume as 118,629 cubic metres and 77,013.55 cubic metres of wood and paper are FSC certified. 

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues." 

"To ensure we are constantly working towards our targets we have developed a number of commodity specific policy documents which suppliers must comply with in order to supply us products. This includes policy documents on soy, palm oil, timber and beef. In each case we collect information on supplier performance annually through a supplier disclosure process. This allows us to track performance of individual products and suppliers against our sustainability targets...We track all products (in scope of EUTR, UKTR, and FLEGT) against legal compliance and compliance to our certification requirements."

For timber and paper products: "We work with our suppliers and a third party to conduct risk assessment of timber sourcing to ensure that the following requirements are met: ... Only plantation material grown on land converted prior to 2020 will be accepted, unless preceded by existing standards or legislation." 

"Through discussions with tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers and other stakeholders such as the FSC we are able to understand what sustainably certified material is available on the market and predicted future trends. This market insight feeds into our sustainability plans and discussions with suppliers for converting our products. Advice is also provided to suppliers on how to source sustainable material and meet our requirements. Sainsbury's issues clear policy guidance on its sustainable timber and paper requirements for its suppliers to enable them to source sustainable material. Each year we collect data on sustainable timber/paper usage from our suppliers to understand our progress. Sainsbury's regularly meets with its suppliers to discuss compliance with our policy requirements, the availability of sustainable material and plans for product conversions.We collect information on the availability of sustainable materials from our suppliers and from tier 2 suppliers to help inform our conversion plans and discussions. Finally, we also provide technical advice to our suppliers. This includes what information is required for our legal due diligence system and also on how to obtain the necessary chain of custody for certified material."

In their Human Rights Policy, Sainsbury's state that: "We understand our duty to respect human rights and this policy is developed in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Businesss and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, acknowledging that our work has a greater impact on human rights... Suppliers: We are founding members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and require all our food and Sainsbury's Argos suppliers to meet our Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade which is based on the ETI Base Code. This Code outlines respect for the human rights of workers in our supply chains including, but not limited to, protection around working hours, health and safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour and wages." The Sainsbury's Code of Conduct for Ethical Trade also mentions "Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining are respected." 

"As part of our vision to be the most inclusive retailer and our commitment to diversity, we have signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles that promote gender equality and women's empowerment as well as the 30% Club, Women in Finance Charter and are a diversity Champion with Stonewall."; "Our commitment to ethical and responsible sourcing is ongoing and we work with suppliers to ensure they continuously improve their performance in these areas. We also recognise the need to communicate this commitment to key stakeholders including the public, suppliers and the people who work in our supply chains."

"We are part of the Leather Working Group which seeks to increase the volume of certified leather that we sell, and acknowledge the risk that exists with leather contributing to deforestation. It remains an important material that we collaborate with our key commercial and technical stakeholders across the business on".

""Does your organization undertake a forests-related risk assessment? Yes, forests-related risks are assessed"

"Suppliers, sites and growers shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment."

"We recognise the importance of being aware of labour practices in our supply chains and the need to monitor, evaluate and act on information about our suppliers’, sites’ and growers’ performance. To do this, we use a range of tools including independent, third party audits of suppliers and sites, self-assessment questionnaires and confidential mechanisms for workers to highlight issues. We view access to grievance mechanism and facilitating effective worker and supplier communication as critical for identifying and resolving supply chain issues."