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Sainsbury’s has become the latest company to be granted a self-supply licence by Ofwat.
The supermarket told Utility Week that the move is part of its net zero strategy, which includes a pledge to achieve water neutrality by 2040.
It is the first supermarket to be directly granted a supply licence, although Waitrose is included within the wider arrangement for the John Lewis Partnership.
As a self-supplier, it joins the likes of brewers Greene King, Heineken and Marston’s as well as BT, Coca Cola and Kellogg’s.
Companies with a self-supply licence are entitled to supply water services to their sites across England, pay wholesale prices and become a voting member of market operator, MOSL. Sainsbury’s will also be involved in innovation within the water market through the Self-Supply User Forum.
Waterscan has been appointed as Sainsbury’s as managing agents to assume retail functions such as meter readings, Central Market Operating System (CMOS) transactions and wholesaler management, as well as identifying water efficiency opportunities.
Sainsbury’s carbon, utilities and engineering manager Dave Merefield said: “We’re very excited to have been awarded our water self-supply licence by Ofwat.
“This water license puts us in the driving seat to be more strategic and gives more options to achieve our goal of water neutrality.
“By moving to a model of self-supply we can better measure and manage our water use and engage directly with water wholesalers.
“We continually review every aspect of water use across our business and strive to innovate and collaborate with stakeholders to lower our water consumption.
“As part of our commitment to becoming a net zero business across our own operations by 2040, we’re focused on minimising the use of water. We have an ambitious goal to achieve water neutrality by 2040 and are already using 1 billion litres less water annually than in 2005. We’re very proud of achieving a 33 per cent absolute water reduction since 2005, despite our estate increasing by 46 per cent over this period.”
J Sainsbury plc is the holding company for over 1,400 eponymous supermarkets and convenience stores, almost 900 Argos stores and the Sainsbury’s Bank, Tu, Habitat, Sainsbury’s Home and Nectar brands.
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