Supermarkets and the environment

Supermarkets are on the frontline in the fight against climate change. Their sheer size and dominance mean they are major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions, plastics and food waste.  

Supermarkets face sustainability issues on multiple fronts. Firstly, their operations – powering their shops, refrigerators, delivery vans and depots, packaging their products and handling their waste. And secondly, the products they sell have big environmental impacts, whether it’s carbon emissions from shipping them across the world, or issues such as deforestation and water use in their production. 

They also play a key role when it comes to influencing both consumers and suppliers – what they stock, as well as how it’s labelled and priced, can all make a difference. 

Shop more sustainably at the supermarket

Many of these issues can seem beyond the power of ordinary consumers, but there are important ways we can act. 

Your individual circumstances – where you shop, what you buy, how you get there, and what you do with the food once home – all make an impact. Only you will know where you can make the best, and most practical, changes for your household. 

There are key choices you can make in the supermarket aisles. Here are some of our top tips: 

• Follow the seasons: Fruit and veg that’s naturally in season is more likely to be produced locally without using a heated greenhouse. Look for UK-grown produce, and get them when they’re at their best. They are usually better value then, too, so buy in bulk and preserve or freeze them to enjoy all year round. Out-of-season food can be grown sustainably in warmer climates, but avoid any that’s air-freighted, as flying adds a big carbon footprint.

• Waste not, want not: Plan meals and write a shopping list so you’re less likely to buy more than you need. Don’t be tempted by two-for-one offers, especially on perishable items, unless you know you can use or freeze them. Buying in bulk can reduce packaging, but if you can’t eat it all immediately, freeze portions for later. Remember the ‘sniff test’: food can still be eaten beyond ‘best before’ and ‘display until’ dates – just use your judgment.

• Shop ‘naked’: Avoid plastic packaging by buying loose, unpackaged groceries. Take your own reusable produce bags for fruit and veg, and jars or lidded containers if your supermarket has refill stations for dry goods such as pasta or cereals. Some shops also allow you to fill your own container with deli products. Look out for easily recyclable paper and cardboard packaging, and choose refillable products, which are generally better for the environment.

• Be flexible: A ‘flexitarian’ diet includes more plant-based foods, while still allowing for some animal products. Beef, lamb and dairy have the biggest carbon footprints in our diet, so try replacing some of your red meat intake with vegetables and pulses, which are often cheaper and healthier as well as better for the planet. There’s a wide range of dairy alternatives too, with oat milk and pea milk considered to be among the most sustainable choices. Find out more about milk alternatives and how to buy the most sustainable seafood.

• Choose an eco slot: Online deliveries can be a lower-carbon option, with some supermarkets offering ‘eco’ or ‘green’ delivery slots, where their drivers are already delivering in your area. And although you might realistically need to rely on your car for the weekly shop, if you happen to have a short shopping list, walking, cycling or using public transport will all help to cut your petrol bills as well as your carbon footprint.

What supermarkets should do

Supermarkets' business-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plastic use and food waste are some of the biggest environmental sustainability issues to tackle. But it’s only the start of the story – other issues to consider include water use, deforestation, organic production, sustainable fish, and biodegradable cleaning products, for example. These are mostly further down the supply chain, beyond the scope of the supermarkets’ direct operations.

We want every supermarket to set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, for their own operations as well as the wider supply chain, with clear steps to reach them. 

They should also eliminate unnecessary plastic and make their own-brand plastic as widely recyclable as possible – and labelled as such. Plus, we’d like to see a focus on food waste.

What is the UK Plastics Pact?

Almost all of the UK's major supermarket chains have signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, which launched in April 2018.

The pact, led by sustainability experts at WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), aims to tackle plastic waste by bringing together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain, UK governments and NGOs.

More than 120 organisations, including major food and drink brands, manufacturers, retailers and plastic reprocessors, have signed up to hit a series of targets by 2025. These include:

• Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models.
• 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.
• 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted.
• 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

Not sure where to shop? Find out which supermarket is the best rated by Which? members

What is the government doing about plastic? 

A UK government ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds came into force in October 2020. And a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic arrived in April 2022. 

But Which? still believes more needs to be done. Clear recycling labelling would make a big difference. 

We know 67% of Which? members often or always look for recycling info on grocery packaging before deciding how to dispose of it. 

That’s why Which? is calling for recycling labelling to be made compulsory on all UK grocery packaging – branded or otherwise – so that consumers know what can and can’t be recycled, and how. 

Find out more: how to recycle in the UK