3 July 2009

Sainsbury’s was the first European retailer to install the innovative NCR printers

The best in UK environmental excellence was celebrated on 1 July at the 2009 Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards in London. 12 companies received recognition for their outstanding achievements, but it was Sainsbury’s with NCR that successfully scooped the Product Premier Award.

Sainsbury’s is a company that takes respect for environment seriously across its business, but it was the impact that the installation of the new NCR 2ST receipt printers in 7,000 checkouts had on the company’s carbon footprint that caught the eye of the BCE judges.

Sainsbury’s was the first European retailer to install the NCR 2ST, which uses a Microsoft Windows operating system. Simultaneously printing on both sides of the till receipt, the installation of the NCR product by Sainsbury’s has slashed paper usage by an estimated 40 per cent and energy use by between 35 and 50 per cent. It also produces faster, more manageable receipts for customers.

By cutting its use of till receipt paper, CO2 emissions from delivery vehicles has been substantially reduced too. When Sainsbury’s rolls out the NCR printers to 9,500 checkouts, its annual carbon footprint will be cut by an estimated 284 tonnes.

Dennis Fuller, Sainsbury's head of store IT installations, commented: “The BCE Environmental Leadership Award recognises the efforts that Sainsbury's and NCR have put into improving the environmental performance of our tills. This includes NCR's innovative, receipt printers, which print on both sides of the paper simultaneously. This technology not only provides environmental benefits, but also provides customers with shorter, more manageable receipts, faster print times and fewer stoppages for receipt roll changes.”

Congratulating the winners, Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, said: “The CBI has just published its second climate change tracker, which monitors the progress of government and business towards meeting our environmental goals. It shows that much needs to be done to get us back on track, not least by business. Today's winners are true low-carbon leaders. They have made great strides in curbing their emissions and developing some remarkable low-carbon products and services. It will be their commitment and innovation that will get us on the road to a low-carbon economy.”

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