Healthy soils and biodiverse agricultural landscapes play an important role in maintaining the quality, productivity and resilience of the food system. While we have categorised biodiversity into one of this nature pillars, all our outcomes aim to drive biodiversity improvements.
Sainsbury’s aim is to improve soil health and enhance biodiversity, supporting production improvements and increasing resilience to pests and disease.
Across our supply chains, the condition of soil and the health of surrounding ecosystems can influence everything from crop performance to resilience against pests, disease and changing weather patterns. That’s why we work with suppliers, farmers and partners to support practices that help restore soil health, enhance biodiversity and strengthen the long-term resilience of the landscapes our supply chains depend on.
100%
UK wholehead and prepared produce aligned to LEAF Marque standard
100%
of participating growers in our Sustainable Banana Programme have implemented agroecological practices in Latin America and West Africa
Our approach
Own Operations
Sainsbury’s is determined to be first choice for food, ensuring more customers in more stores can enjoy more brilliant Sainsbury’s food. Part of our commitment to opening new stores includes meeting Biodiversity Net Gain requirements at each store we open.
Supply chain
Biodiveristy and soil health were two of the 8 environmental indicators assessed across 400 sourcing regions in 2025. We know alongside water risks further action needs to be taken to regenerate soil and reduce nature loss in our supply chain.
When growing food, our farmers need to protect their crops against weeds, pests and diseases. This can help to make the best use of key resources and reduce food waste. A range of crop protection approaches and systems (such as physical control methods, pesticides, biological control, crop rotation and healthy soils) can all have a part to play in supporting sustainable and resilient food production and reducing waste.
You can learn more about our approach to resilient crop production here Resilient crop production | J Sainsbury plc
We are also actively involved in projects with our suppliers to reduce the volume of peat used in our supply chains and are also investigating solutions that are completely sustainable for the future, while still delivering great quality for our customers. As a business overall, we are committed to providing peat-free solutions to customers ahead of the intended legislative deadlines. You can learn more about our approach here Reducing peat in our supply chains | J Sainsbury plc
We support regenerative agriculture practices in our supply chains to improve soil health & protect and restore biodiversity - as well as strengthen farmer livelihoods. We do this through credible partnerships with technical experts and shared investment into key production landscapes.
Working in collaboration
Certification
Certification is one of the tools we use to support more resilient agricultural supply chains, helping set clear expectations for good practice while improving transparency and consistency across complex sourcing regions. For soil health and biodiversity, schemes such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance can help support better farm management by encouraging practices such as responsible input use, soil and water conservation, protection of natural habitats and biodiversity, and more resilient production systems. We see certification as an important foundation, particularly in globally sourced crops such as bananas, cocoa, coffee and tea, but not as the only solution. It works best when combined with supplier engagement, farmer support, landscape-level collaboration and targeted projects that address the specific environmental risks in our priority sourcing regions.
In 2026 we have introduced requirements for all our UK wholehead and prepared produce growers to align with the Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) Marque standard. This stipulates specific environmental requirements on soil and substrate management, the protection of key species and habitats, and other elements.
Land App
Our partnership with LandApp offers the digital tools to monitor and track our environmental impact in our supply chain. A key part of this process is to accurately map all of the farms that make up the Sainsbury’s suppliers, allowing for insight on the state of nature to be derived. Understanding key metrics such as the location of cropland, woodland and peatland – data which the farmers themselves own securely – as well as watercourse flow is critical to form what’s called the “baseline”. Once the “baseline”, or currently existing, contributions to biodiversity, connectivity and water quality are accurately mapped, then key steps to retain or improve them can be mapped out in a “land management plan” right across the supply chain. By creating access to a “digital twin” of the land that Sainsbury’s influences, not only can live habitat data be used to assess impact, but the pathway to a sustainable future can be precisely mapped before implementation. We have a range of action groups and projects that aim to improve soil health and enhance biodiversity in our supply chain.
Fairtrade
Internationally, in 2025 we have continued to deliver a holistic approach to securing the future supply of bananas by addressing key environmental risks. Our Fairtrade Sustainable Banana Programme (SBP) identified poor soil health conditions in key growing regions across Latin America and West Africa. Through the program we ensured 100 per cent of participating producer organisations implemented at least six good agroecological practices (e.g. use of organic fertilisers and reducing dependents on synthetic agricultural inputs). The program has delivered a 6.7 per cent average increase in productivity across Colombia and Dominican Republic.
Peat free mushrooms
As a natural carbon storer, peat plays a key role in regulating earth’s climate. Extracting peat to help grow products such as mushrooms is contributing to climate change and the destruction of wetland ecosystems, as carbon emissions are released during harvest and the peatlands can take decades, if not centuries, to recover. Peatlands also provide critical habitats for many rare, threatened or declining animal and plant species, while having a significant ability to retain water, and to improve both soil and water quality. With weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable due to climate change, peatlands’ ability to slow water flow can potentially help to reduce the risk of flooding.
Following a decade of research and development, in 2024 Sainsbury’s became the first UK supermarket to launch conventional mushrooms that have been grown without peat.