Our environment

As a responsible retailer the Partnership is committed to minimising its impact on the environment. Our Constitution states that the Partnership 'must take all reasonable steps to minimise any detrimental effect its operations may have on the environment, and to promote good environmental practice'.

Cows grazing on the Leckford Estate

Waitrose champion sustainable farming on the Leckford Estate in Hampshire

With a series of acquisitions and new developments in Waitrose and an ambitious retail development plan for John Lewis, the expansion of our business presents an environmental challenge. We recognise that growth must not come at the expense of the environment which we all share. As a Partnership, we believe that managing environmental issues should involve everybody.

We actively promote responsible and sustainable methods of agriculture, animal husbandry and biodiversity.

We ensure new developments are designed to suit their surroundings, are built responsibly and operate sustainably, and we regularly review our business practices and performance to identify how we can improve our energy efficiency, minimise packaging and reduce air emissions, waste disposal, water usage and the impacts of our transport operations.

The direction and trend in our quantitative environmental performance are measured against a set of key performance indicators which cover all our key environmental impacts (emissions, energy consumption, waste, water and transport). These indicators are consistent with those used by others in our sector. We have also publicly set stretching future performance targets for these key issues.