Sainsbury’s unites commercial and sustainability mandates

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has named Rhian Bartlett Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer, uniting the two functions as part of broader changes to its operating board.

Bartlett has been Sainsbury’s Chief Commercial Officer since 2020, but sustainability was led by Ruth Cranston as Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability until now. Sainsbury’s did not immediately answer CSO Futures’ request to know what Bartlett’s new mandate means for the rest of the sustainability team, including Cranston.

“Significant strides have been made to develop a distinctive and high-impact sustainability agenda as part of Sainsbury’s Plan for Better. This has delivered meaningful outcomes across carbon reduction, responsible sourcing and health and nutrition. By aligning commercial and sustainability leadership, Sainsbury’s is embedding sustainability at the heart of commercial decision making – ensuring both areas come together to support long-term value creation and environmental leadership,” the company said in a statement.

Strengthening Sainsbury’s leadership with new appointments

Other senior leadership changes include Tracey Clements’ appointment as Chief Retail, Logistics and Supply Officer, a newly created role that unifies the supermarket’s retail, digital, customer experience, supply chain and logistics functions.

Mark Given is also appointed Chief Technology, Marketing and Data Officer, with operating board accountability for technology, reflecting the strategic importance of technology and AI in delivering outstanding customer experience.

Rob Barnes will join Sainsbury’s from Asda in early October as Chief Technology Officer, reporting to Given. 

The company says the changes aim to strengthen leadership across customer experience, technology, commercial and sustainability.

Sainsbury’s sustainability targets and progress

Sansbury’s is working to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% by 2030 and to achieve net zero by 2035. In its 2025 annual report, the company says it has reduced absolute operational emissions by 52.8% compared to its 2018/19 baseline. 

Within Scope 3, Sainsbury’s set a target last year to reduce FLAG emissions by 36.4% and energy and industrial emissions by 50.4% by 2030. 

“Whilst data and measurement continue to be a challenge for Scope 3 reporting, we have engaged with 255 ‘key carbon suppliers’ which account for 80% of our Scope 3 emissions and encouraged them to get approved SBTi targets by the end of 2030,” Keith Weed, Chair of the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Committee, wrote in the report.

In 2025, 39.8% of Sainsbury’s Scope 3 emissions are now covered by suppliers with a 1.5ºC-aligned target approved by the SBTi – doubling last year’s percentage.