UK food retailer Sainsbury's won the European Retail Solutions Best Green IT Initiative Award 2008, for its deployment of simultaneous two-sided thermal receipt printers in its store checkouts.

Last year, Sainsbury's became the first European retailer to use the new printers, supplied by NCR Corp., which use 40 percent less paper than traditional printers, according to the vendor, which added that printing on both sides of the receipt simultaneously also reduces the energy associated with producing and transporting the paper.

Other benefits include fewer stoppages for paper roll changes, and faster checkout times because receipts are shorter and take less time to print.

"Improving the performance of store equipment is just one means by which Sainsbury's is reducing its environmental impact," said Sainsbury's information technology director Angela Morrison.

Positive consumer response drove Sainsbury's decision to more than double its order for the new printers, and the grocer plans to install the units in 7,000 checkouts at approximately half of Sainsbury's 823 stores nationwide by year's end. NCR said this will result in a savings of 502,000 paper rolls per year, and cut receipt paper usage at the retailer by around two-fifths.

Sainsbury's plans to install the printers in its remaining stores over the next two years to help in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions 25 percent by 2012.

Sainsbury's also committed to responsible sourcing of paper, and uses receipt paper - supplied by NCR - that's produced from sustainable managed sources, originating from: wood plantations, regulated forests, recycled saw mill waste and arboreal debris.