UK food retailer Sainsbury’s has won the European Retail Solutions Best Green IT Initiative Award 2008 for using simultaneous two-sided thermal receipt printers from NCR Corporation in its store checkouts.

Last year Sainsbury’s became the first European retailer to start using the new printers, which use over 40 percent less paper. Printing on both sides of the receipt simultaneously not only saves paper, but also the energy associated with producing and transporting it.

By the end of this year, consumers will be receiving the two-sided receipts from 7,000 checkouts in approximately half of Sainsbury’s 823 UK stores resulting in a savings of 502,000 paper rolls per year – cutting receipt paper usage at the retailer by around two-fifths.

Sainsbury’s plans to install the printers in the rest of its stores over the next two years. This will play a role in helping the retailer achieve its new target to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2012.

Most major players in the UK supermarket sector have made pledges to address environmental and sustainability issues.