Marks & Spencer has produced its first document outlining a proposed corporate social responsibility programme.
The own-brand retail chain’s CSR review has been published as a precursor to a fully-fledged CSR report expected next year.
While the review mainly sketches out M&S’s CSR principles and summarizes progress to date, it also contains pledges for 2004. These include developing sustainability standards for cotton, wool and other natural products used by M&S, launching a project to reduce the environmental impact of packaging, and consulting with stakeholders about how it can demonstrate social responsibility when offering financial services. The retailer will also develop a programme to help staff manage stress, and will review its business ethics policy.
Chairman Luc Vandevelde, who also chairs the CSR committee, said he wanted the company to reconnect with what he described as M&S’s ‘CSR heritage’ in much the same way as it has gone back to the fundamentals of its core business to address recent financial difficulties.