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Marks & Spencer has produced an ambitious 100-point five-year plan
on social and environmental issues that, among other things, aims to
'set new standards' in ethical trading and promote a healthier
lifestyle for customers and employees.
The £200million ($392m) programme, announced last month, is intended to influence every part of the retailer's operations. Chief executive Stuart Rose said it would change the way the company operates 'beyond recognition'.
Rose is positioning M&S firmly at the head of the pack of large retailers vying to present themselves as leaders in responsible business practice. Two of the biggest - Wal-Mart (EP7, issue 7, p3) and Tesco (EP8, issue 2, p7) - recently announced they are extending their social and environmental programmes.
Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future, which advised M&S on the plan, said it 'raises the bar for everyone else - not just retailers'.
The M&S programme, called Plan A, will cover five areas: climate change, waste, raw materials, fair trade and healthy eating.
The key points include a commitment to make all M&S operations in the British Isles carbon-neutral by minimizing energy consumption, maximizing the use of renewables and offsetting only 'as a last resort'. It will convert 'key clothing ranges' such as T-shirts to 100 per cent Fairtrade cotton, covering about 20 million garments during the next year and adding new ranges.
In view of obesity concerns, M&S will also introduce 1500 in-store 'healthy eating assistants' and give healthy diet training, to be developed with the British Nutrition Foundation, to all staff in food halls within three years. Simultaneously it will introduce an M&S 'health and lifestyle information intranet' to advise employees. The plan additionally includes pledges to:
minimize the amount of food delivered by air, and to label such products for consumers
conduct five research projects to develop ways of reducing its proportion of imported food
use 50 per cent biodiesel in its lorries
develop and sell more low-carbon products
use only wood that is recycled or certified as coming from a sustainable source by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Not all parts of Plan A are new - many are commitments to continue or slightly upgrade existing programmes, such as Marks & Start, which helps homeless people set up work placements with the company.
Despite this, the plan's scale and ambition have been welcomed by pressure groups as an important milestone in responsible business practice. 'If every retailer in Britain followed Marks & Spencer's lead it would be a major step forward in meeting the challenge of creating a sustainable society,' said Blake Lee-Harwood, Greenpeace UK's campaign director. Robert Napier, chief executive of WWF-UK, said the plan would put pressure on other retailers to follow suit.
The £200million ($392m) programme, announced last month, is intended to influence every part of the retailer's operations. Chief executive Stuart Rose said it would change the way the company operates 'beyond recognition'.
Rose is positioning M&S firmly at the head of the pack of large retailers vying to present themselves as leaders in responsible business practice. Two of the biggest - Wal-Mart (EP7, issue 7, p3) and Tesco (EP8, issue 2, p7) - recently announced they are extending their social and environmental programmes.
Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future, which advised M&S on the plan, said it 'raises the bar for everyone else - not just retailers'.
The M&S programme, called Plan A, will cover five areas: climate change, waste, raw materials, fair trade and healthy eating.
The key points include a commitment to make all M&S operations in the British Isles carbon-neutral by minimizing energy consumption, maximizing the use of renewables and offsetting only 'as a last resort'. It will convert 'key clothing ranges' such as T-shirts to 100 per cent Fairtrade cotton, covering about 20 million garments during the next year and adding new ranges.
In view of obesity concerns, M&S will also introduce 1500 in-store 'healthy eating assistants' and give healthy diet training, to be developed with the British Nutrition Foundation, to all staff in food halls within three years. Simultaneously it will introduce an M&S 'health and lifestyle information intranet' to advise employees. The plan additionally includes pledges to:
minimize the amount of food delivered by air, and to label such products for consumers conduct five research projects to develop ways of reducing its proportion of imported food use 50 per cent biodiesel in its lorriesdevelop and sell more low-carbon products use only wood that is recycled or certified as coming from a sustainable source by the Forest Stewardship Council. Not all parts of Plan A are new - many are commitments to continue or slightly upgrade existing programmes, such as Marks & Start, which helps homeless people set up work placements with the company.
Despite this, the plan's scale and ambition have been welcomed by pressure groups as an important milestone in responsible business practice. 'If every retailer in Britain followed Marks & Spencer's lead it would be a major step forward in meeting the challenge of creating a sustainable society,' said Blake Lee-Harwood, Greenpeace UK's campaign director. Robert Napier, chief executive of WWF-UK, said the plan would put pressure on other retailers to follow suit.
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