Marks and Spencer 2009 Annual Report Download - page 46

42 Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2009 Directors’ report
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How are we integrating
Plan A across every
aspect of our business?
Plan A: Our five year ‘eco plan’, launched in January 2007,
addresses the key social and environmental challenges facing
our business and the world. Plan A marries our efforts to reduce
our environmental impact and to achieve a true point of difference,
while at the same time meeting our corporate and business
requirements to reduce costs throughout our operations.
We pledged to meet 100 separate Plan A commitments within
a five-year time-frame, and are pleased to report that in just two
years 39 commitments have been achieved.
In our second year of Plan A we have proved
that being green is not only the right thing to
do, but that it presents a compelling business
case. In 2007 we were prepared to invest
£200m into Plan A, but in just two years
we have achieved a cost positive position – in
spite of the tough economic conditions of the
past year.
Plan A has inspired us to find new ways
of working. Efficiencies are coming from all
areas of the business from reducing our
packaging and waste, to working with our
suppliers to find new and better ways of
doing business. It proves that this economic
period has become an accelerator for our
Plan A initiatives, with businesses having to
approach things in a new way.
Customers attitude
Recent reports show that the green agenda
continues to grow in importance despite
the economic downturn and pressures on
household budgets (Source: Ipsos MORI).
At M&S we have identified an increase in the
number of our customers who say they will
take environmental action ‘if it’s easy’, while
at the same time seeing a decrease in those
who say ‘what’s the point?’ or ‘I can’t make
a difference’.
It is not only the normal buying metrics such
as price, quality, style, durability and
fashionability, which resonate with our
customers, but also ensuring all these things
are underpinned by sustainability. This sets
us apart from our competitors and reassures
our customers that they can trust us to do
the right thing.
We are continuing to push hard to reduce,
reuse, recycle and reinvent to become more
efficient across our operations. The following
review highlights some of our Plan A successes
over the past year, as well as new initiatives
for the year ahead.
Climate change
To reach our goal of making our UK and
Republic of Ireland operations carbon
neutral by 2012 we are improving our energy
efficiency and increasing our use of
renewable electricity. In the last year we’ve
reduced our net CO2emissions by 18%,
and our energy efficiency in stores has now
improved by 10%.
In February 2009 we signed the UK retail
sector’s biggest renewable energy contract.
The six-year deal with npower will provide
M&S with enough renewable energy to
ultimately power all our stores and offices in
England and Wales. In March 2009 we then
signed with EDF to supply renewable energy
to our Scottish operations.
OUR PLEDGE: BY 2012 M&S WILL:
CLIMATE CHANGE BECOME CARBON
NEUTRAL WITH MINIMAL OFFSETTING
WASTE SEND NO WASTE TO LANDFILL
FROM OUR OPERATIONS
SUSTAINABLE RAW MATERIALS EXTEND
SUSTAINABLE SOURCING
FAIR PARTNER SET NEW STANDARDS IN
ETHICAL TRADING
HEALTH HELP CUSTOMERS AND
EMPLOYEES LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
Commitments
100
Commitments achieved so far
39
Achieved commitments that now go
even further
24