Marks and Spencer 2009 Annual Report Download - page 47

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The npower deal also underlines our
commitment to work with local communities
to encourage small third-party suppliers to
develop renewable electricity. M&S buys,
through npower, any renewable electricity
generated by farmers (see above).
The ‘Plan A way to save’ campaign is a
collection of simple green changes designed
to save family households up to £1,000 a
year. Measures include encouraging washing
at 30°C and ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’, which
can save customers up to £600 a year by
cutting down on food waste.
Our two pioneering eco factories in Sri
Lanka were developed in partnership with
suppliers MAS Holdings, a new lingerie
factory operating exclusively for M&S, and
Brandix, an existing casualwear factory that
has been upgraded to eco status. They are
now hitting their targets, achieving 50% less
water use than factories of a similar scale. While
MAS Holdings was designed to be carbon
neutral from day one, Brandix has also seen
a 78% reduction in its carbon footprint.
These are in addition to the 150,000 sq ft
Westbridge eco factory in Wales – responsible
for producing all of our UK furniture ranges –
and our new supplier eco factory in China
that opened in May 2009. It is the country’s
first eco clothing factory, with a green roof,
low energy lighting and a ‘water curtain’ for
cooling the factory. All of which will help
reduce electricity use by about 50%
compared to similar sized factories.
These factories establish a benchmark
we can share with other manufacturers
across the world.
Waste
This year we retendered our waste contracts
for stores and GM distribution centres.
This contract includes a plan to achieve our
ambition of zero waste to landfill by 2012.
We produced around 116,000 tonnes
of waste of which 41% was recycled.
One of our most high profile initiatives
is our 5p carrier bag charge. Profits fund
local environmental projects run by our
partner Groundwork UK. Carrier bag usage
in our food halls is down 83%, saving over
387 million carrier bags from landfill. In the
process we have helped raise £1.2m for
Groundwork to create Greener Living
Spaces in 46 local neighbourhoods.
The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange
is a unique partnership that has been a
remarkable success. Over 875,000
customers have now donated 3.2m
garments to their local Oxfam stores, in return
for a £5 M&S discount voucher to spend
on purchases of £35 or more. Their efforts
have saved 1,500 tonnes of clothing from
landfill, helped Oxfam to raise £1.9m, and
given our customers the opportunity to
save over £4.4m.
Sustainable raw materials
Innovation is key to ensuring that our key raw
materials come from the most sustainable
sources available to us.
As the winner of the ‘RSPCA Good
Business Award’ in 2008, for both our Food
and fashion business, we continue to push
ahead on animal welfare. We are trialling free
range pork in 100 stores, and we guarantee
that for all of our pork, no farrowing crates
are used at birth, and that no pigs have
been castrated, had their tails docked
or their teeth clipped.
There is also a clear plan to better
understand our impact on the global
freshwater supply. Together with WWF and
our suppliers, we are undertaking a water
footprint assessment of our supply chain so
that we can reduce our water impact during
the product sourcing and production stages.
So far this has involved five crops – strawberries,
tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes and roses – and
raw materials including cotton and leather.
125 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Below: Wind power Scottish farmer Grant Mackie
was one of the first farmers to benefit from the move
to develop renewable power from small third-party
generators. He launched the first M&S turbine on
his Aberdeenshire farm in 2007 and now has three
wind turbines. Now 31% of our electricity comes
from renewable sources.
125 YEARS OF SERVICE
Below: Reducing packaging Since 2006/07
we have reduced our non-glass food packaging
by 12%. Projects included reducing pizza
packaging by 62% (480 tonnes) and taking the
equivalent of three double-decker buses worth
of packaging out of our Easter Eggs. Max the
Bunny was reduced by 90%.
Reduction in food carrier bag use in 2008/09
-387 million
-83%
and as a result raised £1.2m for Groundwork UK
Before After
125 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Below: Hanger recycling We have rationalised the
number of different hangers we have to make reuse
even easier. In 2008/09 we increased the number of
clothing hangers collected for reuse or recycling to
around 125m.