Marks and Spencer 2012 Annual Report Download - page 32

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Strategic review Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2012 30
Plan A
Plan A is about doing the right thing – and encouraging our employees and
customers to join us. In 2011/12, Plan A continued to make us more efficient;
contributing £105m net benefit back into the business. Our fifth anniversary
represents a significant milestone on the Plan A journey and since launch we
have continued to raise the bar. We now have 180 commitments under seven
pillars, which are driving our ambition to become the world’s most sustainable
major retailer. This year we achieved a further 43 commitments taking our total
achieved to 138.
Waste
In February 2012 we achieved our
commitment to send no waste to landfill
from our stores, offices, warehouses
and construction activities. Against a
2006/07 base we reduced food waste
by 40%, with none sent to landfill and
89% processed to generate energy
using anaerobic digestion.
We re-used or recycled 147 million
clothes hangers, with the savings used
to fund UNICEF activities to alleviate
poverty for children and their families
in Bangladesh (page 28). Launched
in July 2011, this scheme will see M&S
donate at least £650,000 a year to
UNICEF over three years.
Natural resources
This year we achieved our commitment
to sustainably source 100% of our wild
fish. We now have 257 M&S food
products made using sustainable palm
oil with GreenPalm oil and GreenPalm
Kernel Oil certificates purchased for all
other productions that contain palm oil.
We completed three major water
stewardship projects with suppliers. Our
M&S Model Forest programme – which
goes beyond FSC certification to
include best practice in manufacture
and transport – was extended to supply
our cardboard food packaging.
Fair partner
We extended our ethical assessments
to cover our top ten property suppliers,
as well as our carrier bag, uniform and
mannequin suppliers. Working with the
international Global Social Compliance
Programme, we reduced the
administrative burden on our suppliers,
by identifying credible codes and
monitoring schemes they can apply to
their businesses.
Involving our customers
In June 2011 we launched Forever Fish
– a major new campaign to help
customers learn about fish and protect
our beaches and marine life. We have
also invited our customers and our
employees to participate in around 120
beach cleans across the UK and Ireland.
Through the year, customers
enthusiastically supported Plan A
events including our ‘One Day
Wardrobe Clearout’ for Oxfam and the
World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for
Macmillan Cancer Support. As set out
on page 16, we’ve taken our Oxfam
partnership even further with the launch
of our ‘shwopping’ initiative.
How we do business
We continued to work closely with our
farmers, growers and other suppliers to
develop and implement sustainability
standards. All employees who have
direct contact with suppliers completed
responsible buying training this year.
As detailed on page 24, we opened
our new Sustainable Learning Store
at Westfield Stratford City adjacent to
the Olympic Park. We’ve also
conducted trials on alternative fuels,
including a small fleet of dual-fuel diesel
and compressed natural gas vehicles,
as well as the first hydrogen fuel cell
powered fork lift trucks in the UK.
Climate change
In January 2012, we became carbon
neutral across all stores, offices,
warehouses and delivery fleets
operated by M&S in the UK and
Republic of Ireland – the first major
retailer in the world to do so. Since
2006/07, we have improved the fuel
efficiency of our Food and General
Merchandise delivery fleets by 28%
and 30% respectively and have reduced
carbon dioxide emissions generated
by refrigeration and air conditioning
leakage by 54% per sq ft.
Looking ahead
Plan A is integral to our
future plans; engaging our
customers, making us a
more efficient business
and forcing us to innovate.
As we continue to grow
from a predominantly
UK focused business
to a multi-channel,
international retailer we
will need a more seamless
approach to sustainability.
We are pleased with our
progress to date but we
know we still have a
long way to go on our
journey to become the
world’s most sustainable
major retailer.
Total commitments
180
Commitments achieved
138
PLAN A HIGHLIGHTS
How we do Business report
For more detailed information
about our progress please
visit marksandspencer.com/
hwdbreport2012 to download a
copy of our How we do Business
Report 2012.
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