Plan A is at the heart of how we are meeting our core purpose. Once again, we have made 100 Plan A commitments comprising of existing, revised and new targets with our sights set on significant progress in the next few years, we’re calling this refreshed version ‘Plan A 2020’.
Started 7 years ago,
Working with suppliers and employees to inspire our customers…
M&S received over 190 awards since 2007 covering all aspects of sustainability—Carbon Trust Triple Award 2014
M&S is the first retailer to receive the certification for achievements in carbon, water and waste reduction. Successfully measure, manage and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste, demonstrating leadership within their industry by making real year-on-year progress.
1. Zero waste to landfill;
2. Become a carbon neutral company;
3. Reduced energy use in stores, offices and warehouses by 31 per cent;
4. Reduced store refrigerant gas carbon emissions by 60 per cent;
5. Used two billion fewer single-use carrier bags in its food halls;
6. And tackled water-use in its stores and supply chain.
Carbon Neutral: how to cut carbon
By setting ambitious targets and focusing on every store, every truck and every office, we've managed to cut our carbon footprint even while the business has grown.
We've achieved this by being scrupulous about monitoring our energy use; giving each of our stores individual targets to achieve; from air conditioning units to fuel efficient, aerodynamic teardrop-shaped truck trailers. In our UK and Republic of Ireland operations these actions have saved over 160,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
To achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral, we've been sourcing supplies of renewable electricity and high quality carbon offsets to balance these out. In order to count towards our carbon neutrality, offset projects must be certified as leading to carbon savings that wouldn't have happened if the offsets hadn't been purchased.
To help mitigate this footprint as much as we can, we go out of our way to share our carbon-cutting expertise with our suppliers, via our Supplier Exchange programme. We've also set up eco factories around the world.
Partnerships: building strong partnership is at the heart of M&S—Some of the issues outlined in our commitments are too large to be tackled by consumers, businesses and even governments alone.
Link together to share knowledge, develop solutions and support
1. Environment: WWF helps to address environmental issues associated with sourcing cotton.
2. Recycle: Oxfam
We’re working with Oxfam to resell online (or instore or international market), reuse or recycle your shwopped clothes. Reuse bras in Africa and warm clothing in Eastern Europe. Recycled cant be sell clothing—high quality material made into new fabric, low quality used for things like loft insulation or car seat filling.
We shwopped 7.8 million garments, worth £5.5 million to charity.
£5 voucher—when you donate clothing to Oxfam, when you spend £35 or more you could use voucher.
How: Go to m&s stores, go to Oxfam stores, at home: and when furniture delivery teams give you shwopping bags to collect clothing; at work: m&s invite companies and organisations to make an event to donate.
Ethical assessments of property suppliers
Aim: Extend the scope of our ethical trading assessments to include all major UK and RoI direct property suppliers by 2020.
Progress: On plan This is a new commitment. More than 80 global suppliers of property related services are currently listed on the Supplier Ethical Data EXchange (SEDEX) database. We’re in the process of recruiting a new specialist to help us improve the ways in which we assess and follow-up the results of social compliance audits in this area.
About: child workers, exploited adults, overtime, safety
Sustainability: Oxfam recycle clothing
Supply chain training
Aim: Work with our suppliers and partners to provide a training and education programme for 500,000 workers by 2015.