Socially Responsible Company: M&S Becomes First Major UK Retailer to Become Carbon Neutral
M&S has become the first major UK retailer to become fully 'carbon neutral'! This socially responsible company made its announcement on 7 June in its '2012 How We Do Business Report', just five years after launching its sustainability project, 'Plan.' However, though the company has made great progress in meeting many of the targets set in its programme, it does admit disappointment at its failure to meet some of the more ambitious challenges, such as tripling sales of organic food and drink. Mike Barry, head of sustainable business at M&S, says, "There are a couple of disappointments, but these are challenging economic times and M&S deserves eight out of ten for making some substantive achievements in the first five years of Plan A. This detailed evaluation shows the powerful business case for the initiative. We look forward to working further with our 21 million shoppers to make further progress by 2020."
The Report sets out the progress of the 180 commitments of this socially responsible company to ensure sustainable policies are at the heart its business as well as its complex international supply chain. The social and environmental issues addressed by M&S range from energy saving, carbon emissions to Fairtrade, animal welfare to wastemanagement and the sustainable sourcing of timber and fish. In 2010 it announced an extended Plan A with 80 new commitments to achieve by 2015 and the ultimate goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer.
The latest announcement shows that 138 commitments have been achieved and a further 30 are on target to be met within the set timescale. Overall the net benefit of Plan A to this socially responsible company last year was £105m; a 50 percent increase from the £70m delivered in 2010/11. M&S says it is now fully carbon neutral after reducing energy usage by 28% through more efficient refrigeration and counting renewable energy tariffs and offsetting.
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Sangeeta Haindl is a staff writer for Justmeans on Social Enterprise. When not writing for Justmeans, Sangeeta wears her other hat as a PR professional. Over the years, she has worked with high-profile organizations within the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors; and won awards from her industry. She now runs her own UK consultancy: Serendipity PR & Media.
