Marks & Spencer has taken action to improve environmental performance across many different aspects of its business, from food and clothing production to transport and packaging. Details of the company's environmental targets for 2001/2002, and examples of energy conservation and packaging initiatives the company has taken, are provided below.
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Raw Materials :
- Publish 'Chemicals Strategy' with targets for managing chemicals that are subject to emerging concerns.
- Improve & publish environmental standards for dyeing textiles.
- Review & improve standards for managing the use of pesticides in food production.
- Extend use of EUREP GAP standards for integrated crops management across world wide supply chain as soon as possible.
- Set up best practice trials for salmon farming.
- Develop environmental standards for meat & poultry production.
- Develop plans to extend range of organically produced foods.
- Extend use of non-GM feeds to food producing livestock.
- Review and action revised approach for use of organically grown cotton.
- Identify key requirements of 'sustainable' clothing as part of government backed SIGMA project.
Manufacturing :
- Participate in supply chain environmental management project ACORN with small number of trial suppliers.
- Conduct life cycle assessments of selected clothing.
- Introduce rail freight for central wine deliveries.
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Transport :
- Fit CRT's (continuous recycling traps) to all suitable logistics tractors.
- Replace 20% of tractors with Euro II + CRT's or Euro III specification vehicles.
- Extend use of rail freight.
Store, Offices & Warehouses :
- Replace 20% of HCFC powered store refrigeration.
- Participate in Building Research Establishment (BRE) programme for retail locations.
- Meet targets under the 'Making a Corporate Commitment 2' campaign for green house gas emissions (5% increase in efficiency) , water use (held per employee) and waste (improve measurement).
- Develop an environmental management system suitable for store use.
- Re-train all store energy conservation officers.
- Produce and distribute bimonthly environmental newsletter to key staff.
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Packaging :
- Work towards replacing PVC packaging by the end of 2002.
- Label wine bottles with use of natural or synthetic corks as labels redesigned.
- Ensure correct recycling symbols on packaging which is likely to be recycled.
- Launch recycling search facility from corporate website.
- Develop ways of helping to improve national levels of recycling.
Information :
- Work with key campaign groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and the Pesticides Action Network on key concerns.
- Publish explanations of key issues and performance on company website.
- Use clothing life cycle assessment to identify ways we can help our customers to reduce their environmental impacts.
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The retail industry uses significant amounts of energy for lighting, refrigeration and air conditioning. The production of energy from carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas produces carbon dioxide (CO2), which is believed to be the biggest contributor to climate change. To reduce CO2 by 2010 by 20% against 1990 levels, and to encourage efficient energy use by companies, the UK Government is introducing the 'Climate change levy', a 'green tax' on energy use.
Marks & Spencer were one of the first companies to support the 'Making a Corporate Commitment' campaigns, and they monitor their electricity usage every half hour in every store via a computer system. This allows them to immediately spot a problem - if air conditioning systems have been left on accidentally, for example, they can alert the store. All Marks & Spencer store Energy Conservation officers will be re-trained during 2001 and every month, specialist energy management consultants will conduct store audits. In October 2001, the company also launched an incentive scheme where stores can keep the value of 10% of any savings they make over and above their budgets. Marks & Spencer have also installed special monitoring equipment in seven stores to measure energy consumption in every area so that they can continue to improve their performance, and taken advantage of government subsidies available for the installation of energy efficient equipment. All this saves the company around 5% of their energy usage every year.
Packaging goods is vital, both to reduce waste by protecting products from damage and to communicate important information to customers. But Marks & Spencer are committed to using recycled material, and helping you to Recycle, wherever possible.
Along with other retailers, they use recycled metal and glass packaging as a matter of course. But where recycled material isn't the norm, such as in cardboard product packaging, the company try hard to make sure that all Marks & Spencer packaging which can contain recycled material, does.
The company use the statement 'Cardboard made from recycled material' on all cardboard product packaging if it has a recycled content of more than 50%. They believe that it is important to use as much recycled packaging material as possible to provide end markets for all of materials that are collected for recycling by others.
Every year Marks & Spencer also collect and return over 60 million coat hangers, raising money for local environmental projects chosen by staff. By doing this they have saved over 2000 tonnes of waste plastic every year. All stores return unwanted coat hangers in special 'recycling boxes' which are sorted, cleaned and re-packaged for re-use by the company's clothing suppliers. Even damaged or obsolete items are collected, as these can be recycled into new hangers.
The town centre nature of Marks & Spencer's business means that they are unable to offer car park-based recycling facilities to customers, so they have partnered up with other organisations to improve national packaging recycling rates. The company pay into the Biffpack packaging recycling scheme in line with legislation, which requires them to help fund the Government's national recycling target of 56% , and they sponsor initiatives such as the Community Recycling Network's 'Resource Journal', the 'Action Recycle' programme in Scotland and the 'National Waste Awareness' programme.
Target: To continue improving efficiencies.
Data: Compiled from measurement system overseen by Pricewaterhouse Coopers
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