The Truth about Plan A
Earlier this week, in a post about eco-friendly businesses, Marks and Spencer, which has a large scale eco-friendly initiative, “Plan A”, was said to be abandoning the plan. We’ve since heard from the UK headquarters of Marks and Spencer and learned that this is absolutely not true; that it had been incorrectly reported as such (and then retracted the very next day).
So in setting the record straight, and we must, let’s take a look at Plan A - it’s far reaching and impressive; clearly a model for corporate social responsibility.
Straight from the source:
Plan A is our five-year, 100-point 'eco' plan to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and our world. It will see us working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation. We're doing this because it's what you want us to do. It's also the right thing to do. We're calling it Plan A because we believe it's now the only way to do business.
There is no Plan B.
A recent M & S report card on the Plan’s progress states that 20 of the plan’s 100 commitments have been completed thus far with 75 underway - they are almost mid-way through the 5 year Plan.
There are way too many initiatives to mention, but here’s a sample from each of the target areas of their program:
Climate change (aims to make operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland carbon neutral) – They launched an energy service that sells gas and electricity to their customers in partnership with an energy firm; incentivising customers to use less energy by offering a £15 M&S voucher to anyone reducing their annual energy use by 10%.
Reducing Waste – All profits raised from a 5p charge for single use food carrier bags is donated to an environmental charity that supports greener living spaces projects to improve neighbourhoods across the U.K. Over £500,000 has been raised so far.
Safeguarding natural resources (ensuring their key raw materials come from the most sustainable sources available) – They have used over 25 million recycled waste plastic bottles to make polyester; used in their homeware and bedding and garments – and re-usable shopping bags.
Trading ethically – They became the first retailer to provide dairy farmers with funding to help them meet requirements of new legislation designed to reduce the impact of dairy farming by-products on the environment – as part of their Milk Pledge, M & S pays one of the highest prices of any major food retailer to their dairy farmers.
Building a healthier nation – They have completed the removal of artificial colours and flavourings from their entire food and drinks range.
