Marks & Spencer’s vision of a sustainable, international, multi-channel retail business

In 2006, Marks & Spencer (M&S) committed itself to shifting its largely compliance-based approach to corporate social responsibility to a new mindset that embraced the broader challenges of sustainability. The company was concerned at the growing threat posed by climate change and recognised the need to radically improve the environmental and social aspects of its retail business model. The question was, how?

In the build-up to the 2007 launch of M&S’s pioneering sustainability strategy, Plan A, Forum for the Future (Forum) delivered high-level strategic advice to weave sustainability throughout the retail giant’s 100-point plan.

In order to embed Plan A within the business and to implement the strategy, Forum ran awareness-raising sessions on sustainability with key teams from across M&S.

In 2011, an external Plan A Sustainable Retail Advisory Board was established, which is jointly chaired by M&S CEO, Marc Bolland, and Forum’s co-Founder Director, Jonathon Porritt.

Forum has, and continues to play, a critical role in the retailer’s sustainability story. Our strategic advice and support to M&S in embedding Plan A throughout the business has contributed to major achievements by the company, including beating its own target to provide products that have a sustainability attribute (64% in 2015), and reducing emissions from its operations by 20% since 2006. Over the same period, Plan A has generated £160m net benefit for M&S.

In 2015, Forum worked with M&S India to adapt Plan A to the Indian context, with a focus on managing water and waste, women’s empowerment and engaging customers on sustainability. In the same year, we worked with the M&S finance team to decide how to incorporate social and environmental criteria into its decision-making and financial reporting.

Jonathon Porritt continues to chair M&S’s Sustainable Retail Advisory Board,

“Forum brings us together with other great organisations – the O2s, Kingfishers, Bupas and Unilevers of this world – who are thinking differently themselves. I’m very clear: M&S cannot be sustainable by itself. We need to be working with others to ensure that we’re exposed to new ideas, new opportunities. Forum for the Future is making a huge difference. And the more organisations that can join this movement, the better.”

Mike Barry Director of Plan A

M&S

providing independent, constructive challenge on the company’s journey to become a cutting edge major retailer on sustainability.

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