Sustainable initiatives undertaken by Marks & Spencer under its initiative - "Plan A"

1. NIFT GANDHINAGAR
Sustainable Production
Assignment II
Ajay Gayakwar, Bittu Singh, Komal Gajjar, Radhe Kumar, Shubham Singh – DFT VI
01/05/18
Summary of SustainabilityReport on Marks & Spencer

2. 1
Table of Contents
1. Pillars of Marks & Spencer ............................................................................................................... 2
2. Sustainability Benchmark and Indices: ............................................................................................. 3
2.1. Commitments and Targets: ...................................................................................................... 4
2.2. Approach: ................................................................................................................................ 4
2.2.1. Investor indices: ............................................................................................................... 4
2.2.2. Industry Benchmark: ........................................................................................................ 4
2.2.3. Topic-specific benchmarks................................................................................................ 5
3. Clothing & Home: ............................................................................................................................ 6
3.1.1. Responsible Chemical Management ................................................................................. 6
3.1.2. Commitments and targets ................................................................................................ 7
3.1.3. Approach.......................................................................................................................... 7
3.2. Microbeads .............................................................................................................................. 8
4. RESPONSIBLE SOURCING ................................................................................................................. 8
5. COMMITMENTS AND TARGET.......................................................................................................... 8
5.1. AIMS TO...................................................................................................................................8
5.2. APPROACH............................................................................................................................... 8
5.3. MAIN FOCUS ............................................................................................................................ 9
6. Progress Report on Plan A:............................................................................................................. 11
7. References..................................................................................................................................... 12

3. 2
1. Pillars of Marks & Spencer
Pillar 1
Their main wellbeing support segments are food, clothing, home and beauty. They are aiming
to offer the healthiest food products, with a goal of 50% of our food sales to come from
healthier products, supported by rewards for customers for purchasing them. Therearea lot of
opportunities in clothing, homeand beauty productsto inspirecustomersto bemorephysically
active and spend time outdoors in the natural environment. They are also taking a lead in
improving mental wellbeing. They inspire
Colleagues and customers get involved in volunteering, with a particular emphasis on
facilitating social connections.
In 2016, Ruby Wax approached M&S to trial her concept of Frazzled Café – a meet up for
people who want to talk about their mental health. Her vision was to host Frazzled Café in a
public spacethat was accessibleand madeit acceptable to talk about not being ok. M&S is now
making more of our store space available for initiatives like Frazzled Café and peer-to-peer
support groups. In particular, companyis joining forces with partners to offer support to tackle
mental health, loneliness, and dementia.
Pillar 2
Their aim is to help play a transformative role: enabling local economies to thrive, building
socially connected communities, and improving local environments. By 2025 M&S is willing to
help 1000 communities transform themselves.
NURISHING WELLBEING
M&S believethattakingcareof
ourselvesisthefirststep to helping
the peoplearoundus.
Their goal isto help 10millionpeople
livehappier,healthierlives.
TRANSFO RMINGLIVES AND
COMMUNITIES
Webelievewecan achievemore
together than wecan on our own.Our
goal isto help transform1000
communities.
CARINGFOR THEPLANET WEALL
SHARE
Webelievethatweshouldleavethe
planetbetter than wefound it.Our
goal isto becomea zero waste
business.

4. 3
Company is offering communitygroupsspacein their stores or supporting local entrepreneurs.
M&S is going to increase our efforts to be a more inclusive employer and to offer their
customers a more inclusive shopping experience.
Pillar 3
Caring for the earth
Today, 99% of the wood and all of the fish M&S uses comes from a more sustainable source.
Over 50% of thefood comes from a silver sustainabilityfactory. M&S sends no waste to landfill
from our stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, havereduced operational carbon footprint by
70% in absolute terms and made our global operations carbon neutral.
Sustainable raw materials have always been an essential matter of Plan A and now we’re
committing to ensurethat 100% of our key raw materials (at least 80% of thetotal volume they
use) in food, clothing, home and beauty products will beverified that they respect the integrity
of ecosystems, the welfare of animals and the wellbeing of people and communities.
M&S is already involved in many partnerships to tackle the natural world’s biggest challenges.
Also, worked with WWF for more than 10 years to improve sustainable sourcing in global
markets, and they are supporting the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work to build a New
Plastics Economy globally – helping to closetheloop on thetens of millions of tonnes of plastic
that enter the global marketplaceeach year. The Consumer Goods Forum(CGF) is our platform
for tackling three critical environmental challenges: deforestation (driven by the sourcing of
commodities such as soy and palm oil); low carbon refrigeration; and food waste.
2. Sustainability Benchmark and Indices:
Sustainability is not an easy task. It is simply too complex. The aspiration of M & S is to be a
leading major retailer on sustainability, but measuring their progress towards sustainability, it
can never be done using one or even several benchmarks.
The number of sustainability ratings, rankings, indices and awards is growing fast. These ways
of measuring, comparing and even rewarding corporatesustainabilityarevery varied. Some are
audience focused; others are industry or topic specific. Some highlight performance, others
transparency.
To participate in every benchmark or index is not so easy for M & S, therefore they priorities
those that they believe are most useful and relevant for them and their stakeholders.

5. 4
2.1. Commitments and Targets:
To berecognized as a leader on transparency in theretail sector is what M & S desire. They aim
to achieve to achieve leadership positions in all sustainability benchmarks and indexes they
participate in and report transparency on our performance.
Benchmarking provides an external perspective on our sustainability performance and
transparency. It helps us improve both.
2.2. Approach:
It is necessary to inform the stakeholders about how they are dealing with issues that are
important to them. Sustainability benchmarks and indices help us understand stakeholders’
concerns, provideus with insights about emerging issues and enable us to access how they are
performing compared with peers. The key benchmarks and indexes they participate in or have
supported are outlined below:
2.2.1. Investor indices:
FTSE4Good
The FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies
demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. M & S qualified
for the FTSE4Good universe every year since its creation in 2001.
Vigeo-Eiris
Vigeo-Eiris, an agency based in France, compiles indices of listed companies based on their
corporate responsibility performance, on behalf of the investment community.
M & S is listed in the Specialised Retail Sector of the Ethibel®
Sustainability Index Excellence
Europe.
Oekom Corporae Rating
Oekom Research is a leading sustainable investment rating. The Oekum Corporate Rating
assesses thesocial and environmental performanceof morethan 3,500 companies. In 2007, M
& S were profiled and ranked second in the Retail sector and achieved a score of C+.
2.2.2. Industry Benchmark:
Business in the Community (BITC) CR Index
The BITC CR Index is the UK's leading and most in-depth voluntary benchmark of responsible
business practice. We’ve participated in the index since it was first launched in 2002. In 2016,
M & S achieved a 4 Star ranking (a score of 97%).

6. 5
Corporate Knight Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations
The Global 100 Index is a ranking of the world's most sustainable corporations. The list is
compiled by Toronto-based media and investment advisory firm, Corporate Knights (CK).
In 2017, M & S were included on the Global 100 Index and were the second highest ranked
retailer.
Ethisphere ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’
The World’s Most Ethical Companiesprogramme honors companies that excel in three areas –
promoting ethical business standards and practices internally, enabling managers and
employees to make good choices, and shaping future industry standards by introducing
tomorrow’s best practices today.
In 2017, M & S maintained their listing and were one of only three to be listed in the Retail
category. This is the 9th time they have been included since it began in 2007.
2.2.3. Topic-specific benchmarks
Corporate Human Rights Benchmark
It will publically rank thetop 500 globallylisted companies on their human rights policy, process
and performance, harnessing the competitive nature of the markets to drive better human
rights performance.
During 2016, M & S were one of 98 companies from agricultural products, apparels and
extractives sectors selected to be ranked on a pilot basis the results of which were released in
March 2017. They werethehighest ranked retailer and achieved a score of 64% - one of only 3
companies to achieve over 60%.
Fashion Transparency Index
The Fashion Transparency Index reviews and ranks the biggest global fashion and apparel
brands and retailers according to how much information they disclose about their suppliers,
supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact.
In 2017, M & S were asked to participate in the index and were ranked second overall with a
score of 48%. No brand scored above 50%.

7. 6
CDP
M & S participate in the CDP Climate Change Programme and Forests Programme.
They have participated in the Climate Change Programme since 2003. In 2016, they received a
score of B.
They are proud to have been rated as the sector leader for general retailing in the CDP Forest
Programme every year since it was launched in 2009.
3. Clothing & Home:
M & S are too busy in their aim to improve things for the better. They work closely with their
suppliers to develop high quality and innovative products that are only available at M&S.
Products
They are operate rigorous quality management systems which have been developed with their
suppliers. These operate on a precautionary principle and are supported by a range of on-site
audits and product testing. Suppliers are required to meet a range of quality, safety,
environmental and social standards.
They pride themselves on developing innovative products. In any season, around 80% of our
clothing, homeware and beauty products will be new.
3.1. Environmental and Chemical Policy
3.1.1. Responsible Chemical Management
Chemicals are part of their daily lives and used to help make the products they all use and
interact with. They offer certain benefits and qualities but also must be used responsibly by
manufacturers. Thereis a widerange of legislation and safety standards that governs their use
to protect customers and theenvironmentand many brandsand retailers go aboveand beyond
these standards.
Many types of chemicals areused throughout thesourcing and productionof M & S Clothing &
Homeproducts. For example, chemicals are used to manufacture fabric, to dye or print fabrics
and to wash and dry thefinished product. And chemical ingredients arealso used in their range
of Beauty products too.

8. 7
M & S always striveto do the right thing and the M&S approach to chemical management has
never stood still. To ensurethesafety of our customers, peoplewho work in their supply chains
and the environment they were the UK’s first major retailer to launch a chemical compliance
policy in 1998 and they have continued to evolve and improve their approach since this time.
3.1.2. Commitments and targets
M & S want to lead their sector in sustainable production and consumption, offering their
customers thegreat value, high quality productsand services that they expect from them while
respecting their planetary boundaries and need for social equity.
They aspire to eliminating any chemicals of concern from their Clothing & Home supply chain
and are progressively working towards this goal. They are committed to achieving zero
dischargeof hazardous chemicals from themanufacture of our textile and apparel products by
2020. With the launch of Plan A 2025 in 2017, they have made further commitments around
measuring water efficiency in their garment and textile factories and setting targets for
reduction by 2025 and establishing minimum independent standards for their processing
facilities to achieve by 2025.
3.1.3. Approach
M & S were the first UK major retailer to launch a chemical compliance policy in 1998. This
banned theuse of hazardous chemicals such as alkylphenol ethoxylates (known as APEOs) and
heavy metals and was gradually extended to cover textile printers, finishing facilities, laundries
and tanneries as well as dye houses.
M & S updated their standards in 2011 with the introduction of their Environmental and
Chemical Policy (ECP) which introduced new guidance and best practice for their suppliers. For
the first time, they also included modules on environmental management.
In 2012, M & S signed up to Greenpeace’s Detox 2020 campaign and worked with them to
develop their new chemical commitments which have strengthened their ECP. And in 2014,
they launched their Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) to complement their
existing product Restricted Substances List (RSL). They are continually evolving and improving
their ECP and approach to chemical management
M & S believe the elimination of hazardous chemicals needs not only collaboration and
partnership with their industry peers, but also a holistic and integrated approach, working with
material suppliers, thebroader chemical industry, NGOs and other stakeholders to achieve this
goal. They joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) in 2012 an industry
initiative tasked with advancing towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals in the textile
and footwear sector.

9. 8
Much of their focus has been on apparel and textiles which makes up the largest proportion of
their Clothing & Home offer. However, they also restrict and prohibit what is used in their
packaging and Beauty products.
M & S approach to responsible chemicals management focuses on:
 Understanding and communicating how chemicals are used within their supply chain
and products
 Establishing and maintaining clear minimum standards
 Supporting programs that further our understanding and build capacity within our
supply chain
3.2. Microbeads
M&S has committed to removing plastic microbeads from M&S own brand personal care
products. All existing and new products and formulations manufactured from 2016 onwards
will be free from plastic microbeads.
4. RESPONSIBLE SOURCING
Environmental risks and social inequality are making the world more complicated and
unpredictable. Customers are increasingly aware of their personal impact on the world and
businesses must work hard to build and maintain their trust. Growing pressure on natural
resources and poor global stewardship may increase our costs, restrict our access to key raw
materials and makeour global supply chains morevolatile. In addition, as governments and the
wider public demand improvements in supply chain transparency, stewardship and
accountability, legislation in this area is becoming increasingly sophisticated and challenging.
5. COMMITMENTS AND TARGET
5.1.AIMS TO
 Enhance the lives and support the local communities
 Committed to source responsibly
 Improve sustainability across our supply base
 Be a leader on sustainable consumption and production in our sector.
5.2.APPROACH
 source products and commodities from more than 70 countries

10. 9
 introduced our ethical trading programme, including ethical audits of our supply chain
 responsibility to ensureworkers’ rights are at the forefront of our decision-making and
minimum standards
 Comply with the UK Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), dealing with our
suppliers fairly and lawfully.
 Increased transparency on responsible sourcing.
 published for the first time an interactive map featuring the locations of all our active
clothing and food manufacturers
5.3.MAIN FOCUS
 Establishing and maintaining clear minimum global supplier standards appropriate to
the industries and countries manufacturing and supplying our goods and services
AIMS TO:
1. achieve our objectives by developing clear and agreed standards with our
suppliers
2. achieve our objectives by developing clear and agreed standards with our
suppliers
3. Committed to working with our suppliers in an open, constructive and
transparent manner and we require our suppliers to do the same.
 Monitoring supplier performance to ensure they meet acceptable standards and are
continually improving
1. undertake due-diligence assessments currently from an ethical trade and
responsible sourcing perspective
2. suppliers must comply with the standards set out in Global Sourcing Principles
3. suppliers’ responsibility to enforce our requirements within their own supply
chain
4. work on the principleof continuous improvement and in close partnership with
our suppliers
5. encourage the use of supplier grievance mechanisms as a first resort to settle
complaints
 Helping to build capacity and capability within our supply chains so that our suppliers
can implement and maintain high standards
1. placed worker training at the core of what we do
2. hold ‘Supplier Exchange’ meetings with our suppliers to provide a collaborative
forum for suppliers to come together and work with us to raise issues and
provide solutions

11. 10
3. launched our Global CommunityProgramme with a clear vision of driving growth
and increased efficiency
4. Ambition is to become a more resilient business by empowering people in our
supply chains to build more resilient local communities.
 Working with others to find innovative solutions to complex and systemic issues that
we can't tackle alone.
1. Firmly believe that the most sustainable way to drive improvement is to work
collaboratively with all other likeminded retailers and brands.
2. were a founding member of Sedex
3. convergence in responsible sourcing practices
4. active members of a number of other multi-stakeholder initiatives
5. Each year we are involved in a wide range of projects with different suppliers
and stakeholders to increase and share our understanding on root causes and
solutions which contribute to improving working conditions in our supply base.
6. Developed a bilateral relationship with the Department for International
Development (DFID) to facilitate dialogue at various levels, including policy
dialogue, knowledge sharing and exploratory discussions to identify areas of
potential collaboration.
7. active members of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Labour Working Group
and work collaboratively with key stakeholders
All the relevant areas of our business are responsible for ensuring that appropriate processes
and controls arein place to implement our Global Sourcing Principles. To support them, we’ve
developed sourcing strategies and standards that facilitate the delivery of industry obligations
or particular Plan A commitments that go beyond our minimum standards.
Through our Global Community Programmewe support a number of programmes that help to
improve working conditions in our supply base, in partnership with organisations such as
the Better Cotton Initiative, Emerging Leaders, Cool Earth, and Project Hope.

12. 11
6. Progress Report on Plan A:
8 June, 2017 – M&S published its report of Plan A for the year 2017.
Notable points:
 4/5 M&S products now have an eco or ethical quality above market norm.
 79% of all M&S products sold worldwide now have an eco or ethical quality
above the market norm such as Fairtrade, cruelty free beauty products or
recycled packaging (target is 100% by 2020).
 93% of Sparks’s card holders havechosen a charity to support and £1.8 million donated
in 2016/17.
 93% of customers that hold a Sparks membership card have chosen one of ten
charities to support. M&S donates a penny to the customer’s chosen charity
every timethey shop at M&S and donations were£1.8 million in 2016/17 (since
the card was launched the figure is £2.4 million)
 M&S ranked 2nd
overall and top in Food and Clothing sectors in first Corporate Human
Rights Benchmark.
 The recently published Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, which ranked 98
global companies on human rights performance, saw M&S ranked 2nd
overall
and top in both the Clothing and Food sectors.
 Supply chain training passes 800,000 target.
 M&S passed its target of training 800,000 people(since2010) in its supplychain
in 2016/17 (now 890,000). Workers across the world have benefited from
training on subjects such as employeerights, healthcare, numeracy and literacy.
 28% reduction in UK and ROI waste.
 M&S has reduced theamount of wasteit produces every year by 28% against a
2007 baseline. All the waste produced has been recycled since 2012 using a
range of different material and energy recovery techniques.
 Stores, offices and warehouses raised £1.4 million for local charities and £6.9 million
raised for health and wellbeing charities.
 In 2016/17 M&S stores, offices and warehouses raised £1.4 million for local
charities – the majority coming through stores adopting a ‘charity of the year’
through the Neighborly social network. Additionally, £6.9millionwas raised last
year for health and wellbeing charities such as Breast Cancer Now (£2.8m) and
Macmillan Cancer Support (£3.5m) through fundraising, events and product
sales.
 All the electricity M&S procures classified as renewable.
 In 2016/17 all theelectricity purchased for M&S stores, offices and warehouses
in the UK and ROI came from green tariff renewable sources or on-site
generation, or were supported by other market-placeinstruments. Additionally,
27% of M&S’ gas consumption has been replaced with bio-methane.

13. 12
 Out of 107 Plan A 2020 commitments set in 2014,
 25 are progressing on plan
 11 are behind plan
 6 have been achieved
 M&S has been operating as a zero waste to landfill business since the year 2012.
 It is the only major carbon neutral retailer.
7. References
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/plan-a/plan-a-2025-commitments.pdf
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/delivering-plan-a/sustainability-benchmarks-
indices#ed93ba2d2f6a462dbd9de904a10c0052
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/clothing-and-home
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/business-wide/responsible-
sourcing#870314c609f6431c96592537c8d5300b
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/2017/marks-and-spencer-reports-on-
plan-a-progress