Marks & Spencer

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

Submitted By-

Shailja Sundaram (BFT/17/817)

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................................... 2
Objective ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
Research methodology ................................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
What is sustainable production? .............................................................................................................. 4
Advantages of Sustainable Manufacturing ............................................................................................... 4
The Main Challenges of Sustainable Development Today........................................................................ 5
MARKS AND SPENCER ................................................................................................................................... 6
Sustainability Initiatives ................................................................................................................................ 7
Sustainability Benchmark and Indices ...................................................................................................... 8
Shwop till you drop! .................................................................................................................................. 8
Plan A ............................................................................................................................................................ 9
Wellbeing ................................................................................................................................................ 10
Transforming lives and communities ...................................................................................................... 10
Caring for the planet ............................................................................................................................... 11
Plan A product attributes ........................................................................................................................ 11
Clothing and Home product attributes ................................................................................................... 11
M&S develops jeans with focus on sustainability ................................................................................... 15
References .................................................................................................................................................. 18

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been
possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and
organization. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Mr. Bikas Agrawal my sustainable

production faculty for his guidance and constant supervision as well
as for providing necessary information regarding the project & also
for his support in completing the project.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents for their

kind co-operation and encouragement which helped me in
completion of this project.

I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to all the

above mentioned person for giving me such attention and time.

SHAILJA SUNDARAM

Objective

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The objective of the report is to study and summarize different sustainability initiative
taken by Marks & Spencer.

Research methodology

The secondary data has been collected from various published literature (like text books,
magazines, newspapers), journals, articles and sustainability report available on internet.

Introduction

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What is sustainable production?

Sustainable Production is the creation of goods and services using processes and systems
that are:
 Non-polluting
 Conserving of energy and natural resources
 Economically viable
 Safe and healthful for workers, communities, and consumers
 Socially and creatively rewarding for all working people
If production is sustainable, then the environment, employees, communities, and
organizations—all benefit. These conditions can lead, always in the long term, and often in
the short term, to more economically viable and productive enterprises.
The conceptual spark of sustainable production lies in valuing longer-term consequences
and benefits over short-term profits. Organizations can thrive by investing in well-designed
safer products, resource efficient technologies and processes, and trained and empowered
employees.
With today’s public concern about global climate change and efforts to green cities and
towns, the benefits of sustainable production are even clearer.

Advantages of Sustainable Manufacturing

A large and growing number of manufacturers are realizing substantial financial and
environmental benefits from sustainable business practices. Sustainable manufacturing is
the creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that
minimize adverse environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.
Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community and product safety. Here
are 5 reasons why companies are pursuing sustainability:

o Give your Business an Edge

o Attract Environmentally Aware Customers
o Increase your Profit Margins
o Make a Positive Impact on the Environment
o Promote innovations

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The Main Challenges of Sustainable Development Today

Having highlighted the importance of sustainable development, it is also important to

understand that it does need a lot of concentrated effort and, like many things in life, it does
have many challenges ahead of itself. It is also important to note that sustainable
development is equally valid in developing and developed countries, despite them dealing
with polarly opposite sides of the spectrum. Developed countries may be developed but
that doesn’t necessarily imply that they are sustainable and for these countries, the main
goal is to rid their society of issues such as social inequalities, waste management, and
environmental responsibility.

 Lack of financial resources to carry out and plan sustainable development

 Sustainable development is often not possible in war-torn countries as there are
other priorities on hand.
 Natural occurrences, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, can pose a threat to
sustainability as they can shift the flow of water and destroy certain elements of
infrastructure. (In the village of Ramche in Nepal, the only source of water was
shaken off course by the earthquake of 2015 and as a result of the difficulty of access
to the village, it has been undergoing a water crisis. Expenditure on bottled water in
the village has in turn grown and in many other areas in Nepal undergoing a water
crisis, people resort to drinking and cooking with E-Coli infected water as an act of
desperation. Meanwhile tsunamis in Southeast and East Asia may pose a threat to
the already existing sustainable infrastructure, such as the destruction of means of
public transport in Japan.)
 The governmental conflict between immediate profit and investment towards
sustainable technologies. (In Poland, the government has even increased financing
towards the mining sector instead of moving full steam ahead towards adopting
sustainable energy sources, with coal amounting towards 80% of total energy
generation in Poland. These measures are thought to have been implemented as a
move to win miners’ votes in the south of Poland.)
 Corruption. (Funding to developing countries is usually provided through foreign
grants, in the case of Nepal foreign grants constitute the majority coming from the
UK. Nevertheless, due to bureaucracy and corruption in Nepal, in order to pass
certain development projects a stipend needs to be paid to ministers as well as
service fees to the Nepal government which significantly slow down NGO
processes.)
 Lack of efforts at a municipal level.

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MARKS AND SPENCER

Marks and Spencer Group plc. (commonly abbreviated as M&S or colloquially Marks and
Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Westminster, London
that specializes in selling high quality clothing, home products and food products.

M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.M&S currently
has 959 stores across the U.K. including 615 that only sell food products.

Industry Retail

Founded 1884; 136 years ago

Leeds, United Kingdom

Founder Michael Marks

Thomas Spencer

Headquarters London, United Kingdom

Number of locations 1463 (2019)

Brands Per Una

Autograph
Limited
Rosie
Blue Harbour
M&S Collection
M&S Energy

Website marksandspencer.com

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Sustainability Initiatives

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Today, 99% of the wood and all of the fish M&S uses comes from a more sustainable
source. Over 50% of the food comes from a silver sustainability factory. M&S sends no
waste to landfill from our stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, have reduced
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 ensure that 100% of our key raw materials (at least 80% of
the total volume they use) in food, clothing, home and beauty products will be verified 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 close the
loop on the tens of millions of tons of plastic that enter the global market place each
year.

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
corporate sustainability are very 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.

Shwop till you drop!

At M&S, we make clothes that customers can confidently wear for years to come and all our
products undergo rigorous wear and wash tests.
But when customers have finished with their old favourites, M&S made it easy to give them a
second life through their Shwopping scheme with Oxfam. Customers can donate clothes from any
brand in any condition at Shwopping bins in their stores, including shoes, accessories and bras.
Shwopped items are either resold in Oxfam shops, given to people in need or recycled. Customers
have donated over 34 million items since 2008, raising £22 million for people living in extreme
poverty.
They believe no clothes should go to waste and they make sure any surplus stock is sold through
sales and our outlet centres. Anything that remains unsold is sent to their charity partners Oxfam,
Newlife or SmartWorks to be reused or recycled.
They’re also finding ways to close the loop by integrating recycled textiles into products. A great
example is their men’s suit made from 100% recycled materials.

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Plan A
Plan A is Marks & Spencer’s eco and ethical programme that tackles both today’s and
tomorrow’s sustainable retail challenges. Marks & Spencer today launches a new
sustainability plan – Plan A 2025. Plan A was launched in 2007 and given its name because
M&S think there is no Plan B for our one planet. M&S committed to helping to build a
sustainable future by being a business that enables customers to have a positive impact on
wellbeing, communities and the planet through all.
The eco and ethical programme is an ambitious, customer focused plan that builds on the
success of the first 10 years of Plan A and will support 1,000 communities, help 10 million
people live happier, healthier lives and convert M&S into a zero-waste business.

The three-pillar plan is designed to tackle the big issues facing retailers, consumer
businesses and society today. It spans customer and colleague wellbeing, transforming
lives and communities and caring for the planet. Each pillar includes pioneering new
commitments, for example –

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  Making all M&S packaging ‘widely recyclable’;
 Raising £25 million for charities tackling cancer, heart disease, mental health
problems, loneliness and dementia;
 At least half of food sales coming from healthier products;
 Colleagues completing one million hours of work-time community volunteering;
 All key raw materials M&S uses coming from sustainable sources;
A new 10 community pilot that will see M&S work with local councils and charity partners
to support communities to deliver positive, measurable change, the results of which will be
rolled out to 100 locations.

Wellbeing
Plan A 2025 is designed to help inspire customers to be the best they can be and play a role in
helping society tackle the wellbeing challenge. New commitments include –

 At least half of global food sales coming from healthier products by 2022;
 Helping to raise £25 million for charities tackling cancer, heart disease, mental health
problems, loneliness and dementia by 2025;
 By 2025, 20% of all M&S clothing will have a Plan A health or wellbeing attribute;
 By 2019 M&S will incentivise and reward customers for making healthy choices;
 By the end of 2018 all single portion snacks, confectionery and ice cream will be less than
250 calories.

Transforming lives and communities

Plan A 2025 aims to help play a transformative role in communities by enabling local economies to
thrive, helping to build socially connected communities and improving local environments. New
commitments include –

 By 2020, in 10 locations M&S will complete programmes that aim to secure meaningful
economic, social and environmental benefits in the communities around M&S stores and
beyond. M&S will build on insights and roll out programmes in 100 further locations in the
UK and internationally by 2023, then share learnings with 1,000 locations by 2025;
 Making space available for community use in 50% of Clothing, Home and Food stores by
2025;
 Between 2017 and 2025, supporting M&S colleagues worldwide to provide one million
hours of worktime community volunteering;
 M&S will enter into a new collaboration with Oxfam over three years focusing on the UK
and India to develop a deeper understanding of the connection between sourcing practices
and human rights impacts. Oxfam will report the findings independently, whilst M&S will
develop a programme of actions and report annually on progress from 2018;
 Over the next seven years the M&S Global Community Programme will help a million people
in M&S’ supply chain communities to help build livelihoods and protect the environment.

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Caring for the planet
Plan A has helped make substantial improvements to M&S’ environmental footprint. Plan A 2025
will do even more with M&S aiming to make its entire business model zero waste – not just its own
operations but also its supply chains and products. M&S has also set its first ever approved science-
based target*. New commitments include:

 All M&S packaging to be ‘widely recyclable’ by 2022;

 Halving food waste by 2025;
 By 2025 all key raw materials M&S uses will come from sustainable sources, including all
cotton by 2019;
 By 2025 at least ¼ of all M&S Clothing and Home products will be made using 25% recycled
material;
 M&S will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% in its own operations by 2030
(compared to 2007 levels) and, during the same period, cut emissions in its supply chain by
13.3m tonnes (approved science-based target).

Plan A product attributes

In order to be identified as a ‘product with a Plan A attribute’ the product must:
• Meet our minimum standards (e.g. be supplied and produced in accordance with our Global
Sourcing Principles); and
• Have an approved Plan A product attribute(s) which has a demonstrable positive or significantly
lower environmental and / or social impact.
Where relevant, at least 50% of the finished product (as sold to the customer) must have the Plan A
product attribute. The only exceptions to this are where technical constraints limit the percentage
to total or a lower level is considered to be above the marketplace norm

Clothing and Home product attributes

Clothing and home product range is incredibly diverse and they offer everything from clothing,
footwear, bags and accessories, through to jewellery and gifts and furniture. So far M&S has
identified 23 Plan A attributes for clothing and home products. In total 60% of clothing and home
products had at least one Plan A attribute in 2013/14. The most used attributes (based on volume
of sales) are Eco Factory, Sustainable Wood, BCI Cotton, Ethical Factory, and Cruelty Free.

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Attribute Description

Raw Materials

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton
Products which contain cotton and meet Better
Cotton Initiative (BCI) standards and there is an
Output Declaration Form (ODF) relating to the
product. BCI takes a mass-balance approach and
end product ultimately may not physically contain
BCI cotton.

Certified Organic Fibres Products which contain organic fibres and meet
legal standards and certified by an approved
certification body.

Hemp Products which contain any hemp fibre. Hemp has

been shown to have a lower environmental impact
than conventional fibres.

Jute Products which contain any jute fibre. Jute has

been shown to have a lower environmental impact
than conventional fibres.

Leather Products which contain leather, comply with the

M&S chemical policy and Plan A leather policy, and
must score Green on the M&S animal statement
country assessment. The tannery completing final
stage(s) of processing must also achieve at least
Bronze rating and have a traceability score via the
Leather Working Group auditing protocol.

Lyocell Fibre Products which contain Tencel fibre from Lenzing

or Excel from Birla.

Modal Products which contain Modal fibre from Lenzing

only.

Recycled Cotton Products which contain a minimum of 25%

recycled cotton and comply with M&S Plan A
policy for textile recycling.

Recycled Nylon Products which contain recycled nylon and comply

with M&S Plan A policy for textile recycling.

Recycled Plastic Products which contain post consumer recycled

plastic and has been approved by M&S.

Recycled Polyester Products which contain post consumer and post

industrial recycled polyester and complies with

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 M&S Plan A policy for textile recycling.

Recycled Wool Products which contain recycled wool and comply

with M&S Plan A policy for wool.

Sustainable Wood Products which contain wood and comply with the
M&S Plan A wood sourcing policy.

Fair Partner

Fair trade Cotton Products which support Fairtrade International

(FLO) Certified standards and carry the Fairtrade
Mark. Fairtrade cotton cannot be blended with
other cotton types

Animal Welfare

Cruelty Free Cosmetics and homecare products produced in

accordance with the Cruelty Free International /
BUAV Humane Cosmetics Standard and Humane
Household Products Standard.

Non-Mulesed Wool a) Products which contain wool sourced from

routes where surgical mulesing is not performed.
b) If from Australia the Australian Wool Testing
Authority (AWTA) test certificate must be provided
which states ‘Not Mulesed’ or ‘Ceased Mulesed’.

Farming / Factory

M&S Eco Factory Audit Standard Products which are produced in a factory that
meets the M&S Eco Factory Audit Standard.

M&S Ethical Excellence Factory Products manufactured in a factory that meets

M&S’s strict criteria for Ethical Excellence, which
means that they can demonstrate they have world
class working conditions and outstanding HR
practices in all areas including wages

Process

Eco Dyeing Products utilising cold pad batch technology

instead of a conventional dyeing process.

Ozone Technology Denim products where the main fabric wash is

done using ozone technology instead of a
conventional wash laundry process.

Spun Dyed Man-Made Fibres Products which contain man-made fibres (i.e.
Viscose, Modal, Polyester, Polyamide, and Acrylic)

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 which have been dyed at the point of fibre
manufacture.

Water-Based Polyurethane Products which contain water-based polyurethane

(i.e. manufactured using no organic solvents).

M&S develops jeans with focus on sustainability

Marks & Spencer (M&S) works towards the betterment of people and planet, and hence,
focuses on imbibing sustainability in jeans. The company believes that sustainable style is
firstly about designing quality clothes made to last, and denim is a great material as it is
durable and hard wearing. M&S is a major British multinational retailer, based in the UK.

However, producing jeans does use large amounts of water, growing cotton can be water
intensive and industrial washing of denim has historically used significant amounts of
water to get the finish right. Customers are concerned about sustainability; hence M&S is
on a mission to reduce water and chemical use each season. The new jeans launched this
Spring, including the recently launched Magic Jeans, use less water in the washing process
than conventional jeans.

The fabric used in jeans is an important consideration. Today, 100 per cent of the cotton
sourced for all M&S clothing (including denim) is organic, recycled, or responsibly sourced
from BCI, the Better Cotton Initiative. BCI supports farmers to develop more efficient
production process, increase their yield, and reduce water usage.

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References
1. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annualreport
2. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/msar-2019/full-annual-report.pdf
3. https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/m-s-develops-jeans-with-focus-on-
sustainability-255387-newsdetails.htm
4. https://www.just-style.com/analysis/marks-spencers-journey-to-sourcing-more-sustainable-
cotton_id136586.aspx
5. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/quick-reads/our-approach-to-
sustainable-fashion
6. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/stories/blog/putting-plan-a-at-the-heart-of-our-
fashion-business
7. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/report2018
8. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annual-report-2018/mands_plan_a_2018.pdf
9. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annual-report-
2018/mands_plana_2018_about_plan_a.pdf
10. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annual-report-
2018/mands_plana_2018_performancesummary.pdf
11. https://www.mylearning.org/stories/mands-making-a-mark--plan-a/580?
12. https://global.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/
13. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability
14. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/2017/plan-a-2025
15. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/plan-a/plan-a-2025-commitments.pdf
16. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/business-wide/product-sustainability
17. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/plan-a-our-approach/how-we-define-
plana-product-attributes-june2015.pdf

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