Still working on Plan A
First plan
Back in January 2007 Marks & Spencer (M&S) launched its original Plan A, which included 100 commitments designed to make the retailer the most sustainable business in the world. There were updates and reviews in 2010 and 2014 to show how it was doing. By 2013 improved energy efficiency, fewer road miles and less packaging were saving the company £135m per year. In its ten-year lifespan, Plan A has saved £750m. What’s more, it’s also given M&S the opportunity to score green points.
Latest version
In June 2017 M&S announced a new set of ambitions under the “Plan A 2025” banner (see The next step ). Again, there are 100 commitments covering everything from recycling and investment in community projects to even greater sustainable sourcing and a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% come 2030.
M&S’s plan is certainly ambitious and there are a number of commitments that would be impossible (or at least not economically viable) for small businesses to follow. However, there are some lessons to be learned from its experience and some takeaways from the new plan.
Keep it simple
How many of its customers will want to know the ins and outs of the 100 commitments, let alone understand many of them? This is why everything has been boiled down to three top-line goals: supporting 1,000 communities, helping ten million people live happier, healthier lives and converting the retailer into a zero-waste business. This makes it easier to explain what it’s doing and tell its customers about it.
Customer is king
Some of M&S’s strategy will be driven by regulation, some will be to put it one step ahead of competitors, plus there will be a commitment to be a responsible business. However, the fourth element - and one that can easily be forgotten - is what your customers think about it. M&S surveyed three quarters of a million of them to help develop Plan A 2025.
Tip 1. As a smaller business you don’t need to develop a corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan as wide-reaching or detailed as the M&S one. But however long or short your strategy is, make sure there are simple messages for your customers on topics that they can understand. For example, information about how much waste you’ve reduced or energy you’ve saved, will get them much more interested than talking about complex carbon offsetting schemes or new plant polymers you’ve used in packaging.
Tip 2. The other golden rule is to keep transparent. M&S said it has learned as much from the handful of commitments it missed as the 90-odd it met. This might seem like CSR puff but it has a point: sustainability plans should evolve over time, so if you find that you’re spending lots of time, effort and money on a certain commitment and getting nowhere there’s no harm in having a rethink.
For link to M&S Plan A 2025, visit http://tipsandadvice-environment.co.uk/download (EN 12.03.02).
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