Marks & Spencer

Sector: Corporate

Carbon Footprint:

> Scope 1 & 2 only: 313,000 metric tonnes CO₂e (2004)

TARGETS

> Become carbon neutral by 2012
> Increase local food sourcing
> Roll out step-by-step environmental management requirements for suppliers

Achievements

> 5% year-on-year reduction in operational energy use
> Energy life-cycle assessments of 95% of products
> Reduced emissions from lowering clothing wash temperatures

Benefits

> Life-cycle approach identifies most cost effective areas for emissions reduction
> Well positioned to take advantage of future low-carbon opportunities

Low Carbon Solutions

Background

Marks & Spencer is one of the UK’s leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services. The company trades in 30 countries worldwide, and has a Group turnover in excess of £8 billion. 

Marks & Spencer, like all retailers, uses a significant amount of energy to fuel activities such as refrigeration, air-conditioning, and on-site bakeries. There is an inherent culture of reducing operational energy usage, driven by cost management.

The company tracks electricity use in every store every 30 minutes via a computer system. If air conditioning systems have been left on by accident, for example, the store can be alerted. Each branch has an energy conservation officer, and specialist consultants conduct monthly store energy audits. In October 2001, Marks & Spencer launched an incentive scheme awarding stores the monetary equivalent of any energy savings they make over and above their targets. Monitoring equipment has been installed in seven branches, to identify how stores consume energy and how they might save it. These measures save the company around 5% of energy usage every year.

Currently store energy use accounts for 80% of Marks & Spencer’s operational CO₂ emissions. The company’s new ‘Ecoplan’, launched in January 2006, states that over the next five years M&S will be: reducing store energy use by 25% per unit of turnover; then only using green energy to power stores and; not buying offsets to cover any of these emissions.

Marks & Spencer has been working with specialist consultants to conduct energy lifecycle assessments and green accounting projects to quantify the impacts of over 95% of its products. Emissions associated with product use and disposal currently total approximately 2.5 million tonnes CO₂ each year, and 80% of the footprint of the company’s clothing is from washing and ironing. As a first step in reducing product-related emissions a programme has been introduced to lower wash temperatures on clothing to 40ºC. This has the potential to reduce the UK’s household electricity consumption by 0.25%.

The company will also help customers reduce energy use in their homes by developing other low carbon products and services and running a Carbon Challenge with the Women’s Institute and supporting The Climate Group’s public engagement campaign.

Marks & Spencer has over 1500 suppliers worldwide, and emissions associated with raw materials, manufacturing and importing of goods amount to approximately 2.6 million tonnes CO₂ annually. 

Under the new ‘Ecoplan’ the company has committed to work with suppliers through the M&S Supplier Exchange to share best practice and to mobilize suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions.

A commitment has been introduced to buy as much food from the UK and Ireland as possible, to double regional food sourcing within 12 months and to grow existing supply networks.  In addition, the company is looking to minimise the amount of food air freighted as well as label food imported by air as ‘flown’.

Marks and Spencer tracks energy use in every store every 30-minutes via a computer system. ©Edward Parker