Marks & Spencer (M&S), the British retailing giant known for selling up-market foods in addition to clothing, announced last month plans to become a sustainable leader in the retail market. The company has updated its Plan A program (originally launched in 2007) to reflect this new goal.

Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of Marks & Spencer, outlined the company’s long term goal in a recent press release:

We’ve now set ourselves the ambitious target of becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015, so that we lead the way in making a positive contribution to the environment and society across everything we do and everything we sell.

M&S plans to dive deep into its supply chain to alter textile production and sourcing. The company has a stated goal of reducing energy use at these facilities by 10 percent. It plans to accomplish that in part by:

• installing energy efficient lighting
• improving insulation
• optimizing temperature controls

In its Plan A document, M&S identified ways to improve its clothing division. Those include:

• Helping customers increase the number of garments they recycle from 2 to 20 million
• Working with suppliers and factories to reduce waste within the supply chain
• Rigorously managing the raw materials and natural resources used to make products
• Paying workers in developing countries a “living-wage” (although M&S didn’t specify what constitutes a living-wage)

Better water management is another featured goal. The company hopes to be 25 percent more water efficient by 2015, and to increase in-store efficiency by 30 percent. To accomplish this, M&S has brought in partners such as the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) to help better understand its corporate water footprint.

The WWF helped M&S identify four key areas along its supply chain where water use could be improved–cotton production, farming, food manufacturing, and dye-houses. In the case of dye-houses, the company plans to create three “eco” dye-houses, and then replicate the most efficient of those processes throughout its supply base.

Dye-houses and traditional textile manufacturers are a large part of the water waste and pollution problem. Redesigning those facilities and using the best water management practices would hopefully help change the culture of pollution in the developing world’s textile industry – and do so without sacrificing profits. After all, while these initiatives may be kinder to the environment, Plan A also needs to offer an overall improvement in profitability.

So far, it appears M&S is on the right track. The company has saved £50 million this year, and it believes bigger savings will come from further execution of Plan A.

Part of what we found compelling about the company’s Plan A program is that executives are being offered incentives to complete goals. We believe that it’s not enough to declare an environmental goal – companies must also inspire employees to get onboard. Providing rewards is a tried and true method, and one that more companies should implement alongside the incentives traditionally awarded for expanding the business or reducing costs. M&S has a long way to go before becoming the world’s greenest retailer, but Plan A might trigger the thorough supply-chain examination needed to get them there.

photo credit: Marks & Spencer

The Network for Business Sustainability, a Canadian business organization which claims to be comprised of over 300 researchers, has released a report detailing what the group believes will be the top sustainability challenges for companies in 2010. The report, titled 2010 Knowledge Priorities for Business Sustainability, lists the following seven questions as the top sustainable challenges for businesses:

1. How can we measure and value a firm’s ecological impacts (e.g. ecological footprint)?
2. How can we build a durable, enduring sustainability corporate culture?
3. How can we promote and ensure sustainability within our supply chains?
4. How can we incorporate sustainability into employee incentives?
5. What business risks are associated with water quality and water shortage?
6. What is the aboriginal perspective on business sustainability and what are the best approaches to constructive engagement?
7. Are the concerns of NIMBY-ism borne out?

The presence of question number five signifies that even in water-rich Canada, companies are examining the ways in which water will affect business in the future. The report asks these additional questions focused solely on water risks:

• How can we evaluate the risks of poor water quality and quantity?
• How do the risks differ in different contexts?
• What can we learn about water management within businesses operating in other countries?

Plenty of answers already exist. And while some large companies, such as Intel and MillerCoors, are cognizant of the business risks associated with water scarcity and quality, many others have yet to fully examine this potential problem.

Far more companies are concentrating on measuring their ecological impacts, or creating a sustainable supply chain. However, those questions have far more to do with water than these companies might think. For instance, in order for a company to properly examine its ecological impact, they must include a look at water sourcing, how the company uses water, and what happens to that water after the company uses it.

The same applies to creating a sustainable supply chain. At some point in the supply chain, water is used. In the textile industry, water may be used to grow raw materials or dye garments. A supply chain cannot be “sustainable” if the water used within the supply chain gets polluted or contaminated.

The seven questions outlined by the Network for Business Sustainability are quite important for companies to examine in 2010. However, we have one minor quibble. Because of water’s integral role in almost all companies’ operations, we believe it deserves higher placement on this list. At the very least, risks from water scarcity should have been listed above finding a way to incorporate sustainability in employee incentives.