M&S is a British retailer with 32 million customers across the world. We’re known for our award-winning food, clothing and homeware
Marks and Spencer
Greenpeace Reveals Brands Stumbling on the Catwalk to Toxin-Free Fashion
6 years ago - Since the “Detox My Fashion” campaign launched in 2011, 76 fashion brands, retailers and suppliers have committed to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020, accounting for a combined 15 percent of global textile production.
Of Top Cotton Users, Over 75% ‘Appear to Do Virtually Nothing’ on Cotton Sustainability
6 years ago - More sustainable cotton has become more widely available thanks to collaborations such as the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and other programs focused on minimizing the use of highly hazardous pesticides, improving working conditions, addressing biodiversity issues, and reducing water consumption in cotton agriculture.
Communicating purpose through brand among top drivers of corporate leadership: new poll of experts
6 years ago - Integrating purpose through a common brand promise and aligning sustainability strategy with internal culture and values are key drivers of corporate leadership according to the findings of the just-released 2016 Sustainability Leaders Survey by GlobeScan and SustainAbility in partnership with Sustainable Brands. The Sustainability Leaders Survey tracks expert opinions on the evolution of the sustainability agenda for two decades, along with views on the leaders and institutions most responsible for driving it forward. This is the first edition of the survey since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change in late 2015.
Sustainability Leaders Agree: Integrating Purpose, Brand a Top Driver of Corporate Leadership
6 years ago - Integrating purpose through a common brand promise and aligning sustainability strategy with internal culture and values are key drivers of corporate leadership, according to the findings of the just-released 2016 Sustainability Leaders Survey, by GlobeScan and SustainAbility in partnership with Sustainable Brands, released today at SB’16 San Diego.
Forget Incremental Improvements: 40 Companies, Cities Working to Activate New Plastics Economy
6 years ago - The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative kicks off today with an inaugural workshop that brings together more than 40 leading companies including Amcor, Coca-Cola, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, Indorama Ventures, Marks & Spencer, MARS, Natureworks, Novamont, Sealed Air, SUEZ, Unilever
Courtauld Commitment 2025 Will Transform UK Food and Beverage Industry, Save £20B
7 years ago - The UK’s resource efficiency charity WRAP, on behalf of the UK Government and Devolved Administrations, today unveils a pioneering commitment that brings together organizations from across the food system for the first time to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable for the future.
Report: Water Management Action Plan for Food, Beverage Supply Chains
7 years ago - Water quality is an urgent national concern in the UK, where only 17 percent of water bodies currently meet ‘good’ standards. Several businesses are already working with farmers and others in their supply chains to improve the situation, but UK charity Business in the Community (BITC) is calling for more to be done.
New Evidence Bolsters Claims of Connectivity Between CSR and Market Caps
7 years ago - Last August, I published an article here in which I described what, to me, is the most compelling business case for corporate sustainability or CSR extant: the fact that it literally drives the market values of publicly traded firms up or down in measurable ways. To be clear, I believe there are two fundamental business cases for CSR: an intrinsic one and an extrinsic one. The intrinsic one involves the pursuit of sustainability for its own sake; the extrinsic one involves the pursuit of sustainability for financial gain – a means to an end.
5 Steps Every Food Retailer Should Take to Eliminate Food Waste
7 years ago - Campaigners for action on food waste have had much to celebrate recently. The Rockefeller Foundation launched YieldWise, a $130 million initiative to tackle loss between farm and market and demonstrating how the world can halve food loss by 2030. This coincided with the launch of Champions 12.3, a collaboration of 30 executives and ministers united in their dedication to meeting SDG target 12.3.
What Now? How Businesses Are Rallying to Action After COP21
7 years ago - As evidenced by the unprecedented private-sector engagement in COP21 earlier this month, businesses globally get that they need to innovate (and improve!) their products, services and business models to combat climate change, resource scarcity and unpredictable futures. Aside from the alignment of 195 nations on a climate-action agreement, what did all the talk at COP21 amount to from a business perspective? A lot of initiatives that push forward change and collaboration. But is it all smoke and mirrors, and toothless pledges, or is there real action brewing?
COP21: A View from Paris
7 years ago - The Conference of the Parties … COP21 … the climate conference … or just “Paris,” as in “What’s going to happen in Paris?”
Trending: UK Retailers Fighting Food Waste Through Investment, Redistribution
7 years ago - The United Kingdom wastes more food than any other European country; a 2014 House of Lords report estimated 15 million tonnes of food per year are wasted in the UK, at a cost of £5 billion, and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has estimated the average UK household with children spends £700 per year on food that could be eaten but is thrown away.
How Brands Are Tapping the Crowd, Competitors to Accelerate Innovation
7 years ago - In a Tuesday afternoon breakout that brought together a unique and diverse group, Steve Jennings from Better Ventures created a high-energy atmosphere where participants had frank discussions about their experiences and challenges in supporting entrepreneurial communities.Recognising the power of linking entrepreneurs and startups to large corporate companies and the benefits derived from supporting entrepreneurial communities, Jennings guided the panel to speak about their own journeys with this.What are some really good examples of startups or groups that we can learn from?
UK Brands Turning to Co-Creation to Help Unlock Packaging Innovations
7 years ago - Flicking through various CSR reports, it’s interesting to note how often packaging is highlighted as an area in need of more attention. It’s hardly surprising given the complexity of applying lifecycle thinking to a material that needs to protect the product inside it while also delivering a satisfying consumer experience.
Greenpeace Launching Multi-Pronged Attack Against Thai Union for Abusive, Unsustainable Practices
7 years ago - The world’s largest canned tuna company, Thai Union Group (TU), has been connected to forced labor, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation. Yesterday, Greenpeace launched a global campaign demanding that TU take urgent and far-reaching steps to clean up its act.
What Can the Ethical Fashion Movement Teach Us About Tackling Sustainability In Challenging Industries?
7 years ago - The sustainability challenges facing the clothing industry today are immense. In 2013 the Danish fashion institute estimated it to be the second-most damaging industry in the world, with 25 percent of the world’s pesticides used to grow cotton alone, and one-fifth of industrial water pollution stemming from the dyeing and treatment of fabric. The U.S.
Climate Week: Climate Neutral Now, RE100 Initiatives Recruit Fortune 500 Companies
7 years ago - Two initiatives for reducing businesses’ impacts on the environment have attracted globally recognized brands this week at Climate Week NYC.On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) announced a new initiative to help businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprints, Climate Neutral Now. An online platform will facilitate the measurement, reduction, and offset of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
One Year After New York Declaration on Forests, Report Identifies Companies Taking Action
7 years ago - Several dozen companies that endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests at 2014’s United Nations Climate Summit are taking concrete steps to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation from their supply chains, according to a new report from Supply Change – a project convened by Washington D.C.-based non-profit Forest Trends.
The Strategic Importance of Recognized Leadership
7 years ago - The need for reputable corporate leadership has never been more acute. We are grappling with large-scale global challenges - climate change, social dislocation, economic inequality, financial uncertainty - that require a new type of leadership from global entities.
WWF: Food Security Delivers Long-Term Business Security
7 years ago - WWF-UK and the Food Ethics Council recently interviewed senior food business executives to investigate their understanding of sustainable food security and barriers to achieving it. They said the government needs to take bold action to create a food system that serves citizens, the economy and the planet.