Welcome

food newsletterdecember 2016 issue

Welcome to our latest bumper Plan A Food Newsletter, which features a roundup of our activities over the last few months and important updates for suppliers, including progress on Silver and Beyond, Movement to Work, new attributes, raw materials and more.

As Christmas production is in full flow, the Plan A team are focusing on plans for 2017, when we will mark 10 years of Plan A. We are taking this moment to revisit our strategy and think about how we will step up our thinking and whole supply chain implementation from field to fork, to create a truly sustainable retailer for 2025. We will be in touch again in the New Year on how you can be involved in developing our thinking.

The Foods Plan A team is also changing. We say goodbye to Jo Bowen who is off on maternity leave and welcome Amanda Curtis, Senior Foods Plan A Environment Manager. Amanda brings 16 years of environmental experience to the Food group from Coca Cola, London 2012 as well as a range of different clients as a sustainability consultant. Also joining the team are Caroline Hughes, Ethical Scorecard Validator, and Helena Bayly, Foods Plan A Project Manager. Caroline has already joined a number of validation visits utilizing her consulting background, and Helena has recently graduated from a MA in Leadership for Sustainable Development at Forum for the Future. Finally Hazel and Helen have both been promoted to senior managers reflecting their ongoing fantastic contribution.

Included in this issue is a thank you to those who attended our Movement to Work supplier engagement event and a call for our suppliers to make a pledge on the number of placements they plan to deliver in the next 12 months.

In our continued efforts towards achieving our target of having all sites reach Silver by 2020, we have introduced a new validation process for the Silver programme and have developed an alternative programme for smaller suppliers.

Eight new attributes have also been signed off in the past month, including seven as part of our new packaging strategy.

You can also read about our work in raw materials, with a focus on cocoa, palm oil, sugar and rice. We have recently released a publication with WWF on water stewardship, to share our learnings with other businesses.

The M&S Food team at our Paddington HQ has also been busy promoting Plan A values. 200 volunteers signed up to ‘Spark Something Good’ in the local community, helping at 15 projects with the aim of connecting communities through valuing food, health and nature.

We hope you find these updates useful and interesting. Please do contact us with any feedback, as we are always looking to improve our communications.

From all the team, we wish you a very merry Christmas and hope that you enjoy the festive period.

Louise Nicholls, Head of Responsible Sourcing, Packaging and Plan A

ContentsUpdate on silver & BeyondSilver sites 1New validation process 1Revalidation key findings 1Silver equivalent for smaller suppliers 2Upcoming events 2

environmental/ethiCal Updates Movement to Work supplier engagement event 3New environmental minimum standards 3

ethiCal Updates Wellbeing Week 4BHRRC latest reports on Modern Slavery statements 4

septemBer & oCtoBer sUpplier exChangesEnvironmental 5 Ethical 5Lean 6

attriBUte Update New packaging strategy 7New attributes 7Attributes update 8

raW materials Raw material sourcing 9Palm oil 9Cocoa visit to the Ivory Coast 10

neWsWater stewardship 11Food waste 11Spark Something Good Paddington 12

Which actions apply to you?Action Page RMovement to Work supplier pledges 3

Silver equivalent for smaller suppliers 2

Take part in Wellbeing Week 2017 4

Save the date: upcoming supplier exchanges 2

New environmental minimum standards 3

Eight new attributes available 7

Call for sustainability information on rice and sugar 9

RSPO palm oil data 9

Sourcing cocoa 10

SIlvEr & bEYoNd

1

silver sites

new validation processSince April, the following sites have achieved Silver on the How We Do Business Sustainability Scorecard*:samworth brothers saladworksGs barwayFinnebroguesamworth brothers Tamardawnfresh ArbroathNew ivorybakkavor bourne salads Thorntons barfoots of botleyTulip Kings LynnTulip ruskingtonPrinces manchesterPrinces erith Princes belvedere AdnamsAddo Foods riverside bakery*Correct as of 22nd November

From April, we introduced a new validation process for the Sustainability Scorecard to help us achieve our goal of all direct supplying sites meeting Silver level on the sustainability frameworks by 2020. In order to accelerate the Silver programme, the new process involves a phone validation and evidence uploaded to the Credit360 scorecard database, in place of a validation visit for the environmental and lean elements of the scorecard. The ethical framework will still require a visit in the vast majority of cases. However, as part of our due diligence, 15% of sites will also be chosen for a full validation visit covering all 3 frameworks (in addition to a call).

N.b. All Sites looking to achieve Gold validation will still receive a full visit, as per the current process.

Feedback on the new process so far has been positive with most sites passing their environmental & lean

frameworks on the calls with no need for a further follow up. of the sites that have been chosen for a visit as part of our due diligence, all have achieved the same result on the visit as they did on the call, which has demonstrated that the new process appears to be working well.

Are you working towards Silver next year?In terms of future validations for those sites who are not yet Silver, we are continuing to move down our pipeline of suppliers. If you are due to be validated between April 2017 and March 2018 you should have been recently contacted by SA Partners to begin the process. If not, do let us know.

Congratulations to all those sites, who have been the first to go through the new validation process (details of this are below).

revalidation of silver sitesTo ensure that our silver factory programme maintains its credibility, and to encourage suppliers to ‘Go for Gold’ (rather than settle for silver or drop back to bronze), it’s important to ensure that suppliers are continuously improving following their Silver validation.

We want to ensure that sites are consolidating & sustaining Silver, and understand what the sites’ plans and timelines are for achieving Gold.

In order to establish the above, we launched an annual ‘Silver revalidation’ survey back in June that consisted of 12 questions to be answered in a presentation format. Each site was asked to submit a presentation which outlined their activity and progress since Silver validation, along with key business benefits seen since Silver and some key metrics, facts and quotes (from site Md’s and M&S category teams) to support their submission. Finally, we asked for a roadmap to achieving Gold validation.

based on the evidence provided in the presentations from each site, the Plan A validation team identified 6 strong performers and 7 weak performers, with all other sites demonstrating a satisfactory performance.

The main findings from the process were as follows:

Strong Performers:It was clear from their presentations that these sites had taken on board all the feedback provided by the validators at their Silver validation, and continued to progress. They had also been able to identify clear business benefits to achieving Silver, and had a clear plan to get to Gold.

Satisfactory Performers:These sites were all able to demonstrate that they have maintained Silver level since their validation. However, as they are some of our leading sites on sustainability, we would expect them to make further progress within the next 12 months and develop a plan to get to Gold where possible.

Weak Performers:The validators were disappointed that these site’s performances didn’t appear to have progressed as expected. This

finding is based on the self-declared information that was provided in the presentations. It wasn’t clear whether the site had taken on board all the feedback provided by the validators during the initial silver validation, and there appeared to be little demonstration of activity which went ‘above and beyond’ the Silver requirements that were seen at the validation. In some cases, sites were also marked down as they hadn’t completed a staff survey since their silver validation – having an annual (or at least bi-annual) survey is a silver requirement. Sites were requested to come back to us within a month with either further evidence that may have been missing from the initial presentation or a roadmap of how they are going to meet the areas of under-performance.

Top Performers:CoNGrATUlATIoNS to the six top performers:

Bakkavor Caledonian Dawnfresh Seafoods UddingstonKettle Produce BalmalcolmKinnerton Confectionery FakenhamTulip Bodmin Worldwide Fruit

SIlvEr & bEYoNd

2

silver equivalent for smaller suppliers

Upcoming events

Our preference is for all M&S direct suppliers to achieve Silver level on the Sustainability Scorecard and we encourage all sites to work towards this by 2020 wherever possible.

However we are aware that in reality it may be difficult for some sites to meet this level at the current time, as the site may not currently have the resource & capability to fully embed all elements of sustainability into its business. However, we still want sites to be able to demonstrate evidence of where they are focusing on one or two areas of sustainability, based on their risk.

What does this ‘sustainability stepping stone’ approach look like?Suppliers who can’t currently achieve Silver overall can still demonstrate their sustainability credentials and gain a Plan A attribute by achieving one of the following individual attributes, dependent on where their risk is:

i) Ethical Excellence – demonstrating that the site meets all the key elements of a ‘great place to work’, including worker engagement, communications and representations, strong management systems around working hours and pay, an excellent approach to health and safety, a proactive role in the community, and strong controls around use of agency labour and modern slavery risk.

AND/OR

ii) Environmental Excellence – demonstrating that the site has improved the efficiency & sustainability of its resources, including having an appropriate environmental management system, climate mitigation plans, targets and actions around water, waste, energy & carbon, sustainable procurement plans for key raw materials, and good worker engagement at all levels.

(N.B. A number of industry-specific schemes equivalent to this attribute have already been approved. Products from sites that have achieved one of these standards are already eligible for an attribute: LEAF Marque, SAI FSA Silver Level 2.0, M&S approved Sustainable Wine Schemes, MPS-A Standard, AISE Charter).

Who might be eligible for this approach?Sites that may not be able to achieve Silver across all 3 frameworks include those that:

• Supply less than 2% of their annual volume to M&S

• Have less than 50 employees

• Are co-packers for larger, M&S direct-supplying sites

N.b. Even if a site meets these criteria, this does not preclude them from adopting higher standards and aiming for Silver level.

Who will determine whether a site can adopt alternative controls as a substitute for Silver?The decision will be made jointly by the Plan A team and the M&S category team, in consultation with the supplying site. As noted previously, our preference is for all sites to aim to meet Silver level on the sustainability scorecard wherever possible.

If a site does not meet the above criteria but has agreement from their M&S category team that they can adopts this approach, then this will also be satisfactory, although a clear plan will be required as to how the full scorecard can be achieved.

NExT STEPS:We are currently trialling this approach with some of our suppliers who meet the criteria, to determine whether this approach will work for them. once the trial is completed, a full update will be provided to all suppliers.

MARION REGAN, OUR FRUIT

FARMER FROM KENT PICKS

STRAWBERRIES AT SUNRISE AND

DELIVERS THEM TO STORE WITHIN

24 HOURS ENSURING MAXIMUM

FRESHNESS AND QUALITY

love local

FOO/P7/970401A

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Environmental Supplier Exchange 1st Feb 2017

Ethical Supplier Exchange 7th Feb 2017

Lean Supplier Exchange 14th Feb 2017

ETHICAl/ENvIroNMENTAl UPdATES

3

We want to sell products that are minimising their impact on the environment which means not polluting the land, air or water, not damaging ecosystems, not sending waste to landfill, using energy & water more efficiently and sourcing raw materials sustainably.

We recognise that a significant part of our environmental impact occurs within our supply chain and therefore want to work with our suppliers to ensure we minimise this impact wherever possible. As most of you will know, we currently have a supplier sustainability scorecard programme in place (Silver & beyond) which helps suppliers work towards becoming a more sustainable business. However, until now we haven’t had any minimum standards regarding the environment. Therefore, from 2017 all direct suppliers MUST meet the new minimum requirements on environment in order for a supplier to do business with us.

Environmental concerns are becoming even greater and by setting new minimum requirements for our supply base, we are minimising our risk, ensuring we have security of supply

for the future and enhancing our reputation as a leading retailer in sustainability.

The new standard will consist of a number of requirements relating to the environment. Sites will be given an initial 6 months to comply, and will be expected to complete and sign the form annually on-going.

The requirements include:

1 Suppliers MUST comply with all relevant local, national & international laws and regulations with respect to the environment.

2 Any incidence of prosecutions or justified notice that could lead to prosecution MUST be reported immediately to M&S.

3 Suppliers MUST have identified a suitable senior member of staff as having accountability for environmental management on site.

4 Suppliers MUST have an up-to–date Environmental Policy in place.

5 Suppliers MUST have an audited environmental management system in place.

6 The Supplier should be able to show they have assessed the resilience of their business to the potential impacts of climate change.

7 Suppliers should have an adequate system in place for carrying out a supply chain sustainability risk assessment.

8 Suppliers MUST meet all relevant M&S raw Material Sourcing requirements relating to sustainability.

9 Suppliers should be measuring their water & energy usage, and their waste & carbon generated.

10 All suppliers MUST work towards attaining a Plan A attribute for every product.

11 All direct suppliers are expected to work towards achieving the full Silver level (or equivalent) on the sustainability scorecard.

Full details of these requirements will be made available shortly, with the form being added to Connect in 2017. For further details please do not hesitate to contact the Plan A Foods Team.

environmental standards for food suppliers – neW reQUirement For 2017Marks & Spencer Food Group recognises our responsibility to minimise our direct and indirect impact upon the environment, and operate in a responsible and sustainable way for the benefit of our customers, employees and other stakeholders.

In keeping with M&S’ on-going commitment to the Movement to Work programme, at the beginning of November the Plan A team invited senior members of HR teams from M&S’ major suppliers to attend a half-day engagement session here in Paddington.

Movement to Work is a voluntary collaboration of leading UK employers who are committed to helping young people aged 18 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) move closer to employment by providing quality work experience and learning opportunities. The purpose of the session was to re-engage with suppliers on Movement to Work and to hear from speakers who could offer support in overcoming the challenges associated with the delivery of the scheme.

The event, hosted by Andy Adcock, louise Nicholls and Helen McTaggart, saw a great turn out from suppliers. Speakers included Movement to Work, Job Centre Plus, Talent Match and Ingeus who provided an external perspective on ways that suppliers can further commit to the programme. In addition, 2 Sisters Food Group, G’s Fresh and Kettle Produce presented case studies on the work their businesses have done, how they have sustained activity and how they have adapted to challenges regarding Movement to Work. A range of ideas were shared on the day including how to increase engagement with young people through social media and the local community network, the possibility of providing free transport to work and the role of teaming up those on a placement with a mentor in the company.

A big thank you to all those that attended and spoke on the day – the event was a real success and we hope that suppliers can use the material discussed to really maximise the number of Movement to Work placements that they can offer in 2017. We have produced a case study booklet containing examples of best practice on Movement to Work from a range of suppliers which we are distributing as part of a call to action to renew efforts. Whilst we are particularly looking at our strategic suppliers, we want all suppliers to contribute to the Movement to Work effort and the Plan A team will be requesting suppliers to pledge how many placements they plan to deliver in the next 12 months.

Please contact helen.mctaggart@marksandspencer.com if you have any questions related to Movement to Work.

movement to Work supplier engagement event

ETHICAl UPdATES

4

We have a fantastic toolkit available for suppliers to use. This was co-developed with suppliers and is full of great ideas to make your Wellbeing campaign a success!

The idea of Wellbeing Week is to run a focussed campaign on your site raising awareness on important physical, mental and financial health issues. In previous years as many as 60 UK sites have signed up, representing over 20,000 workers.

Sites have found that the more interactive the events, the better. Successful activities have included healthy eating days in the canteen, inviting local health charities to hold a stand in a communal area, group walks, and involving local gyms.

This year we are proposing that sites run Wellbeing Week in the first three months of the year, Jan-March. Please let us know if you want to receive more information and inspiration on

Wellbeing Week, as well as if you are going to run a campaign. Please email foods.plan@marksandspencer.com

In the meantime you can access our fantastic toolkit here.

Join in with Wellbeing Week 2017

BhrrC latest reports on modern slavery statements

As in previous years, we are once again encouraging supplier sites to get involved in running a Wellbeing Week in early 2017!

Suppliers should all be familiar with the requirement of the Modern Slavery Act that companies with a turnover over £36m publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website.

M&S’ Modern Slavery statement went live in June and you can find it here. The business and Human rights

resource Centre (bHrrC) recently published a review of statements published to date, and we were delighted that M&S’ statement was ranked one of the highest. Suppliers completing Modern Slavery statements should review the BHRRC report, as well as the Ergon report on Modern Slavery statements.

May 2016 | Reporting on Modern Slavery: The current state of disclosure | 1

Reporting on Modern SlaveryThe current state of disclosure - May 2016

The UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 includes an

innovative transparency and reporting clause

(section 54 - Transparency in Supply Chains)

requiring larger organisations to make an annual

‘slavery and human traficking statement’ setting

out what they do to ‘ensure that slavery and

human traficking is not taking place in any of its

supply chains, and in any part of its own business’. This report analyses all the Modern Slavery

statements we could ind that have been published

up to late-April 2016. It extends our irst analysis,

produced in March 2016, which looked at the

irst 100 early statements. This updated edition

analyses a further 139 statements, making 239

statements in total in our sample. We have looked at these reports in terms of

the key statutory obligations as well as guidance

on content produced by the Government. Periodically through 2016, Ergon will continue

to update our analysis and publish subsequent

reports as more companies produce statements.

• This is the second edition of our analysis of ‘Modern Slavery

statements’ produced by commercial organisations in accordance

with the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015. It builds on our irst report

published in March 2016.• We have recorded and analysed more than 230 statements in our

database. The vast majority are voluntary statements produced ahead

of the statutory requirements.• With some notable exceptions most statements do not go further

than general commitments and broad indications of processes.

• For example, 35% of statements say nothing on the question of their

risk assessment processes, which is surprising for statements that are

intended to be based around a due diligence approach. Two-thirds do

not identify priority risks, whether in terms of countries, supply chains

or business areas.• The best-covered issues are organisational structures and policies

covering Modern Slavery, and the least well-described issue relates to

key performance indicators used to assess effectiveness.

• The current basic level of detail contrasts with the expectations of

civil society organisations and government. If statements do not start

to cover processes, risks and actions in more detail, we may well start

to see critical comment.• Among business relationships, supply chains are covered in most detail

but contractor relationships remain a key gap, especially since agency

workers and outsourced services may pose signiicant risks.

• We have observed very similar wording in some statements from

otherwise unrelated companies, which may point to the use of

template or model statements.• Five sectors account for half of reports. These are: professional

service providers, manufacturers, retailers, IT irms, and food

suppliers.• The bulk of reporting companies (69%) are from the UK, North

America (14%) or Europe (9%). But we are starting to see more

reports (9%) from companies based elsewhere, including Japan and

India.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

KEY POINTS

FURTHER INFORMATIONFor further information on Ergon Associates and the services we provide in relation to understanding and responding to human rights and Modern Slavery issues, and subsequent reporting and analysis, contact:Steve Gibbons+44 20 7713 0386steve.gibbons@ergonassociates.net

www.ergonassociates.netTo receive future updates to this report, please sign up here.

5

SUPPlIEr ExCHANGES

Carnstone then updated the group on a piece of work to identify the business benefits of achieving silver. They reviewed the KPI data and identified a clear correlation between suppliers’ scores on the framework and their efficiency across the areas of water, waste & energy, and are now working on some case studies to identify the overall business benefits of achieving silver. The final report will be available shortly.

Waterscan then updated the group on the changes they should expect when the water market opens in England in April 2017. Although savings are likely to be quite small at first, it’s important sites know their retailer so they can start to make a decision as to whether to stick with them or look for a new one. A good independent website for

all water market changes & retailer options is www.Open-Water.org.uk

Hazel Culley from M&S then spoke to the group about what M&S have been doing over the last 12 months on raw materials & water, and gave the group some advice on how to start the risk assessment process on key raw materials. In terms of water stewardship, we have published a new report with WWF which highlights the benefits of adopting a water stewardship approach to mitigate water risk. You can access the report here.

There was an update from WrAP on their waste valorisation programme and how suppliers can get involved in identifying new opportunities to reuse their waste or surplus food.

In terms of energy, The Crowd have developed a new database called

The Curve which showcases over 600 energy saving projects worldwide to allow companies to learn from each other’s projects. The website is free to use and seemed to go down very well with the supplier exchange group. You can access the database here.

The final presentation was about the new build at Finnebrogue, which highlighted the process they went through and focused on some of the environmental benefits / thinking behind elements of the build.

N.b. Jo will be going on maternity leave from 22nd december and will be replaced by Amanda Curtis, who brings 16 years’ worth of environmental management experience from Coca Cola and london 2012. Welcome to Amanda.

The October exchange focused on a number of key elements of the framework, including water, energy & raw materials. At the start of the day, Jo Bowen updated the group on the half year attribute numbers (74%) and where we are with Silver factories (66 Silver and 4 Gold in total as of end October).

This included G’s on their community engagement initiative Open Farm Sunday, Dawnfresh on their Youth Employment strategy, Dairy Crest on their employability work, Bakkavor Bourne on investing in English language training and Finnebrogue on how a great physical environment can contribute to a great place to work. Thank you to all the supplier speakers.

In addition, Helen McTaggart from M&S spoke on ethical learnings from the recent revalidation process, and Neil and lydia from Carnstone gave initial findings from work undertaking on the ethical KPIs – we will be in touch with suppliers on more detail on this shortly. There was also a discussion on the M&S inclusion strategy, with Claire Maydew from the M&S Hr team and a discussion on promoting gender equality.

due to the detailed focus on aspects of the ethical framework, and the number of supplier case studies we strongly recommend suppliers who were not at the Ethical Exchange take the time to review the presentation deck, which is available on the Ethical Exchange.

The Ethical Exchange group met in September with a focus on best practice around the ethical framework and presentations from a number of suppliers.

Environmental supplier exchangesummary

Ethical supplier exchange summary

SUPPlIEr ExCHANGES

6

Over 40 representatives from M&S supplier companies gathered for the Lean Exchange event focused on process management and problem solving, with presentations from speakers and engaging group activities.

Jo bowen started by reminded the audience of the key Plan A target to have 100% of products with at least one attribute by 2020. In 16/17 we are currently at 74% with a target this year of 80%. There is also a key target to have 100% of site to silver by 2020. Silver validation is a great way for suppliers to gain attributes, since silver validation means that all products from that site automatically achieve an attribute. So far, over 70 sites have been validated at silver or gold.

Process ManagementJeff Williams, Partner and Food Sector Head at SA Partners, spoke to the audience about what it means to use process management as a strategic tool. He began with a set of propositions based on what he typically finds when visiting food companies. He then presented a simple but effective approach for putting the value of process management across to the senior management team.

Silver Validation and Revalidation donna Samuel, Silver validation Project Manager at SA Partners, presented a series of insights, hints and tips from her experience after six months of both project managing the silver pipeline on behalf of M&S and also as the lean validator under the new validation system. She also talked through outcomes of the recent re-validation exercise and led a workshop comparing what delegates thought was required for validation compared to what was actually required.

Problem Solving richard lynch, Partners and retail Sector Head at SA Partners, explained that CI specialists should be looking for people to talk about their improvement system in the same way that they do about their production lines: how many people, how many units does it produce etc. He then went on to talk about problem solving in the context of an improvement journey. He highlighted our tendency to batch and queue improvement projects and suggested that single piece flow might be a more effective approach.

The next lean Supplier Exchange has been scheduled for 14th February 2017.

Jeff Williams Donna Samuel Richard Lynch

Lean supplier exchange summary

ATTrIbUTE UPdATE

All Fresh Produce suppliers who went to the M&S Fresh Conference in October would have heard the dates that have been announced for the grower Plan A attribute roll out.

Here they are again:

• SAI FSA module available in Sedex, with Sedex Core SAQ pre-population feature, for all to use at the beginning of January.

• Suppliers to send confirmation to M&S on their growers and chosen attributes (lEAF Marque / SAI FSA Silver / organic / Fairtrade / other proposed attribute) by 1st February 2017. Please complete this information in the tracker which will be up on Connect in the first week of January. We will notify you when this document is online. 

• by 1st May 2017 all growers must be on Sedex with a completed core self-assessment, SAI FSA grower groups must have completed the FSA self-assessment module and lEAF Marque growers must indicate they are working with lEAF in Sedex core questionnaire.

Watch out for the Produce Attribute implementation pack which was sent out to all Produce suppliers with more information and guidance. If your organisation hasn’t received this pack please email Emmanuelle.Hopkinson@marks-and-spencer.com

plan a attributes for Fresh produce growers: implementation dates annoUnCed!

packaging strategy to be launched: 7 new attributesM&S is soon to launch a new packaging strategy to ensure we are using the most sustainable packaging possible that is fit for purpose.

The strategy is built on three key objectives:

1 To maximise resource efficiency, by using the healthiest materials.

2 To protect the customer and the brand, by using the optimum packaging.

3 To ensure security of supply, by using a healthy supply base.

As part of the strategy, and to help us achieve our objectives, seven new attributes have been established. These will be implemented in the New Year, but see page 8 for a preview of what’s to come. look out for more information in early 2017. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please email Helena.Bayly@marks-and-spencer.com

7

attributes updateATTrIbUTE UPdATE

We have continued to make progress on volumes of product sold with a Plan A attribute, with 74% of all products having at least 1 attribute at the half year. our target for the year is 80% so there is still some work to be done. Some of this will come through our Silver factory programme (see page 1 for more details), with the rest coming from key new/amended attributes, especially on packaging where a new packaging strategy has been launched (see page 7).

A list of those recently approved by the Food Attribute board is below and any that are relevant can be associated to your products on FINd (once approval has been sought):

Attribute Details Utilisation

shelf Life extension (leading to food waste reduction)

A change in packaging that means increased product life either in store or for the customer and therefore less waste generated overall.

+1 day on chilled products and as agreed with packaging team on ambient products. Needs to be approved by the packaging team.

minimum 10% packaging reduction

At least a 10% reduction in the overall packaging, without affecting the quality and life of the product.

reduction must be approved by the packaging team but can include total primary & secondary packaging weight. Needs to be approved by the packaging team.

compostable packaging Packaging that can be added to the home compost bin by the customer.

only relevant for film (as there is no other disposal method for standard films at present). Needs to be approved by the packaging team.

silver Pack mark A silver sustainability framework for our packaging suppliers.

Will be available for all packaging converters/ manufacturers (more details available in 2017).

% recycled content An element of the packaging material will come from recycled content.

The % of recycled content will vary by material type – needs to be approved by the packaging team.

% recycled content from a social source

An element of the packaging material will come from recovered materials such as ocean plastic.

The materials must be sourced locally and the attribute needs to be approved by the packaging team.

All components widely recycledAll component parts of a finished product are widely recycled compared to current state (e.g. film, tray & sleeve).

Can be used on products where all primary packaging components can now carry the ‘widely recycled’ message. Needs to be approved by the packaging team.

Proterra sustainable soy

This sustainable soy attribute focuses on animal feed, where the vast majority of our soy impact lies. It addresses important hotspot areas of large-scale soy production.

Any protein products where a sustainable soy source certified to Proterra standards is used in the animal feed at farm level.

OUR EASY PEELERS ARE

GROWN ESPECIALLY

FOR MARKS & SPENCER

TO BE SEEDLESS BY

SUSTAINABLE GROWERS

seedless and sustainable

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raw material sustainabilityWhilst M&S continues to strengthen and cascade our work on the sustainability of key raw materials from cocoa to soya, it’s important to also look ahead and identify other commodities we source which pose significant environmental and social risk.

last year we embarked on our journey to sourcing more sustainable nuts and we are currently beginning to look at rice and sugar: two important raw materials which are associated with a range of challenges from labour standards to water scarcity and GHG emissions from production.

We would like to hear from any suppliers who have started to look at rice or sugar with a sustainability lens, whether that be risk assessments, projects or implementing standards.

If you’re working on raw material sustainability and have insight to share, please contact Hazel.Culley@marks-and-spencer.com

9

rAW MATErIAlS

palm oil updateIt’s the time of year where we are starting on our annual data collection with SEC to understand your palm oil use and to check it meets the M&S requirement of sourcing RSPO palm oil.

• All suppliers were contacted by SEC on 26th November. If you have not received this, please email PlanAFood@strategic-environmental.co.uk copying hazel.culley@marksandspencer.com

• deadline for completion of return: 20th January 2017

We are currently working on updating our palm oil policy and this should be released in January 2017.

JOB NAME: 001598_Plan_A_Masters_360X268 CLIENT: M&S SIZE: 360x268 mmDATE: 22.12.09 PAGE: 3 CREATOR: Webb PROOF: 06CREATIVE TEAM: TBA TALENT: Andrew SENT:

LOCATION: Pictures/001598/001598 AGENCY NO.: 54667PUBLICATION(S): Daily Mail

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: C

Pla

nADOING THERIGHT THING

We think destroying rainforests for palm oil is too high a price to pay for a biscuit.Palm oil production can result in vast swathes of rainforest being cleared,which can have a dramatic impact on the environment. We’re now encouraging sustainable production through the purchase of GreenPalm certificates for all the palm oil we use in M&S products, even our biscuits.And our ultimate goal is to use only sustainably sourced palm oil by 2015.

Quality worth every penny

Cocoa sourcing visitRichard Nash & Hazel Culley visited the Ivory Coast at the end of October 2016 to meet with a number of cocoa growers and attend the World Cocoa Foundation Conference.

This was a fascinating visit which showed the significant challenges in the cocoa industry – farmers are struggling to make a living with decreasing yields, there is a real risk of deforestation in the Ivory Coast (currently home to the remaining 25% of the world’s rainforest but disappearing at a rate of 27,000 ha a year) and real issues around women’s economic empowerment – less than 0.03% of CooP leaders are women.

The challenges are well known and both large cocoa traders and brands have ambitious plans to improve the sustainability of the industry and, most importantly, significantly improve farmer livelihoods. Much of this is under the guise of Cocoa Action run by the World Cocoa Foundation.

M&S has prioritised cocoa as a key raw material and in 2013 joined both the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative to help support industry efforts on cocoa. We also have a commitment that all M&S cocoa will be purchased from verified sustainable sources by April 2017. This is defined as cocoa from UTZ, Cocoa Horizons or Fairtrade.

All cocoa users have received a briefing on this and should be in communication with category teams to show how you will reach this by the date if you have not already done this. If you have not received this briefing or have any questions please contact Hazel.Culley@marksandspencer.com

rAW MATErIAlS

Farmer Meeting

Meeting with women’s income diversification project at Cann FT COOP

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WCF Conference – Representing M&S

Traceability Discussion – Yamoussoukro Area

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Water steWardshipWater scarcity and sustainable water resource management continues to rise up the corporate agenda because of the risks they pose to business operations and supply chains.

demand for water is set to outstrip supply by 40% in just 15 years time (United Nations, 2015). If climate change is the wolf, then water is its teeth. M&S sources from over 70 countries and most are experiencing water challenges: be it too much, too little or not the right quality. Every business needs to have water stewardship on their agenda. It’s not just an environmental risk but a social and economic imperative.  

M&S and WWF have been working together for the last nine years on developing our approach to water and in particular our approach to water stewardship. After completing an analysis which showed that 90% of M&S water use is within our supply chain we then used the WWF Water risk Filter to understand where the exact risk lies. From our most recent analysis of our food suppliers, we estimate that one in eight are in the highest water risk category. Some of these products, worth millions of pounds to the business each year, are entirely grown in areas of high water stress. one option would be to move supply elsewhere, to areas of lesser water stress. However, M&S believes the responsible approach, and the approach that the company is taking, is to continue working with suppliers, using the stewardship approach to reduce risk and scale up the impact action.

To cement the M&S and WWF relationship we have launched our third joint publication, this time sharing our experiences to help guide other businesses on how to embed water stewardship within their supply chains. To help launch the publication M&S and WWF jointly surveyed leading global retailers and brands and also hosted a round table event with key retailers and brands to understand their perspective on

water and water risks. Amongst the key findings: Water risks are rising up the corporate agenda or remain high priority for all of those surveyed and it’s clear there is high awareness of water and also lots of activity happening including mapping of supply chains and supplier engagement. However, those surveyed do see some real challenges in addressing water risks including lack of senior buy in, the difficulty of mapping the supply chain, lack of supplier awareness of water risks and most importantly the challenge of moving from a water efficiency approach to a water stewardship approach.

At M&S we echo the experiences being cited by other business grappling with the challenge of water and water stewardship which is why we have worked with WWF to

produce this new publication. This booklet shares some of the lessons that we have learnt and some specific examples of how we have applied water stewardship in our operations. We are now looking at how we work with other organisations on collective action. We will also be running supply base training in 2017.

m&s Food redistributionprogrammeM&S Food Redistribution programme continues to thrive with all main stores now active on the Neighbourly platform and distributing food to 604 charities.

Since our partnership with Neighbourly started, more than 660,000 meals have been provided, distributing 540 tonnes

of surplus food. At the moment the scheme is able to distribute fruit, veg, bakery items, grocery & flowers, but we have ambitious plans to see how we can include more fresh products in the roll out.  We know that the food is making a real difference for the charities involved, including Hits Food bank in Torbay, which commented,

“Marks & Spencer at the Willows in Torbay have enabled us to help more people than ever, especially with fresh vegetables and fruit which people on low or no income really need. A very big ‘thank-you; to all of the team at M&S at the Willows”.

This Christmas we will also be offering our customers in the largest 70 stores  the chance to help support the local Food charity by adding much needed items to their shopping. You will see food collection boxes in stores from the beginning of december.

The M&S aim is to continue to reduce the amount of waste we produce and then ensure that as much is redistributed as possible. If you have any clever ideas to support us in this mission please email foods.plana@marksandspencer.com

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m&s Foods sPArKiNG someThiNG GOOD in londonSpark Something Good Paddington was launched in October enabling head office staff to use up their volunteer day by making an impact in our local community and having fun in the process.

200 people from Foods signed up to volunteer at 15 projects all over london, all with the aim to bring communities more closely connected through valuing food, health and nature.

Several teams used their skills and knowledge in food and nutrition on healthy cooking projects; including a group of Ambient Product developers giving a low-salt meal tutorial to a group of seniors at Penfold Community Hub; the Traditional Meals team giving a cooking class with lots of fresh produce to a group of juniors at Harrow Youth Club and another group of Product developers designing and cooking nutritious and inspiring meals from regularly donated items at North Paddington Food bank. 280 hot meals have been served so far – with the Ambient Technologists alone serving 200 at Acton Homeless concern!

Whilst some were in the kitchen, other groups hit the road helping charities to redistribute food from stores to various organisations across london:

an amazing 173 trays of food was saved from being wasted! With charities short on storage space, teams helping to organise and quality check food was really helpful too; the Ambient Space, range and display team did a brilliant job reorganising North Paddington Food bank’s store, where M&S teams quality checked a total of 2 tonnes of food.

Sleeves were rolled up at two redecoration projects with one still to come in November, all aiming to connect communities with growing and food. A number of teams got outdoors too, whether planting bulbs at a community garden in Epping or restoring urban fruit and nut orchards for communities to enjoy and wildlife to flourish in.

The next Spark Something Good Paddington programme will be from the 24th -28th of April. If this has inspired you to volunteer and you would like to find a local project to you check out Neighbourly.com: an online platform connecting businesses with charities.

Ambient SRD sorting a foodbank store

International Foods team redecorating at Harrow Club

15 healthy meals supplied at the Penfold Community Hub

Food Promotions Team restoring an orchard in Mill Hill