ms foods plan a quarterly newsletter february 2016

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Welcome Which actions apply to you? FOOD NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2016 ISSUE Welcome to the first Foods Plan A newsletter of 2016! It has been a busy and productive start to the year as you can see with this jam-packed edition, which is full of information and resources for suppliers to embrace sustainability and become fit for the future. We have included lots of practical articles to help fast track embedding sustainability in your business, from dates in your diaries for the next Seeing Is Believing visits, to opportunities to get involved in the Emerging Leaders Programme. We have a hearty section on our Silver programme including important changes to the validation process and a number of articles which capture the value of the programme through the eyes of suppliers and M&S employees. We have included an important section on modern slavery in Ethical Updates, where you can read over the results of our supplier survey on Modern Slavery. It’s essential for all of our UK suppliers to book on to a Stronger Together workshop, as evidence is clear it will equip your business with the knowledge and resources to prevent and tackle modern slavery. Dates can be found on page 11. Last year more than 60 sites in the UK took part in the Wellbeing Week Campaign in March and 40 sites got involved in Environment Week in June. This year we are striving for even more engagement with both campaigns. Read more about how to get involved in the Ethical Updates and Environmental Updates sections. There are also a number of articles for wider interest which we hope you enjoy, including: 10 Reflections on Davos 2016, from Director of Plan A, Mike Barry Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture & Fisheries, outlines key themes for agriculture in 2016 The ingredients for a resilient supply chain in a water stressed world We always welcome your feedback on this edition and ideas for future articles. Get in touch with us at [email protected] Louise Nicholls, Head of Responsible Sourcing, Packaging and Plan A Action Page R Is your business ready for UK legislation on Modern Slavery? 14 Book in to a Stronger Together workshop 11 Take part in Environment Week and Wellbeing Week 9, 11 If you’re a Fresh supplier, nominate your farmers to get involved in our Cool Farm Tool project 9 Pilot Emerging Leaders programme in the UK 12 Book into a Seeing is Believing visit 8 Register to the Supplier Exchange and book on the next environmental, ethical or lean exchange 5

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Welcome

Which actions apply to you?

food newsletterfebruary 2016 issue

Welcome to the first Foods Plan A newsletter of 2016! It has been a busy and productive start to the year as you can see with this jam-packed edition, which is full of information and resources for suppliers to embrace sustainability and become fit for the future.

we have included lots of practical articles to help fast track embedding sustainability in your business, from dates in your diaries for the next seeing Is Believing visits, to opportunities to get involved in the emerging leaders Programme. we have a hearty section on our silver programme including important changes to the validation process and a number of articles which capture the value of the programme through the eyes of suppliers and M&s employees. we have included an important section on modern slavery in ethical Updates, where you can read over the results of our supplier survey on Modern slavery. It’s essential for all of our UK suppliers to book on to a stronger together workshop, as evidence is clear it will equip your business with the knowledge and resources to prevent and tackle modern slavery. dates can be found on page 11.

last year more than 60 sites in the UK took part in the wellbeing week Campaign in March and 40 sites got involved in environment week in June. this year we are

striving for even more engagement with both campaigns. read more about how to get involved in the ethical Updates and environmental Updates sections.

there are also a number of articles for wider interest which we hope you enjoy, including:

• 10 Reflections on Davos 2016, from Director of Plan A, Mike Barry

• Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture & Fisheries, outlines key themes for agriculture in 2016

• The ingredients for a resilient supply chain in a water stressed world

we always welcome your feedback on this edition and ideas for future articles. Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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

Action Page RIs your business ready for UK legislation on Modern Slavery? 14

Book in to a Stronger Together workshop 11

Take part in Environment Week and Wellbeing Week 9, 11

If you’re a Fresh supplier, nominate your farmers to get involved in our Cool Farm Tool project 9

Pilot Emerging Leaders programme in the UK 12

Book into a Seeing is Believing visit 8

Register to the Supplier Exchange and book on the next environmental, ethical or lean exchange 5

Contents

silver & beyond Attributes 1Silver Sites 1M&S Buyers Engaged in Silver Validation 1Silver Validation – New Process 2Help Getting to Silver 3Lean Exchange Update 3Ethical Supplier Exchange Update 4Environmental Exchange Update 5Supplier Exchange Top Tips 5The Village Bakery: An integrated Approach to Silver 6Seeing Gold in Action at Cucina Sano 7Ethical Seeing is Believing Visits 8Seeing Is Believing Dates 8Webinar Dates 8

environmental updates The Return of Environment Week 9Newsflash: 2 New Plan A Attributes for Produce 9The Ingredients for a Supply Chain Ready to Deal with a Water Stressed World 10

ethiCal updates Latest Stronger Together Dates 11Wellbeing Week 11Wanted – Organisations looking to pilot Emerging Leadersin the UK 12Poultry Chain Supply Ethical Code of Practice 13Modern Slavery 14Sedex Conference 15Movement to Work 15Buying in to Fairtrade 16Fairtrade Fortnight 16

raW materials Packaging Materials Strategy 17

neWsHealth Trends 18What are the Key Themes for Agriculture in 2016? 18 10 Reflections on Davos 2016 19M&S and Neighbourly Food Redistribution Scheme Update 20Is Your Site Redistributing Surplus Food? 20Spark Something Good 21

sIlver & Beyond

the plans are based on ensuring the key environmental & social hotspots for each product are taken into account, and also include a pipeline of sites achieving silver on the sustainability frameworks. once all the roadmaps have been completed and rolled out by the end of March, your category teams will be in touch about what that means for your site and the products you manufacture for M&s. this could mean a new attribute needs to be developed where we don’t currently have one that mitigates a key impact. or it could mean that you may be required to achieve silver by a certain date, which you will need to agree with your M&s category team.

the roadmaps will provide you and the M&s categories with a plan to work towards for 2020 to ensure that all the products we sell have at least 1 sustainability quality.

“Before even joining the business, I had heard about Plan A and its importance to Marks and Spencer. As a buyer, I am encouraged to drive my supply base to work on their Plan A credentials, so I felt that a day observing a silver audit would be time well spent. I not only developed an understanding of how M&S evaluates and classifies a Silver Plan A supplier, but also the great deal of work, time and cultural change required from my suppliers to adopt Plan A best practices.

I found the day beneficial for a number of reasons:

Firstly, it is rare that we take time out of the day job to understand our key suppliers’ business strategies. To have the opportunity to meet key

team members and disciplines that I would have previously had no direct dealings with, like the Operational Teams, HR Teams and Site Facilities management, was invaluable. It is important that M&S and our Suppliers’ strategies are aligned in order to operate sustainable business models to serve our mutual customers.

Secondly, I learnt from the validators in terms of sharing best practice and recommendations for future development. The sustainability team at Mack have been working closely together with our own Plan A team over a number of years to put in place these more sustainable business practices.

Finally, the visit highlighted the impact that our decisions and

systems have on the day to day operations of our supply base; my greatest learning is that Plan A as not just a framework, but a culture, and its success and longevity is reliant on the collaborative working of both businesses.

Following the visit, I aim to spend time with the operational departments at all my key suppliers in order to understand the real impact of our actions, and help deliver sustainable manufacturing practices.”

attributesOver the last few months, the Plan A team and M&S category teams have been busy preparing roadmaps for each category as to how they might achieve 100% of their products having a Plan A attribute by 2020.

1

2 more sites have achieved silver factory status on the Sustainability Scorecard since November.

At the recent Silver validation visit to Fresca Mack, the Plan A validation team were joined by one of the produce buyers, Sally Sharp. Read about her experience and what she thought of the visit below.

silver sites

m&s buyers engaged in Silver validation

This means that 45% of our volume is now coming from one of our silver or gold factories. Congratulations to the following sites on achieving silver:

• Village Bakery

• Fresca Mack

if your site is working towards silver validation, all the information you require to help you on your way can be found on the Supplier Exchange website.

sIlver & Beyond

2

silver validation – neW proCessAt last year’s Plan A briefing, you heard that our aspiration is for all M&S supplying sites to achieve Silver on the sustainability scorecard by 2020.

In order to meet this target, we are changing the current validation process to ensure that it’s fit for the future and can increase the throughput of silver sites over the next 5 years. the new process with involve 100% sites being validated through an evidence based phone call, with 15% receiving an additional lean and environment visit and 100% receiving an ethical visit. sites will also be expected to demonstrate continuous improvement on an annual basis through regular completion of KPIs and a short assessment questionnaire.

Why are we changing the process?the silver standard will increasingly become an ‘essential requirement’ for all businesses. In fact, we want to encourage many of you to be Gold. we have already trialled a combination of ‘remote’ validation phone calls and visits, and found we can accurately reach same result in both cases, so this new process will help to increase the number of sites that can achieve silver each year. In addition, sustainability needs to be embedded throughout the business. Achieving silver isn’t about meeting the requirements for 1 day (a validation visit) – it should be about every day (how you do business) and so suppliers will need to demonstrate ‘continuous improvement’ to ensure they don’t fall back to Bronze.

N.B. Gold validations will continue to be run using the current process – with a pre-validation call and a site visit. However, evidence uploaded to Credit360 will still be expected.

What does the new process look like?1. M&s will agree a timeline for your

silver validation in conjunction with you & your M&s category teams within the next few months.

2. Sites are expected to fully engage in the sustainability framework process through supplier exchanges, webinars & visits (look out for key dates in the newsletter or on the supplier exchange website).

3. sites must complete the 3 frameworks and 2 KPI forms, and attach relevant evidence to questions / sections on Credit360.

4. validation calls will be scheduled up to 3 months in advance and will take place over the phone using the evidence uploaded to Credit360, as well as a summary slide pack – it’s vital that all the key people are on these calls.

5. M&s will hold monthly governance meetings to review the outcome of the calls and agree whether the site can be awarded silver.

6. M&s will also agree whether a visit will be scheduled for that site (due diligence visits will be carried out on 15% of sites for lean and environment and 100% on ethical).

7. on an annual basis, silver sites will be required to demonstrate continuous improvement against the frameworks through their KPI’s as well as a short assessment questionnaire.

Please note: The ethical framework will still require a visit and this will be carried out as part of the wider ethical integrity assessment – more details of which will be communicated at the earliest opportunity.

What are the main differences with the new process?• Sites are expected to use the tools,

guides & help available to ensure they are confident of meeting the silver requirements ahead of their validation call.

• Pre-agreed evidence will be required upfront PrIor to a silver validation call.

• Updated completion of KPIs & frameworks is an essential requirement for a silver validation (sites cannot go through the silver validation process without these completed).

• The validation calls will be more extensive than the current pre-validation calls and will cover most of the evidence previously seen on a visit.

• Majority of sites will not receive a visit for enthronement and lean.

• Silver sites will need to demonstrate continuous improvement each year until they achieve Gold.

Full details on all the above and what will be required by each site will be communicated shortly.

SILVERBEYOND

PLANA HOW WE DO BUSINESS

&

sIlver & Beyond

3

Show Me The Money – Save Millions of £ Using CI

with over 45 representatives from M&s supplier companies gathered at waterside for the lean exchange event focused on lean tools and techniques, speakers made presentations and then engaged the audience in group activities. Click here for a write-up on the lean exchange including a presentation deck from the day.

the next lean exchange is scheduled for the 4th May 2016. There is also a seeing Is Believing visit to worldwide fruits on 9th March. s A Partners are also offering free half day health checks on silver status for a limited number of suppliers – contact donna samuel at [email protected] if you are interested.

Lean exchange update

• Supplier exchange website – this website holds all the resources you might need to achieve silver (videos, toolkits, help guides), lists all the up-coming events which you can sign up to and provides case studies of sites that have already reached silver level.

• Supplier exchange meetings – these are held every few months at Waterside House and are split by framework. At these events you can meet other suppliers, hear from experts and get a greater understanding of what it takes to meet silver or Gold level on each of the frameworks. you can sign up to these events on the website.

• Seeing Is Believing visits – these are invaluable visits to sites that have already achieved silver or Gold. these sites have offered to open their doors to non-competitive M&S suppliers to allow you to hear and see first-hand what it takes to meet the silver or Gold level. details of future visits can be found on page 8 and you can sign up on the supplier exchange website. Attendance is subject to approval from the host site, in case of conflict of interest.

• Webinars – we will be holding regular webinars for suppliers on a variety of topics across all 3 frameworks. the ‘Getting to Bronze’ webinars we ran in 2015 were heard by over 400 people so we plan to run these again, as well as ‘Getting to silver’ webinars and some topic-specific and category- specific webinars.

further details on the webinars before April can be found on page 8. Please

sign up to them on the supplier exchange and details will be sent to you nearer the time.

help getting to SilverWe are increasing our support for suppliers to progress on the framework:

4

sIlver & Beyond

during the morning we had an updates on sedex Advance, wellbeing week, Movement to work (see ethical Section), and the Disability Confident scheme. After the coffee break we discussed a new ethical assessment for supply chain governance, and minor updates to the ethical framework, as well as the new Global labour Provider Policy. Ahead of lunch, Fergus Morgan of 2 Sisters Food Group presented on the story behind the new Poultry Chain supply ethical Code of Practice (see ethical section).

the afternoon was dedicated to the topic of Modern slavery . we had an introduction from Andrew wallis CBe, Ceo of the charity Unseen, which rehabilitates victims of Modern slavery. Andrew gave the group a moving perspective of the victims of Modern slavery. following Andrew, steve

Gibbons of ergon Associates delivered a supplier workshop on Modern slavery. steve shared results from our recent supplier Modern slavery survey, and led suppliers through a process of a Modern slavery risk assessment, thinking where their risks might lie, what due diligence is already in place, as well as policies they might want to create, and what training they might want to deliver.

Also as part of the Modern slavery session, Gillian Haythornthwaite, on behalf of david Camp, gave an update on the huge amount of activity associated with the stronger together programme, including the latest revised toolkit, the latest training dates, a multi-lingual confidential helpline, a schools liaison initiative, a victim reintegration scheme, new online e-learning for recruiters and

supervisors, and a proto-type workshop for tackling slavery in supply chains, as well as a reminder that companies can sign the Business Partner commitment and display the stronger together logo on their website and other materials. In addition, there was an update on the new AlP Complyer tool, and labour Provider social compliance audit. during the afternoon we also had practical supplier case studies – shayne tyler described what Manor fresh were doing to meet the new Modern slavery legislation, and Caron Brooks and Alison savage from Bakkavor newark shared how they handled a suspected case of Modern slavery on site.

Many thanks to all the suppliers who attended and participated in the day.

the next ethical exchange will be on the 10th of May.

We had one of our busiest ever Ethical Exchanges on 28th January, with over 70 suppliers attending, including many who are new to the Exchange.

Ethical supplier exchange update

5

sIlver & Beyond

After a general Plan A update, Jo Bowen went on to present the new process for silver validation and as part of that session, each table spent some time identifying the different pieces of evidence that would be required to meet the silver criteria on the framework.

Charlotte Jackson then discussed the subject of food waste with the group, and took suppliers through some of the potential changes we plan to ask them in terms of measuring their food waste. Continuing the waste theme, takestock, a company that provides an online platform for food companies to sell surplus ingredients to others, then presented to the group.

After lunch, Mike Barry, director of Plan A for M&s, talked to the group about what he saw as the main outputs from COP21 in relation to the food industry. He also spoke about the key areas that foods need to focus on over the coming years: resilience, renewables, refrigeration, food waste, deforestation, Collaborations & Measurement.

Carmel McQuaid spoke to the group about what M&s has been doing about the circular economy and challenged suppliers to think about where there may be opportunities within their business. simon thorpe and Ashley dawson from village Bakery then presented to the group about how they achieved silver

on the framework – you can read more about this below.

finally, Ann Andrews took the group through a proposed toolkit on what gold level looks like. with more and more sites looking to achieve silver, this toolkit helps those sites move on the next level and help them demonstrate leading standards within the M&s supply base. A similar toolkit

for silver will now be developed to reinforce the messages in the current, topic-specific toolkits that are already available on the website.

thanks to everyone that presented on the day. More detail about all of the above can be found in the minutes on the supplier exchange website.

the next environmental exchange will be on the 11th of May.

Environmental exchange update

supplier exchange top tips1 If you haven’t already, register to the new supplier exchange here.

2 sign up to internal and external events – from supplier exchanges to conferences.

3 Browse our resources section – packed with all of the tools and knowledge you need on your sustainability journey

4 take inspiration from our case studies section, where suppliers share their challenges and learnings from the projects they have implemented.

The last environmental exchange was held on 14th January and was attended by 60 suppliers.

How can we bring the framework to life and make it meaningful for our businesses- especially if we aren’t ‘’lean’’ or ‘’environmental’’ specialists? It’s an enormous task with challenges: from buy-in; making people understand what it means to them and illustrating the benefits; finding the financial resource; working it in to your day job and the framework complexity itself!

Here are 3 top tips from my experience so far with the village Bakery:

• Getting it right 1st time. Much like other businesses, we didn’t have the luxury of being able to afford to make mistakes. Getting it right from the start was really important and sped up our journey to silver. this starts with a crystal clear vision and strategy which you can then cascade.

• Ensuring that the framework means something to your business and that it’s not just a tick-boxing exercise. this begins with being able to articulate the framework clearly to others and linking in your general business strategy. we also reduced the requirements in each pillar to around 10 key areas which were going to deliver the biggest impact and were able to assign actions to these areas. It’s an iterative process – ask yourself if these actions will meet the criteria in the framework

• Linking the pillars to eliminate duplication of work. Understanding how the criteria in each pillar fits together was crucial to saving us time and made our silver strategy more robust. for example, village

Bakery’s dashboards are an important mechanism for lean manufacturing, but also deliver communications value which relates to the ethical pillar and holds key KPIs relating to the environmental pillar. A more holistic approach can improve your systems, for example we have one business improvement plan integrating ethical, environmental and lean – rather than having separate ones that don’t speak to each other.

You can learn a lot from other businesses working to Silver and Beyond, read case studies here and make sure to sign up to upcoming Supplier Exchange events.

As someone who led Park Cake’s Lean journey to Silver, Ops Director Simon Thorpe was well placed to get The Village Bakery in Wrexham validated too. But, Village Bakery brought both familiar and fresh challenges, for example the company’s speedy and significant growth – which required further honing to his teams’ approach to Silver. He shares his top tips…

The Village Bakery: an integrated approach to Silver

sIlver & Beyond

6

Sustainability strategic Map (HWDB)

Are

as o

f Foc

us

Economic / Lean79 actions – 10 Areas

Environmental / Plan A74 Actions – 10 Areas

Ethical121 Actions – 8 Areas

Strategy

Budget

Dashboards / Visual Bakery

Bakery Improvement Plan

Mapping

Personal Objectives and Development

Training and SOPs

Workplace Organisation

Lean Tools Deployment

Supplier Management

Legal Compliance

Audits

KPI Display

EMS

Policy

Bakery Improvement Plan

Waste Stream Mapping

Environmental Due Diligence

Supplier Challenge

Bio Diversity

Communication at all Levels

Training

Health and Safety

Working Practices and Policy Deployment

Legal Compliance

KPIs

Comittee

Objectives and Review

Bakkavor Cucina sano are a dedicated M&s supplier in lincolnshire, manufacturing ready meals and deli products. they achieved silver on the sustainability frameworks back in 2013 and quickly progressed to Gold in March 2015. They hosted a seeing Is Believing visit in January.

“When we embarked on the whole HWDB journey we decided very early that this was something we wanted to embrace and make a part of not only our business strategy but our business culture. By taking the Silver and Gold path we have seen a substantial improvement in employee engagement and empowerment to do what’s right”, said Ben Cooper, Manufacturing Manager.

The biggest achievement on our site would be staff engagement. we have a really strong “Green team” and they are the ones driving change with the support of the leadership teams. the other significant achievement is the water recycling plant and its reuse of 85% of the site’s water. this is a real step change for us and targets one of our biggest hotspots.

we decided to host the visit as we believe in the “Plan A goal”. If we can help anyone reach silver or gold while improving the environment then we see that as a success. Plan A is a common goal and we are proud to support it. we are always proud to “show off” what good looks like, as this empowers the team to carry on pushing the barriers for further improvement. I hope others saw that this is a journey that will make a difference to any company and not just a tick box exercise for M&s.

My top tips for getting to Silver or Gold?

1: Lead from the top but influence from the bottom up.

2: ensure you have full site buy in.

3: Have a clear set plan and agenda for the year. However don’t be afraid to revisit this and amend as your business changes.

rebecca dilks, environmental Manager from thorntons went on the visit to Cucina: “I think that the ‘Seeing Is Believing’ visits are invaluable to demonstrate what silver or gold actually look like when you put it into practice and a company is living and breathing it – it’s the difference between the frameworks being a tick box exercise and being ‘HWDB.’ The site tours really give you a flavour for seeing silver/gold in action.

Following this visit and others, I have been able to gauge how we are progressing and what areas we need to focus on in order to achieve silver through sustainable and embedded ways of working.”

For the next Seeing Is Believing dates, see below.

The Seeing Is Believing visits held by our silver and gold sites are a great opportunity not only for those sites who are on the journey to silver but also for the host sites themselves. Hear from the hosts of our first environmental visit (Cucina Sano) and one of the lucky suppliers who got a chance to visit.

seeing Gold in action at Cucina sano

sIlver & Beyond

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sIlver & Beyond

8

Exchange Date Venue

EnvironmentalThurs 21st April 2 Sisters Carlisle (non-prepared food suppliers only)

Thurs 26th May Tulip Bodmin (non-protein suppliers only)

Lean

wed 9th Mar Worldwide Fruits Limited

tues 13th sept Bakkavor Tilmanstone

tBC Greencore Northampton

Ethical

Tues 23rd February, 10 spaces Kinnerton Sherburn (near york), silver supplier (confectionery)

tues 5th April Kinnerton Fakenham, silver supplier (confectionery)

wed 13th April Manor Fresh, silver supplier (potatoes)

further dates for Greencore Northampton and Cucina Sano, two of our Gold suppliers, will be provided in due course. The visit will take place in April or May 2016.

Exchange Date Venue

Lean fri 11th March 10:30 am Waterside House

Ethical wed 16th March 11am Waterside House

Environmental Thurs 24th March 12pm Waterside House

Seeing Is Believing dates

dates for ‘Getting to Silver on …’ webinars below:

this was a great day, and gave suppliers the opportunity to understand the fantastic HR best practice which led to Dawnfresh being one of our first silver sites, back in 2012, as well as winning our 2016 Plan A People Award. Amongst topics discussed was the approach by dawnfresh to people management and engagement. read more about their work in this case study.

we have more visit opportunities coming up – but act fast as we need to ensure we have enough demand before fully confirming the day. Please get in touch with [email protected] to book your place. Please note that sites will not be able to accommodate guests who are from ‘competitor sites’.

Many thanks to Dawnfresh who hosted our first Ethical Seeing Is Believing visit.

ethical Seeing is Believing visits

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envIronMentAl UPdAtes

the return of EnvironmEnt WEEkFollowing the success of Environment Week last summer, we are encouraging our suppliers to run another campaign in June 2016, to coincide with World Environment Day on 5th June.

Last year, the campaign reached over 40 sites and 25,000 workers. this year to want to get even more sites to run environment week (or even just a day).

we are currently loading the materials onto the supplier Exchange and will shortly be sending out the first newsletter of the campaign. In the meantime, if you want to register your interest now, please email [email protected]

we look forward to another great campaign!

NEWSFLASH: 2 neW plan a attributes for produCeHere’s a tool to help you address your energy hotspot...

Great effort from Dawn Meats during Environmental Week in 2015

At the last Food Attribute Board meeting, we confirmed LEAF Marque and sAI farm sustainability Assessment (fsA) silver level as two key produce attributes for growers which address multiple hotspot areas. More details on these attributes will be sent out in the next newsletter. Energy has been identified as a key hotspot area for produce growers and the Cool farm tool is another great tool to help growers understand where their biggest energy impacts are and how best to address them, which ultimately compliments both leAf and sAI. the Cool farm tool is a smart and intuitive calculator which enables growers and food companies to quickly and easily measure the potential for agricultural practises to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The benefits can be measured both in terms of sustainability and productivity, e.g. lower CO2 emissions and cost reductions. Learn more about the tool here: https://www.coolfarmtool.org/

we are looking to put this tool into action on farms to see if we can help our growers reduce their Co2 emissions.

would you or your growers like to get involved? we’d like to hear from you – contact [email protected]

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EnvironmEntal UpdatEs

Together agriculture and industry use about 80-90% of global freshwater resources yet it is predicted that globally water demand will exceed supply by 50% by 2025. Rising populations, changing consumption habits and climate change are all contributing to world where water resources are under more pressure than ever before – and the food industry is often one of the first to feel this pressure.

at m&s we have been doing a lot of work recently on water and would like to share what we feel are some of the key ingredients required to build a business ready for this water stressed world.

1. Know where your main water risks are and developing mitigation plans – the raw material growing stage tends to use the most water and represent the greatest risk in a product’s lifecycle. therefore, in order to understand your risks it is crucial to know where your raw materials are coming from. Generally, the more commoditised a product the less inherent the water risk. Water risks are also very geographically specific so it is useful to map where the producers & growers are in your supply chain (if you supply direct from farm) onto one of the different water risk mapping tools available (see WWF WRF or Wr Aqueduct). From there it is important to ask some tough questions. if a drought were to hit your producers in a key sourcing country what would that mean for your business? do you have mitigation or adaptation plans in place to cope?

We will be running 2 webinars on how to identify water risks in your supply chain and what to do about it from 10-11am on 2nd March and from 3-4pm on 30th March. Please go here on Supplier Exchange to sign up.

2. Getting your house and your supply chain in order – another key step to addressing water risk is to ensure your own house and those of key businesses in your supply chain, are doing all they can to reduce water impacts. achieving silver and gold on the How We do Business framework is the best place to start at factory level. producers should be Global G.a.p, lEaF marque certified or at SAI FSA Silver level, or better yet for those in water stressed areas be practicing more advanced water stewardship. For further guidance on water stewardship click here.

3. Acting on water governance where appropriate – the governance of water can vary significantly from country to country and even region to region. do you know what the governance is like in countries your producers are based in? strong governance = less risk. However, where strong governance is lacking there may be opportunities to initiate or get involved with existing water stewardship initiatives. The Water Action Hub is good place to start looking.

taking the actions above can’t guarantee that it will rain but are a good place to start building resilience to a more water stressed world. We are keen to provide guidance to our suppliers on water and to hear your thoughts on the ingredients above: email us at [email protected]

The ingredients for a supply chain ready to deal with a water stressed world

REMINDER – 22nd Marchis World Water Day 2016

ETHICAL UPDATES

11

we require all our supplier sites to book onto a workshop below, and we also ask that you dessiminate stronger together dates and information within your UK supply chains. Please also ask your labour provider to attend.

For further details and to book a place on the workshops below, please visit http://stronger2gether.org/training/

Undertaking Stronger Together is one of the ways that suppliers can equip themselves with the knowledge and resources to prevent and tackle modern slavery at their sites and in their supply chain.

latest Stronger Together dates

Date Venue Status

22 March 2016 Manchester Confirmed - spaces

19 April 2016 devon Confirmed - spaces

21 April 2016 Coventry Confirmed - spaces

24 May 2016 norwich Confirmed - spaces

07 June 2016 scotland Confirmed - spaces

14 June 2016 northampton Confirmed - spaces

28 June 2016 Hull Confirmed - spaces

We are once again supporting our suppliers to run Wellbeing Weeks, helping them to promote physical, mental, and financial health awareness.

last year, we worked with suppliers to create a wellbeing toolkit to give suppliers content and inspiration for running wellbeing week. the toolkit covers six topics: nutrition and hydration, mental health and mindfulness, physical health and fitness, women’s and men’s health, careers and skills development, and savings, pensions and financial management. the toolkit includes over 50 activities and related resources, and highlights potential partners that sites can work with to bring topics to life, for example Company shop, love food Hate Waste and Dementia Friends.

from previous years, popular topics have included promote mental and physical health through sporting and fitness classes/challenges; promoting good nutrition and hydration through provision of healthy alternatives, competitions and cooking

competitions; and enabling employees to make appropriate decisions about their financial health through information sessions, provision of leaflets and advice stands.

you can use the toolkit to run wellbeing activities at any time of the year but we are hoping that many of you will choose to run in during our peak campaign period in March. If you are running a wellbeing week this year please make sure you email [email protected] to receive more information and so that we know you are taking part.

Find the toolkits here.

Meanwhile, here at M&s we are running our own wellbeing Challenge, asking M&s employees to sign up across three categories: Eat Well; Energy; and Resilience. The builds on previous years when we have run

Weight Loss Challenges, and reflects our increased focus on Mental Health and good nutrition, alongside physical health. the Challenge has proved a great success, with over 1,500 employees signed up.

Wellbeing Week

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57% Were

environmentaL and

heaLth projects

33% started giving 1 hour more

to community

voLunteering

“i can make a difference in my community”

i don’t need to Wait -- i can

act

“We can get ourselves back

to school”

85% reported

taking action

to improve their

famiLy’s education

benefitted

famiLy reLationships

community

security

increa

sed

“i’m ready to care for myself now”

“i’m starting to believe in my

potential”

75%reported signing up for

training at Work as they had greater motivation

to improve themseLves

“i’m noW the

Leader of my

oWn Life”

“i see myseLf as a Leader

noW”

started

income82%

generating projects

161% increase in

househoLd savings

“We’re honest now about where our

money goes”

“i now see what it means to budget”

“i now have courage to talk to my partner

about money”

seLf esteem

increased

“i can see what our community needs, so i’ll get started --

i won’t wait”

set up

communityprojects

to benefit their

community

65%

“i’m starting to believe in my

potential”

www.emerging-leaders.net

ETHICAL UPDATES

12

Our early pilots show that the Emerging Leaders programme in the UK is proving just as effective for both business and people as the programmes we’ve run in South Africa and Kenya.

Businesses are noticing a marked difference in individual’s lives and how that is impacting their work lives for the better. the below infographic highlights some of the biggest impacts.

we now need more businesses in the UK to look into running one of the emerging leaders’ programmes so that emerging Leaders will be able to run an effective ‘Train the Trainer’ course later this year.

learn about the impacts of the emerging leaders programmes from MMUK, one of the businesses that has pioneered the ‘leadership for life’ programme in the UK.

“MM Flowers is delighted to have piloted LFL – it has provided a platform for some of our shop floor staff with tools and techniques that should enable them to lead their life both professionally and personally. The feedback has been great and we look forward to developing the programme further”Andrew wright MMUK.

Some of the benefits felt by MMUK staff:

Sharon - has taken more responsibility in the accounts department and as a result been given promotion overseeing both Ice-cream and juice accounts.

Elena - When the manager isn’t present Elena now steps in more and as a result team are going to her for advice and help. More responsibilities are now being handed to her.

Jackie - was a self confessed ‘chicken’ and was quite happy being one prior to the training. she has changed more than anyone. Staff were really surprised with the transformation: she dresses more vibrantly, she engages in conversations, and today told senior colleagues that everyone at Munoz should do the EL Training from the shop floor to the CEO because there’s so much to gain from it. she has taken more responsibility at work and is more open minded about trying new things, for example taking up running – something she wouldn’t have done before because she was scared to go out in the dark.

Please email [email protected] or [email protected] for more details.

Wanted – organisations looking to pilot emerging leaders in the uK

At the recent Ethical Exchange, Fergus Morgan from 2 Sisters presented on the new Poultry Chain Supply Ethical Code of Practice. We believe this is a useful case study from which other sectors can learn.

poultry Chain supply Ethical Code of Practice

ETHICAL UPDATES

13

Approximately four years ago, 2 Sisters initiated a review of ethical standards in the poultry supply chain, prompted in part by M&s requirements. the poultry supply chain employs relatively few people directly, but a large number of contractors, such as catchers and cleaners. this initial investigation highlighted deficiencies in ethical management and a cultural of operating based on trust and informality, with limited understanding of requirements such as GlA licensing.

As a result of this initial work, a wide- reaching change programme was launched with contractors. this included sedex registration, risk assessments, contractor inspections, independent audits and capacity building sessions. A number of improvements were seen, however some contractors were slow to accept the increased ethical requirements, in part because the

message was not being given across the industry.

As a result, 2 Sisters sought to gain GlA support, and support from other industry members within the British Poultry Council. this led to an agreement to create and publish an industry ‘Code of Practice’, developed by a working group including 2 Sisters, PD Hook, Bernard Matthews, and others, aiming to raise awareness and promote a common model of best practice. the Code of Practice will be published next month and includes a supporting statement written by the GlA, a statement of commitment from the industry, guidance on ethical standards which apply in the supply chain, training, tips on getting it right, advice on measuring progress, and signposts to other resources. A launch event for

the new Code will take place on 1st March, supported by the GlA.

Please reflect on this case study and consider whether your industry could benefit from a similar approach. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to discuss in more detail how your sector could be more proactive in this area. we would also be happy to put you in touch with a member of the poultry working group to share their experiences in more detail.

ETHICAL UPDATES

modErn SLavEry

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we recently undertook a survey of suppliers to discern their understanding of Modern slavery risk, and their readiness in responding to the legislation. we had 140 respondents, and found that:

• The vast majority of suppliers report that they are familiar with the legislation.

• Many have already carried out reviews in relation to direct staff and agencies; fewer have done so yet in relation to contractors and the supply chain.

• Direct employees are considered to be a low risk. Higher risks relate to agency workers, and supply chain is considered to be the highest risk.

• The highest risk is identified in the UK. This is followed by China, Asia and to a lesser extent eastern europe.

• In terms of actions carried out to date, or planned to be carried out, the most cited activity was a review of business practices, followed by training of staff, review of contracts and procurement, and collaboration with others.

• Specific activities cited included:

- “We have reviewed the current training given to all staff and have identified key areas where development is required.”

- “We have moved to one Agency supplier – with a strict slA and independent auditing. we have introduced a whistleblower line – for own and agency staff – and introduced a new survey for agency employees.”

- “We are finessing our training programme to support implementation of ‘worker exploitation’ policy and to raise awareness across all levels of employees.”

- “We are working through the supply base to promote Sedex registration. All new suppliers are now requested to be sedex registered. terms and conditions of supply now include compliance with Article 4 of european Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of slavery and forced labour).”

- “We have incorporate the Modern Slavery Act responsibilities within 2016 Agency Service Level Agreements. We have required all labour-based contractors (eg agencies and security) to supply Modern slavery statements.”

How advanced are you in your understanding of the Modern Slavery Act, your response on Modern Slavery, and in preparing your statement?

suppliers who want to know more on Modern slavery and their obligations can make use of the ever-increasing available resources on the topic, including:

• Slides from the Modern Slavery session at Ethical Exchange 28th January 2016, available here.

• The UK government guidance.

• The Stronger Together website (which currently focuses on operations rather than supply chains, although it will soon introduce supply chain information).

• The Sedex briefing.

• Resources on Verites website, for example their e-learning, responsible recruitment resources, and supply chain accountability.

• Online risk resources such as The Global Slavery Index and Products of Slavery.

• Materials are increasing week by week, so keep an eye on what is out there, and let us know of any resources you find particularly useful.

In addition, if you are interested in getting third party external support for your business, we can provide some thoughts on recommended third parties.

Having accessed the materials above, if you have questions about how you should approach the topic, please get in touch with [email protected]

Have carried out assessment

Intend to carry out assessment

May carry out assessment

Do not currently intend to carry out assessment

review of potential risk in relation to own employees

50.00% 24.29% 12.86% 12.86%

review of potential risk in relation to agency workers or others provided by third parties

52.14% 22.86% 14.29% 10.71%

review of risk in relation to contractors (eg cleaning / security / logistics)

27.14% 31.43% 22.86% 18.57%

review of supply chain risks 28.57% 39.29% 22.14% 10.00%

Have already carried out

Activities planned

Intend to carry out activities

Not currently intending to do this

review of business practices 48.55% 15.22% 26.09% 10.14%

Training of staff 42.65% 13.97% 25.74% 17.65%

review of contracts and procurement 33.09% 19.85% 33.82% 13.24%

Collaboration with others 31.20% 15.20% 28.00% 25.60%

Suppliers should all be aware of the new Modern Slavery Act, which requires all businesses with a turnover of £36m in the UK to make a statement setting out the steps they are taking to ensure there is no modern slavery in their supply chains and organisations.

sedex conference

Suppliers may be interested in attending the 2016 Sedex conference 2-3 March 2016.

the theme this year is recognising Interconnectivities to Drive Supply Chain Sustainability. The first day of the conference is focussed on auditing and assessment, with the second day a broader agenda on sustainability and ethical trade. To learn more about the agenda, and sign up, visit the Sedex conference page.

ETHICAL UPDATES

15

movement to Work

However, we still have work to date, in order to reach our target of 100 suppliers signed up to Movement to work by the end of March 2016, and our target to deliver 2000 placements during the financial year 2015/2016.

Mtw was discussed at our Commercial conference earlier this year and it is also now a requirement at silver in the ethical framework, so it really is part of How We Do Business and many of our suppliers have told us how they have integrated Mtw into their recruitment strategies and activities. As we approach the end of the financial year, we need another big push from suppliers – we need a small number of additional suppliers to commit to running work placements this year, and we need those already committed to push on with the placement commitments you previously supplied to us. It is also crucial that you continue to input your data into Credit 360 on a monthly basis so we can accurately track and report on the number of placements being delivered.

some highlights from suppliers taking part:

• In April 2015 Dawnfresh was named Skills Development scotland’s youth employer of the month.

• At G’s Fresh their programme is endorsed at the highest level, many young people have successfully completed their seeds to success programme, resulting in jobs at the final celebration… certificates are awarded to every participant by the Ceo.

• Tulip have also had great success in running their programme. Ally Patterson, HRBP said “Our managers recognise that as a large local employer it is key to be part of the community and assist the young unemployed with life / work skills to enable them to get back into work and not only that, that it is also providing us with a good source of labour.”

so please keep up the momentum, help build the future generation within your factories and ensure you deliver on your pledge so we meet our commitment.

Here’s how one of your programmes has made a real difference:

“Before MTW I had no routine, no prospects, no nothing. I then applied for this scheme. It was the best thing that I ever did, I now have a full time job, plenty of savings in my bank and, most importantly, a purpose in life”.

We would like to celebrate the great progress suppliers have made on delivering Movement to Work (Youth Unemployment) opportunities, and the difference it is making to the lives of young people. To date, this financial year you have provided 1278 placements and 1127 young people have gained work. Well done for your great efforts. Let’s now push forward for an even higher figure for the end of March.

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buying in to FairtradeGrocEriES buyEr EmiLy oLdfiELd SharES hEr ExpEriEncE on a rEcEnt tEa and coffEE trip to SourcE in kEnya

fairtrade fortnight

ETHICAL UPDATES

M&S has been sourcing Fairtrade tea and coffee for over 10 years, but a trip to source for Emily, who joined Groceries as a buyer a year ago, was a good opportunity for her to understand the real value of Fairtrade certification, for our growers and for us.

“Myself and Groceries technologist James Mitchell recently went out to Kenya to learn more about our tea and coffee supply chain. We had done a lot of visits to factories in the UK but so much growing and processing happens at source and we felt that quite a big part of our knowledge was missing. In five days we managed to pack in 3 tea factories, 2 coffee co-operatives, a non-Fairtrade coffee estate alongside visits to a number of growers and fairtrade projects.

one of my key objectives was to learn about the value of Fairtrade; as a buyer it’s important for me to understand the significance of the price premium to growers. to get a good grasp of the difference that Fairtrade makes we visited a non-Fairtrade estate called yadini, on the way to Mount Kenya, as well as visiting a number of fairtrade cooperatives that we source from. Meeting some of our growers brought it home just how small scale a lot of

them are – some were growing coffee alongside banana plants in their back gardens!

Tea and coffee are highly traded commodities and with so many small scale farmers involved it’s important that growers are protected and given a voice – Fairtrade certification helps by supporting worker’s rights. the biggest difference between the estate and the fairtrade cooperatives were the impressive projects in place with the help of the premium: one cooperative built a computer lab which helps to support the development of worker communities, whilst the other had a beehive on site which produces honey that the growers can sell at the local market, helping to diversify their incomes.

We also got to see the benefit of a project that M&s invested directly in at a tea cooperative in Mount Kenya. M&s helped the cooperative purchase a machine which packaged the tea,

allowing the growers to sell their product direct to M&s and to the local community thus allowing the farmers to have a greater share of the value of tea and a bigger involvement in the supply chain. Boosting livelihoods of our growers means we have quality supply in years to come – and it’s also a great story to tell our customers.

Communicating these human stories is definitely a challenge for us, particularly on pack, but we have some exciting plans in the pipeline to engage the customer with our fairtrade products during fairtrade fortnight – so watch this space!

like other raw material commodity farmers, most tea and coffee growers have little idea of what the finished product looks like. speaking at the Plan A Conference in Kenya was a great opportunity to engage our growers with M&s and I think it certainly helped to build trust down the supply chain.

I’d definitely recommend source visits to other buyers – it’s easy to become disconnected from the people and places that grow our products; going to source helps you understand the value of driving sustainability in your products. Building long-term thinking into your buying decisions is also key – after all M&s wants to be around for many years to come.

In 2004 M&S started selling Fairtrade coffee in our cafes, and in 2006 converted all Fairtrade tea and coffee in cafes and in store to fairtrade. we have sold 100% fairtrade tea and

coffee ever since. In addition, we also sell fairtrade bagged bananas, and a range of fairtrade chocolate bars, wine, conserves and fairtrade roses. we have continued to innovate: in 2014 we were

the first retailer to sell own-brand Nespresso compatible Fairtrade coffee pods, and in 2012 we brought to market a tea product – Mount Kenya tea – which was not only grown, but also

packed at source, ensure that more value was delivered to the fairtrade farmers and communities that grow the tea. In the advent of fairtrade fortnight we have made a number of videos for our store staff and the wider community to communicate and promote our work with fairtrade. watch one of them here.

Fairtrade Fortnight is again coming to stores between 29th February and 13th March. We will be making the most of the opportunity to showcase our fantastic Fairtrade products.

rAw MAterIAls

Over the last few months the packaging team have been reviewing the types of materials we use, the frequency and the health. The team built on the road map begun by Andrew Speck, updated the data and invited a suite of industry experts to critique and refine.

the results led to an overall strategy for packaging materials that moves the emphasis away from individual packaging items and focuses on the integrity and performance of the packaging suppliers, the principle being that if the manufacturers are working to the highest standards and integrity their packaging will follow.

the will be three fundamentals:

1. lowest energy production

2. healthiest material specification

3. highest manufacturing integrity

the focus will be to add greater rigour to the BrC audit by raising the specification to Level 1 only and use the same principles on equivalent audit process where BrC is not available. we will also elect a number of approved auditors, all of which will have been audited in their own right for the required process and execution.

this emphasis on the production rather than the packaging item will align the packaging suppliers with the food producers and allow greater opportunity for Plan A attributes to be earned.

There will be specific projects in each material groupings to compliment the overall strategy.

Paper and Board• Recycled board development for food contact • Total recyclability of cartons with windows • Lowest energy board mills as preferred suppliers

Plastic• Further reducing plastic variations used in the business

with the goal of one material does all• Developing a pouch design to allow full recyclability • Introduction of biopolymers on a cost effective time plan• Carbon neutral polymers

Glass• Light weighting of wine bottles to optimal weights.• Highest performing plants with greatest integrity as

preferred suppliers• Lowest energy plants to be identified and selected

Metal • Lowest energy steel • Carbon neutral suppliers • Highest performing plants with

greatest integrity as preferred suppliers • Light weighting of food cans

This clarified and streamlined strategy brings the packaging supply chain in line with the overall M&s food business and provides a simplified message for food suppliers managing their own packaging suppliers.

paCKaging materialsSTRATEGY

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What are the key themes for agriculture in 2016?

news

The first week of January saw me attending the annual Oxford Farming Conference, a good event, which we support, and which explores the challenges facing the farming industry and sets the agri-business scene for 2016.

this event has been running since 1936 and is regarded as the authoritative farming conference in the UK. every year leading farmers, scientists, politicians and business people from around the globe gather in oxford to assess the events of the previous 12 months, and investigate the issues that will impact the industry in the future.

the theme of this year’s conference was ‘bold agriculture’, with the three-day event focusing on the roles that technology, sustainable farming and entrepreneurship have in helping to create an ambitious and successful farming sector.

Innovation for sustainabilitySustainability is something that affects us all and farmers worldwide are grappling with how we produce enough food to feed a growing population from fewer resources. one of the speakers at the conference was dr. Bram Govaerts, who is involved in sustainable agriculture research in South America. He urged that the solution was to encourage food producers to do more, with less. no easy task, but through innovation in crop science and the development of better agronomy practices, we know it can be done. It was encouraging that the approaches to solving these big issues that were advocated by Bram included closer working with farmers to increase training and innovation and, as a result, the efficiency of farm production – all things that we are already doing as part of the M&s farming for the future programme.

Power of dataIn a world of ‘big data’ and rapid technological advances, another speaker,

chief scientist at the Climate Corporation, David Fischhoff, examined how the role of digitisation and data science in agriculture is improving the efficiency of food production.

whilst we are all used to working in a digital age, it remains a surprise to some that farmers and growers are using technology and data to become more efficient. Everything that affects agriculture is becoming digitised, from the genetics of seeds, to weather data. with faster computers, cheaper wireless data transfers and greater capacity for data storage than ever before, data scientists are now able to develop computer models that can quickly analyse digital agricultural data and provide valuable feedback.

so, whilst rural broadband continues to be an issue for some, these digital advances are enabling farmers across the globe to manage resources in an increasingly efficient manner, through data management and information sharing, whilst simultaneously maintaining or improving levels of food production.

Entrepreneurshipevery year, the oxford farming Conference produces an annual report and for 2016, the focus was on entrepreneurship in the farming sector.

with increasingly volatile markets, declining commodity prices and lower direct subsidies, farmers need to become more entrepreneurial if they are to survive and thrive. those farms and farmers that are more entrepreneurial seem to be the most successful and profitable.

A farm is an excellent place to build an entrepreneurial business and, whether focused on diversification or solely food production, farmers were urged to implement ideas that maximise returns from the resources at their disposal. to encourage this entrepreneurial ethos, education of young farmers was seen as a key element for future success; both through practical and classroom experience. this is also something that we focus on through our M&s farming for the future programme, with our Agricultural leadership Programme at Cranfield University being shortlisted last year in the Business in the Community responsible Business Awards.

PoliticsA number of notable politicians were at this year’s event, including secretary of state for environment, food and rural Affairs, Liz Truss, her shadow opponent, Kerry McCarthy, as well as MP owen Patterson and eU Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan.

the topics they raised included the impact on the agricultural industry if Britain were to leave the european Union, the restructuring of defrA and the challenges that UK farmers face in the wake of climate change and global market pressures.

All of the politician’s speeches highlighted that the challenges facing food producers remain significant, and volatility and complexity are only likely to continue into the future. M&s suppliers are not excluded from these difficulties and we will continue to work with and support our farmers and growers as they face the challenges of the year ahead.

StEvE mcLEan, hEad of aGricuLturE & fiShEriES

hEaLth trEndS

This issue includes:• What’s the fuss about Vitamin D?

• Sugar Smart App

• Health MOTs

• Workplace wellbeing

• Are potatoes healthy during pregnancy?

• Training, Gluten Free Week and Salt Awareness week.

As the January health kicks are gradually subsiding the M&S Nutrition team rounded up the latest health activity & nutrition science for you in the attached newsletter.

If you are a supplier with access to Connect, you can find the newsletter here.

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1. the Sustainable Development Goals (sdGs) are starting to play their part in joining up the many different strands of sustainability. However, few institutions have the skills and tools to hand to ‘join the dots’ effectively.

2. There were reflections on the important role that business played in encouraging a strong outcome at COP21, but after that it was into tough discussions about how to reach those targets.

3. The very strength of COP21, its bottom up approach based on each country’s own national plan means we will have to navigate through a fragmented global climate marketplace with many different approaches to challenges, for example the price on carbon.

4. In a very ‘here and now’ world there was a recognition that sudden extreme weather events would continue to be the ‘shocks’ needed to global complacency.

5. Water seemed to move up the agenda, identified as a key cause of today’s migration crisis and a definite ‘risk multiplier’ in the volatile Middle east.

6. Forests on a relative scale continue to be viewed as a success both in terms of the nascent evidence that the worst excesses have been stopped in a number of key countries as well as the potential for yet more future gains in reducing carbon emissions at relatively low cost.

7. the launch of the New Plastics Economy Report by wef, ellen MacArthur foundation and McKinsey was an important step in translating the circular economy from being a tantalising theory into a genuine route map to a better future.

8. wef launched its much vaunted 4th Industrial Revolution; it’s clear we are seeing a rapid, powerful convergence of a number of big technology changes like artificial intelligence. there was some recognition that this had massive

implications from jobs to privacy but there was a little debate over the ‘winners and losers’ in these changes.

9. what is clear is that we are going to need a new form of governmental and business leadership for the future to embrace these changes.

10. davos’s great Achilles heel it’s its lack of diversity in membership which remains largely aged, white and male! Until that changes, it will starve itself of the broad talent, skills and knowledge that’s needed to lead a complex world.

If 2015 was an emotive year of commitment, 2016 is shaping up nicely to be a more ‘granular’ year of delivery. Never has it been more important for business to provide leadership in an uncertain world, to join partnerships that deliver scale and to innovate with new technologies that are good for the all not just the few. Basically – get things done!

So what to make of the World Economic Forum in Davos this year? There were lots of short term worries from oil prices to terrorism, jockeyed with the big theme (a new 4th Industrial Revolution). Here are my 10 key reflections:

10 refleCtions on Davos 2016 from pLan a’S mikE barry

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Mike Barry, Director of Plan A

news

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In our last newsletter we highlighted our announcement of a nationwide redistribution scheme for all business owned stores in the UK. Our stores are well underway donating surplus food to charity, with the rest of the estate due to go live by the end of March.

“It is so great to be able to give the children fruit on a daily basis.” Lin Corbell, Middle Park Community Centre

“We are truly thankful to neighbourly and M&S for making this happen.”Lee Denford, Hedge end Food Centre

“Thank you so much! Yesterday fed about 250 people.”Juli Thompson, The storehouse

Photos Courtesy of FoodCycle Norwich (Left) and The Old Acorn Barn, Bath (Right)

Our next steps are engaging franchise and international partners and we are in discussion with Neighbourly on developing a model to work with suppliers on this too.

RedistRibution scheme Update

is your site redistributing surplus food?M&S is currently re-writing our supplier terms of trade and reviewing the environmental framework. One of the changes we will be making is that we believe it is a minimum requirement for suppliers to be redistributing edible food for human consumption in preference to animal feed or waste to energy. It is expected that all sites are zero food waste to landfill.

we recognise the following organisations for redistribution of M&s branded products:

1. On-site staff shop

2. Company Shop – no prior authorisation is required

suppliers must abide with the terms of trade on redistributing M&s branded products. The above are the only current authorised routes, but please refer to the terms for any updates. If you are unsure please contact [email protected] before redistributing products.

we also encourage the redistribution of unused raw materials, work in progress or process waste. These must also adhere to the terms of trade, in which suppliers must, if necessary, remove all M&s branded packaging and labelling prior to redistribution or resale.

At our January supplier exchange Take stock shared one potential solution in an ebay-style model for the food industry. see more information and slides here.

where redistribution isn’t possible, we encourage suppliers to send suitable, edible food waste to animal feed and only to send to energy where no other routes are viable.

If you are unsure of whether an organisation or charity can accept your food surpluses please do not hesitate to get in touch with Company shop or Foods Plan A. Further details on some of our partners can be found on the Supplier Exchange.

we will be launching new KPIs in April asking you to measure and report destinations of your food waste and surpluses, demonstrating how you are getting the most value out of this resource.

T

HE STORY So FAR

SOURCES FOR FIGURES: PEOple FED Figure calculated from research by wrap (wrap.org.uk/household-food-AND-DRINK-waste-UK-2012) where 1 tonne is

equal to 1413 MEALS. 1000 people fed = 1000 meals.. EMPTY BIN FIGURE BASED on 7581 trays donated. average tray volume is 35L, standard wheelie bin size is

240L.. ILLUSTRATIONS PROVIDED BY freepik.com neighbourly.com ©

and neighbourly food JAN2016

AVERAGing:

4.14Eltham has donated 186 trays of food to local charity Middle Park Community Centre so far.

1597

DONATIONSPER WEEK

PEOPLE

FEDwill your store BE The next food hero?

January’sfood hero is ELTHAM

111

1106

46,700

129CHARITIES

HELPED

LESS BINS

NEEDED

STORESACTIVE onNEIGHBOURLY

people fed“Thank you so much for your help.

It will truly change lives.”ANN MENHINICK - PURPLE PEOPLE KITCHEN

“We are truly thankful to neighbourly and M&S for making this happen”lEE DENFORD - HEDGE END FOOD CENTRE

“Thank you so much! Yesterday fed about 250 people.”

JULI THOMPSON - THE STOREHOUSE

At Marks & Spencer we believe in doing the right thing, not just saying it, and Spark Something Good is our way for us all to make a real difference. Whether it’s getting involved in the community through your local store, shwopping your old clothes with us or helping us to beat cancer, we want everyone to join in, have fun and spark something good.

the community volunteering part of spark something Good launched back in July 2015 where we kicked off transforming 24 community projects in London in just 24 hours. The baton then passed to dublin and Manchester where our colleagues, customers and partners made a real difference to communities in Manchester and dublin.

The start of 2016 sees Swansea take up the challenge aiming to boost the community in time for st david’s day celebrations on 1st March after which the baton passes to edinburgh for a week in March. each month will see the baton pass to a different city.

this is an amazing opportunity for everyone to make a real difference to their local community.

We’re looking for volunteers to offer one day of their time (or even half a day) to help with a range of activities and we’d love for you, our suppliers, to be involved. there’s something for everyone, from renovating community gardens, to painting a community centre or skill sharing through sewing, It help, project planning expertise and much more. we hope you, our suppliers, will join us when spark something Good comes to your local city.

Please get in touch with us at [email protected] to discuss this further.

Swansea: Wednesday 24th February – tuesday 1st March

Edinburgh: tuesday 8th March – Monday 14th March

spark something goodnews

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