M&S two-time winners at Green Business Awards
The Green Business Awards celebrate excellence in green practice and products, they look for and reward the most innovative and effective initiatives in UK business for achieving environmental sustainability. They are the "Green Globes" and are the UK's most recognised awards on the subject.
In a field of finalists, M&S won the Carbon Emissions Ambition category, with its aim to become a carbon neutral operation and 'the world's most sustainable major retailer' by 2015. The judges commended the way M&S helps its customers and employees reduce their carbon emissions, through initiatives such as M&S Energy and home insulation, including steps taken as a company, like a 64% reduction in carrier bag use since 2007 and the sourcing of renewable electricity equivalent to 40% of M&S's total consumption.
M&S was also named as overall Green Business of the Year, against stiff competition from other category winners. The judges
gave a number of reasons for their choice: first, the comprehensive nature of M&S's programme, the way it focuses on all areas of environmental impact and recognising the relationship between them. "Its programme is holistic - it embraces the whole company's culture as well as suppliers and customers," said one judge.
The judges also commended the continuity of effort, encapsulated in this year's extended commitments to 180 and "the aspiration to go even further than they thought possible just three years ago".
Finally, another of the judges' criteria was 'replicability'. M&S, the judges felt, stands as an inspiration for other businesses, playing a
key role in the development of the British Retail Consortium's Better Retailing Climate framework in the UK and similar initiatives in Europe. As one judge summed up: "Its approach is replicable across retail and is leading the way, making it much easier for other retailers to follow suit."
For more information about the Green Business Awards, visit www.greenbusinessawards.com.