Marks and Spencer - A Zero Waste Case Study

Marks and Spencer - A Zero Waste Case Study 17 December 2010 Major UK food and clothing retailer, Marks & Spencer has set a target of recycling 100% of its waste by 2012. In April 2009, M&S' operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland recycled 41% of its waste. It has since set annual targets which increase incrementally - 75% by 2010, 90% by 2011 and 100% by 2012. To reach the 100% target, M&S needed to transform its waste management processes; its first step was to appoint a waste management partner that focused on sustainable solutions rather than landfill. Cardiff-based Severnside Recycling was chosen based on its previous experience working in the retail sector, and its very limited use of landfill - and only as a last resort. In 2007 the retailer launched 'Plan A' - a list of ethical and environmental commitments involving all areas of its business. Now three years on, M&S claims that it is well on its way to achieving its 2012 goals, and has recently extended its commitments, with the ambitious aim of becoming the world's most sustainable retailer by 2015. Reducing waste is a key part of Plan A. With 711 stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland and over 65,000 employees, M&S wanted to significantly reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill. From packaging and plastics, through to cardboard and food, the retailer wanted to find more sustainable solutions for its waste. Marks & Spencer Plan A commitments include: No operational waste to landfill - Aiming to ensure that M&S operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland (stores, offices and warehouses) will send no waste to landfill Food waste (reduction) - Having reduced food waste we plan to work with suppliers to improve stock planning by developing the accuracy of our systems for forecasting demand Food waste (alternative disposal) - Sending all remaining food waste to some form of recycling including composting and anaerobic digestion. A waste and recycling audit of M&S' operations was undertaken by Severnside to understand what, where and how waste was being generated and disposed of. "This activity was critical for us to devise a strategy that would provide sustainable solutions and one that would be practical to implement at a day-to-day store level," said Tim Price, national commercial manager for Severnside. "In fact, it was imperative to provide solutions that would not mean additional processes and time. With the detail from the waste audit we could understand which key materials to look at initially that would have the greatest impact." Price added. After cardboard, organic waste was the largest contributor to M&S' total waste, and as such became a primary focus. As out of date food is required to be disposed of, traditionally through landfill or by expensive treatment processes, an effective solution was required. To achieve this Severnside says that it was important to find a process that would allow organic waste to be separated from all other types of materials - enabling better capture of cleaner dry material for recycling. A corrugated receptacle that could be used and would enable organic waste to be disposed of straight from the shelf was deployed. Mandy Keepax, head of facilities and waste at M&S, explained: "This box has enabled us to not only separate organic waste, but also significantly reduce our in-store processes. Our operations team were soon converts as it made the process much simpler, cleaner and more efficient, reducing the time and effort to dispose of waste. From a management perspective, this is paramount - reducing rather than increasing time spent and enabling staff to concentrate on other important store activities such as customer service." Bin capacity on M&S sites has been significantly reduced when compared to the pre-audit service to help reduce the overall waste budget. The new waste management process makes use of M&S' existing logistics operation and takes the waste to the regional distribution centres. "Using our existing logistics network embodies the essence of our Plan A commitments and is helping to reduce our carbon emissions by eliminating the need for store level waste collections, as well as reducing empty running of vehicles," said Keepax. The back-hauled waste from each store goes to M&S distribution centres where it is then collected, sorted and reprocessed by Severnside or its strategic partner, Shanks Waste Management. Strong emphasis has been placed on helping to maximise the sustainable performance of all M&S operations. Working with Severnside and Shanks, M&S is committed to developing relationships with suppliers to enable the retailer to reuse its own waste through its procurement processes. For example, waste plastics are recycled into new plastic bags for M&S, while packaging is recycled into new packaging or tissue products, which are used or sold by the retailer. Organic waste is now converted into renewable energy via biomass-to-energy plants. By 2012, this material will be processed via anaerobic digestion through Shanks Waste Management. This approach will generate around six million KWh of renewable energy by 2012 to be sold back to the National Grid. A Year On According to the retailer, the new waste management process has had a significant impact on its operation over the last 12 months, and it says it is on track to meet its targets. At a store level, recycling rates have exceeded expectations due to the simplification of processes that enable waste to be separated just once. This has been supported by a thorough and continuous communication programme, as Price explained: "It doesn't matter how innovative a system is if it's not used correctly. We've set up a programme to explain how the system works, the benefits it will deliver and regularly undertake meetings on the ground to iron out potential issues that arise during implementation. This is helped by M&S employees who support the Plan A ethos and embrace the processes that will deliver significant environmental change." M&S says that the approach has also delivered significant financial savings, reducing waste management costs by handling all of its waste through its distribution centres rather than 711 individual stores, and also protecting the company from the annual landfill tax rises. Working Towards Zero Waste The company claims that it is well on target to meet its 2012 objectives when it comes to waste. From June 2010, Severnside will also commence handling the post consumer food waste generated through M&S' hospitality operations including M&S Cafes, in-store bakeries and restaurants - meaning that all the organic waste will be put to helping to generate renewable energy for the National Grid. M&S and Helistrat Management Services, along with Severnside, are now set to focus on finding ways to minimise waste arising at the outset. The waste audits conducted by Severnside provide greater visibility of the amount and types of waste still being generated. Now that many of the bigger wins have been achieved, finding sustainable solutions for the smaller ones - such as ceramics, glass and non-fibre office waste - is key. "There is still much to be done, and we're not just focusing on how to recycle waste," said Price. "We're going to be helping M&S reduce levels of waste arising in the first place. This could include identifying more difficult to recycle materials and working with procurement teams to find alternative options." "This full circle view will not only help M&S in achieving Plan A, but is something all organisations need to embrace. Taking a joined up approach to procurement and waste management decisions is critical moving forward, as the former can have significant impact on the latter. Achieving that magic zero waste to landfill figure is only going to happen if these two functions work hand in hand." Price concludes.