Marks and Spencer reveals carbon cuts

The company has achieved 95 of its 179 individual target and said that it was on target to gain 77 others, with the seven remaining behind plan or on hold. One of its key results is an improvement in store energy efficiency of 23 per cent, down to 52.0 kWh per square foot once weather adjusted, against its initial 2006/2007 level. Warehouse energy efficiency improvement was 24 per cent in the same period. Carbon emissions have been cut by 13 per cent on the same benchmark or 603,000 tonnes CO2e, while expanding its store numbers, the firm noted. Per sq foot of salesfloor, that is a 25 per cent improvement.

Plan A director Richard Gillies noted that the firm hadn’t yet achieved its ambition to become carbon neutral, having had to ‘evolve its plans in response to changes in government policy on renewable energy’, but it is now on plan, he said.

The improvement was put down to a combination of more efficiency electricity use, lower leakage of refrigerant and improved levels of waste recycling. Marks and Spencer has publicly committed to reduce carbon emissions from refrigerants in all new post-2010 stores  by 50 per cent by 2015 and direct emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning (ie leakage) has reduced by 20 per cent on the 2006/7 benchmark, down to 129,000 tonnes CO2e.

Per square foot this equates to 6.5 tonnes CO2e, a 31 per cent drop.

The efficiency contribution from refrigeration has been derived from  a combination of 28 new stores running on CO2 and 355 existing stores converting to R407A, largely from R404A, which the firm noted to shareholders was an interim measure.

The retailer reports that HFCs make up 83 per cent of its gas use on its estate and HCFCs, in air conditioning, still comprise 12 per cent.

The next area for energy efficiency improvement is its main data centre building, which although described as only contributing ‘a small proportion of energy use’ is to target improved operating temperatures and air conditioning.

In April, the retailer opened its first Sustainable Learning Store in Sheffield, incorporating such innovations as 100 per cent LED lighting throughout the store, achieving a BREAAM excellent rating in the process. The next such store opens in Stratford, East London in the autumn, next to the Olympic site.

The firm also noted that its plan for Carbon Managers to ‘all major construction projects’ had been downscaled to just Sustainable Learning Stores, as the Managers had only been able to deliver ‘limited improvements to traditional stores’.

One of M&S’ key Plan A developments is encouraging its supply chain to sign up to the environmental commitments. The aim is that by 2015, a quarter of its food will be produced by factories that have improved energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent. M & S aims to roll out its Food Supplier Sustainability Framework in the next year.

Other green goals include a commitment to install and assess onsite renewable energy generation in at least five stores by 2012.

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