14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier today, Marks & Spencer announced that it had become the first retailer to have until now been offered a triple award of certification from the Carbon Trust.
On its website, the company details that the Carbon Trust Standards that it had to abide by in order to receive this triple award of certification concern greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste management.
More precisely, they target year-on-year drops in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that the company's working agenda is responsible for putting into our planet's atmosphere.
They also document efforts made to measure, manage, and reduce year-on-year water consumption, together with solid and hazardous waste, Marks & Spencer further details.
As the retailer puts it, “The Carbon Trust Standards are independent certifications recognizing organizations that successfully measure, manage and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste, demonstrating leadership within their industry by making real year-on-year progress.”
Since it started being concerned about its ecological footprint until present day, Marks & Spencer has indeed made progress towards becoming an environmentally friendly company.
Thus, the company maintains that, for the time being, it sends absolutely no waste to landfill. On the contrary, whatever waste it produces is reused, recycled or directed towards energy recovery.
Besides, Marks & Spencer claims that it is currently a carbon neutral company, meaning that it has succeeded an absolute reduction in its carbon footprint.
Other achievements having to do with environmental protection refer to the company's success in reducing the energy use of its stores, offices and warehouses by as much as 31%, and in cutting store refrigerant gas carbon emissions by about 60%.
Lastly, the retailer claims to have cut the number of single-use carrier bags used in its food halls by roughly 2 billion, and to have made considerable progress towards improving on the water footprint of not only its stores, but also its supply chain.
Commenting on the company's being awarded a triple award of certification for achievements in carbon, water and waste reduction from the Carbon Trust, Director of Property Clem Constantine stated as follows:
“There’s a clear business case for managing and reducing our own impact on the environment. It saves money, helps us become more efficient and better prepares M&S for the future.”
“M&S has a well-deserved reputation as a leading business when it comes to sustainability. By achieving independent certification the Carbon Trust Standard for each of carbon, water and waste then M&S is able to demonstrate year-on-year progress in achieving its Plan A goals,” added the Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, Tom Delay.