Marks & Spencer U.K. introduced Plan A in 2007 as an eco plan to tackle some of the environmental and social challenges facing their business. Since then, they have worked very hard with their customers and suppliers in order to minimise carbon emissions, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and provide a healthier lifestyle.

They believe that a responsible business can be a profitable business, so as well as changing their own business, they are also helping their suppliers and customers to change their behaviour. Besides, their influence extends to over 2,000 factories and 250,000 workers as well as millions of customers across the world.

Plan A works through a variety of disciplines:

• increasing the amount of fair-trade products across foods and clothing
• increasing the use of organic cotton
• using polyester made from recycled bottles
• selling beauty and household products that haven’t been tested on animals
• removing all artificial colours and flavourings from foods
• reducing and using more sustainable packaging

Their goad is to become the world’s most sustainable major retailer. They are doing this because it’s the right way to do business and they are calling it Plan A because it’s the only way to do business.

Marks & Spencer Voici La Mode introduced Plan A in Cyprus in September 2007. We joined the efforts of Marks & Spencer U.K. to tackle some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today. Our target is that by 2015 we will be able to deliver results in 5 specific areas: Climate Change, Waste, Sustainable Sources, Fair Partner and Health.

We feel that only a responsible company can enjoy the respect of the community in which it runs its business.

We have reduced carbon emissions, by reducing the amount of energy we use in our Stores, Distribution Centre and Offices:

• More than 400 lamps have been replaced in our Distribution Centre. The new energy saving lighting saves more than 15% of energy. This is part of our five year plan to replace all lamps used in our stores, offices and cafes.
• We have installed energy saving equipment in our stores and cafes, saving 10% of energy.
• All vehicles in our fleet have been replaced with new ones with exhaust emission standards EURO 4 that have been branded with Plan A messages.
• As part of its social corporate responsibility, Voici La Mode signed an agreement on Wednesday 17th March 2010, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, for protecting the environment against climate change. This is the first of five steps that the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry has initiated in order to create a more social and environmentally friendly corporate culture.

We are also helping our customers and staff to understand the advantages of energy saving. For example, most of our products require washing only at 30o C. This helps customers reduce the amount of energy they use at home.

We are a member of Green Dot Cyprus, a collective system for recovering and recycling packaging materials. By 2015 we will collect and forward for recycling 60% of glass, paper and cartons waste, 50% of metals, 22% of plastic and 15% of wood.

• We have implemented Green Logistics. We collect all packaging materials, photocopier paper, cartons and hangers from all our stores and offices to our Distribution Centre and then forward them for recycling.
• A Recycling Point at the Acropolis Store was established in 2008 where customers bring paper, plastic, glass and hangers. We also encourage all our customers to recycle aluminium cans, which are donated to the charity organisation CANS FOR KIDS that buys medical equipment for Makarios children’s hospital.
• All pack nylons from our airfreight are reused in dust bins in our Distribution Centre and stock rooms.
• Our Company has signed an agreement with ANIMALIA for processing food waste to produce bio fuels.
• We are also members of WEEE Electrocyclosis that undertakes on our behalf the collection of electric and electronic waste.
• The Marks & Spencer Eco-Bag is available at all stores. These are fashionable bags made from fair-trade cotton that the customer can buy for €3.50 and reuse. This is an excellent way of reducing the amount of carrier bags.

We want to make sure our raw materials come from the most sustainable sources available, which are the world’s natural resources. Sustainability is all about meeting our needs today without robbing future generations of the ability to meet theirs.

• In our offices and stores we use only eco-friendly paper, which we recycle.
• Many of our products are made from recycled materials. For example, we have Home Products that are made from recycled polyester, such as cushions and duvets.

By trading fairly, we want to improve the lives of thousands of people in our supply chain and our local communities.

• The Artemisia Panayiotou Foundation offers scholarships to students with the potential to excel in their studies, at universities in Cyprus and abroad.
• We promote Marks & Spencer products which are Fair Trade Products, such as tea, coffee, cotton e.t.c.
• We make sure that associated companies and suppliers provide fair labour conditions to their employees.
• We have already expressed our intension to join a government project, which will provide temporary work opportunities to unemployed individuals.
• We have adopted a green area in Nicosia and we have taken over the maintenance fees.

We have set high food standards, helping customers live a healthier lifestyle.

• Our frozen ready made meals are free from artificial colours and flavourings.
• We have added a healthy section on the menu of our cafes.
• Through the promotion of our Eat Well food products, we are able to explain the benefits, of a nutritionally balanced diet.

For us, PLAN A is not something that has an end date. It is a continuous effort to establish environmental awareness in our country. All our stores have implemented in-store décor with Plan A messages, whilst external marketing is used every year to reinforce the ideas of protecting our environment.