Inspiration from the Other Side of the Pond

If you've spent time in London, you can't help but be familiar with Marks & Spencer . Their brilliant decision to put ready-made food stores in major transporation hubs has forever cemented the brand in my mind as an insightful innovator. But, having purchased their ready-made meals, I can tell you it made me feel like I was contributing more than a reasonable share of waste to the world with just one dinner. Now that I know about Plan A, my concerns are a bit allayed. And, I have a helluva lot of respect for them, too. In this article from the Times, their CEO, Sir Stuart Rose, shares a year-one update on their ambitious five-year, 100-point, eco plan.

In my book, Plan A gets points for both substance and branding. I like it for what it is and how its structured: it's ability to create the "virtuous circle" between suppliers, the brand, employees and consumers over a specified period of time. It's both lofty and tangible. It makes everyone accountable, and transforms good principles into action. And, the marketer in me likes the way they've "packaged" their ideas. They hang around the tagline "Plan A. Because there is no Plan B." Brief, to the point, and meaningful. They created a site that showcases more information and successes around their five pillars: Climate change, Waste, Sustainable raw materials, Fair partner and Health. I can't help but applaud them for getting beyond "green" to promote fair labor practices and healthier lifestyles for their customers and employees. And they launched it all a year ago. Having worked with a major supermarket chain in the US who kept a close eye on the innovations of M&S and Tesco, I'm sure Walmart drew inspiration from Plan A for their own sustainability efforts. (More on that later.)

Finally, Rose shares with us that he continues "to believe strongly that Plan A is not only the right thing to do, but commercially will help differentiate us in the eyes of our customers. Simply put, it’s a win-win." Take that, Milton.