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Working with others
To help us on our CSR journey and support the delivery of our CSR commitments, we continue to work with a wide range of organisations to develop strategic partnerships and alliances, lend our support to independent initiatives and campaigns, or use their help to establish our own initiatives.
For example, we undertook an external benchmarking exercise using the ‘Leadership Matrix’ developed by sustainable development charity Forum for the Future. This confirmed our leader ship position in a number of areas such as products and services, supplier relations and community, but also identified opportunities for improvement in the areas of governance, embedding CSR in the business and environmental performance. We have also worked with Forum for the Future to more fully assess the extent of our indirect transport impacts (see page 26) and in devising and improving our Sustainable Construction Framework (page 28).
The issue of global climate change is one obvious issue where effective solutions cannot be found in isolation. To help to drive the agenda forward, we participate in collaborative initiatives with key organisations. For example, we are:
• a member of the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, which supports governmental frameworks for reducing the UK’s carbon emissions
• one of the London Development Agency’s Green500, which are committed to reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2025
• a signatory to the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Change Initiative, ‘A Better Retailing Climate’, which includes commitments to reduce a number of environmental impacts, including energy and resource use, transport emissions, waste and packaging
• one of several retailers on the Retail Energy Forum, which shares best practice on energy efficiency and the built environment.
Senior leaders across our business have also taken on leading advocacy roles to make progress in areas of importance to our business. They include:
Charlie Mayfield
Partnership Chairman, who, in March 2009, became the Chairman of Business in the Community’s Business Action on Economic Renewal leadership team (see page 22). Then, in April 2009, Charlie joined other major retailers in launching the National Skills Academy for Retail, which will support better training in the retail industry by developing a national network of walk-in skills shops. He is also a commissioner of the UK Commission on Employment and Skills (UKCES). The Commission, formally launched in April 2008, aims to benefit employers, individuals and Government by advising how improved employment and skills systems can help the UK become a world-class leader in productivity, in employment and in having a fair and inclusive society.
Andy Street
Managing Director of John Lewis, is a Board Director of London First. London First works on behalf of the capital’s leading employers to make London the best city in the world in which to do business. Its priorities include transport, employment and skills, and planning and development.
Mark Price
Managing Director of Waitrose, now chairs The Prince’s Rural Action Programme, a Business in the Community (BITC) initiative designed to engage businesses to sustain the rural economy, protect the environment and protect our cultural heritage and landscape through the way in which they do business.
David Jones
Divisional Registrar for John Lewis, sits on BITC’s Marketplace Leadership Team, and helps to guide its work on the marketplace which covers issues related to suppliers, customers, products and services, and business integrity – for example one area of work is responsible marketing.
Jeremy Collins
Head of Retail Development at John Lewis, represents the Partnership on the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), who have joined property developers, shopping centre owners and other retailers together in signing up to the BCSC’s Sustainability Charter, which outlines commitments designed to address the energy, waste, water and community impacts of shopping centres.
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