The UK and US business media were buzzing last week with the news that staff at Marks & Spencer will share an £80m bonus pot after the company beat its targets for 2009 despite the recession.

The bumper payout is the second highest ever paid by M&S larger than forecast.  Not only that, but it comes from a company that has also decided to compete on sustainability. 

M&S has announced an ambitious “Plan A” programme to become the world's most sustainable retailer by 2015. It said it would compare itself to "major retailers with national coverage and a worldwide supply chain". While it has not made it clear how the comparison will be made, it has promised to set “clear targets to track progress”.This is not a one-off. The world’s largest supermarkets are waging an ongoing battle to go green. In the UK, Sainsbury's also claims to be "industry leading when it comes to addressing environmental and ethical issues", while Tesco has promised to become "a zero-carbon business by 2050". Across the Atlantic, Walmart announced in February its goal to reduce 20 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions from its supply chain.  It has already introduced organic supermarkets to its stable.

For New Zealand, the competition represents a significant opportunity and challenge.  As business organisations and commentators focus on the negatives around the introduction of the ETS, we seem to be losing sight of the bigger picture.  That is the fact that green business is already part of our export landscape and New Zealand needs to start working now on what we need to do to measure up to what our buyers want.

M&S and other retailers are responding to the business case for sustainability and to consumer demand. Leading companies are deciding to compete on sustainability.  That is creating tremendous market pressure. Call it the “green domino effect”. 

M&S’ head of sustainable business Mike Barry reinforced this message in a recent EthicalPodcast.  He says categorically that sustainability is part of being a leader in commercial performance and customer service.  He says 85% of their 21 million customers want business to take a lead in this space. That is going to mean some fundamental retooling of business and attitudes among the M&S producers and recognising that it is about environmental and social sustainability.  For example, M&S is committed to fair living wages in all factories around the world.  In addition, all 10,000 M&S farmers mustbe part of the Sustainability Programme by 2012 – and they will be audited on it.  

In the Australian market, our experience is that producers are actively thinking about this future world. Put simply, they are going green – introducing auditable sustainable procurement, going carbon zero and embedding environmental and social sustainability into their businesses. It is more fundamental than green-washing or risk management-based corporate social responsibility programmes that we are more used to.

In New Zealand, we focus a lot on why we shouldn’t be engaging in green business , usually centred on cost and we are complacent that marketing about New Zealand being clean and green will carry us through. Our focus must be on the opportunities and making sure we don’t get left behind.