Partnership has always been at the heart of Plan A. The achievements of Plan A have only been possible because of the many partnerships and relationships with different organisations. This is because, like all businesses, we need outside knowledge and expertise to help us understand what changes are required and how best to achieve them. Some partnerships will be long standing and continually evolve, others may be formed to address specific issues at specific times. We work with organisations who share our values and ambitions to create shared value.
Commitments and targets
Our aim is to work in partnership to achieve shared objectives and mutually beneficial economic, social and environmental outcomes. We are committed to articulating and sharing the benefits resulting from our partnerships.
Building partnerships is a way of working that cuts across the business, touching many Plan A commitments that can only be delivered with others.
Approach
We build strong partnerships with organisations on a one-to-one basis, often structured around a particular area of delivery.
We work openly and constructively with our partners, in line with our values. In new and existing partnerships we are guided by these principles:

Our partnerships take many different forms and have different purposes, activity and different delivery outputs and outcomes.
We have a number of partnerships that enable us to help causes our customers care about. Our work with
Breast Cancer Now,
Macmillan Cancer Support and
Royal British Legion (RBL) are excellent examples where we can make a difference by mobilising financial support for cancer research, cancer care and veterans through selling cause-related products and fundraising with customers and employees. For example, the money raised for
RBL helps the organisation to provide mobility grants to veterans which enables the veteran to maintain their independence. The main business benefit for Marks & Spencer from national charity partnerships is the ability to demonstrate our support for causes our customers care about as well as enhance employee engagement, increase footfall and share knowledge.
Some partnerships focus on sharing expertise and insights on specific topics areas where we don’t have specialist knowledge. For example,
WWF has worked with us on sustainable fishing, cotton and water risk mapping.
WWF has contributed leading scientific knowledge which in turn allows us to source more sustainably and make our supply chains more resilient. We often work with universities, such as the University of Leeds, to harness academic research and thought leadership for innovation and product sustainability.
Increasingly it’s important for us to build partnerships that help us move towards creating more sustainable business models. Our Shwopping initiative, in partnership with
Oxfam, aims to collect unwanted clothing from our customers, which not only diverts textile waste from landfill but also enables
Oxfam to sell millions of garments to raise money for people living in poverty.