In the earliest days of the business Michael Marks provided gas rings for market stall staff to heat food, and wooden boarding to stand on to stop their feet getting cold.

In the 1930s we started a welfare and benefit package for all employees. This included benefits such as staff canteens and departmental holidays, as well as health care services such as doctors, dentists and chiropodists – all revolutionary at the time in pre-NHS Britain.

4000 Spanish children were evacuated to Southampton due to the Spanish Civil War. M&S donated 17000+ items of clothing and merchandise. Volunteers from Southampton store helped with distribution and caring for the children at the camp.

M&S contributions to the war effort included staff being trained as ARP Wardens and firefighters, raising funds to purchase a Spitfire – The Marksman, and Simon Marks was instrumental in founding the Air Defence Cadet Corps, now the RAF Air Cadets.

M&S covered the cost of a Red Cross supply flight carrying food to Hungarian refugee camps in Austria. On its return, the plane transported 34 Hungarian refugees escaping violence and persecution following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

M&S introduced free cervical screening for female staff over the age of 35, expanded to women over the age of 25 in 1967. Screening was not yet available on the NHS.

In 1976, M&S became the first company in Europe to introduce a mobile breast screening unit which visited stores nationwide.

We started to raise concerns with our suppliers about artificial additives in foods, especially in proteins.

We won an award for social responsibility in European business. The award praised our staff welfare programme and the work we did with local communities.

A statement was made to shareholders by M&S Chairman Sir Marcus Sieff ‘We recognise our social responsibilities and help the communities in which our customers and staff live’. The policy included making donations and raising over £70,000 for charity throughout the year.

Community and charity work continued to be important to us in the 1980s. Charity donations included £1 million to a charity providing care for older people and £4.3 million towards arts, medical projects and community welfare.

M&S became the first major British retailer to supply only free range eggs. By 2002 we ensured all eggs used in our food were free range.

Genetically modified food was banned in our stores from this year.

Marks & Start was launched; a work experience programme which helps people who are homeless, have disabilities, are lone parents or are young and unemployed get into work. Over 10,000 work experience placements were taken up and the scheme continues to run each year.

The Eat Well logo was introduced on all healthy food products, making it easier for customers to eat and enjoy a healthy, balanced diet.

We started working with Shelter, raising money through our annual Shelter Christmas Food on the Move campaign. Between 2005 and 2016 we raised £8.6 million for Shelter and one in five calls to its helpline are funded by M&S donations.

By 2006 all tea and coffee sold in store was Fair Trade. We also began using only Fair Trade sugar in jams and marmalades.

We were named sustainable fish retailer of the year and invested in lobster hatcheries to help dwindling lobster stocks in Cornwall, as well as launching exclusive welfare priority to ‘Lochmuir’ salmon.

The Look Behind the Label campaign was launched, making customers aware of our policies on ethical and manufacturing issues. Actions included removing hydrogenated fats from all our food, reducing salt and highlighting our animal welfare commitments.

Plan A launched. We made 100 ethical and environmental commitments that we planned to achieve in five years. It was named Plan A ‘because when it comes to saving the planet there is no Plan B’.

All artificial colourings and flavourings were removed from our food, including sweets and soft drinks.

This year saw the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge. All money raised went to the environmental charity Groundwork. Within the first six months, the scheme raised over £500,000 for the charity and saved c.150 million carrier bags from going to landfill.

Cheshire Oaks store opened, at the time it was one of the largest sustainable retail stores in the world. Designed to be the most carbon efficient premier store, it takes a holistic approach to key sustainability factors such as water, carbon, biodiversity, the community, materials and zero waste to landfill.

The Make your Mark scheme launched in partnership with The Princes Trust. The scheme provides skills and training for young people who are unemployed to help them get into the job market.

We launched Plan A 2020. Having achieved a large number of the goals from the original plan (including becoming carbon neutral, sending zero waste to landfill and reducing packaging by 25%), Plan A 2020 produced new, revised commitments.

The community volunteering aspect of Spark Something Good was launched, with the task of transforming 24 community projects in 24 hours.

We started working with Neighbourly to redistribute unsold food from stores to local communities, helping charities such as food banks, community centres, community cafes, and hospices.

We introduced Plan A 2025 with new, revised and existing commitments, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer.

We became the first retailer to share DisabledGo Access Guides containing detailed information on stores’ accessibility for people with disabilities and their carers.

In 2018 77% of the cotton sourced for M&S products was grown to Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) standards using more sustainable methods – meaning M&S cotton helps farmers use fewer pesticides, less water and make more profit.

We launched a plastic bring-back initiative enabling customers to return non-recyclable plastic packaging to selected stores. The plastic is recycled into store fittings, furniture and playground equipment for schools.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic we donated 1000s of t-shirts for NHS Nightingale London uniform and clothing packs for patients, plus 4,000+ pyjama sets, used as scrubs, to NHS Derbyshire.

M&S was one of the first companies to sign the Call to Action on human rights abuses: Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region, in line with our commitment to ensuring our supply chains are sustainable and ethical.

We committed to giving extra support to families by funding an additional £5 per week for each £15 lunch voucher redeemed at M&S via the Government’s free school meals scheme in England.

We reset Plan A on our mission to become a net zero business across our entire value chain by 2040. Net zero means that we don’t add any more greenhouse emissions to the atmosphere than we take out of it.