Please mind the publicity gap

Marks and Sparks chief executive Stuart Rose has come under heavy fire recently for running two Bentleys after rather dramatically committing to make the company carbon neutral by 2012. Publicly, I have no sympathy, but privately I know how he feels.

I’m sure every employee has noticed the reality gap between public announcement and private practice, especially where the rush to go green is concerned. There’s no doubting the commitment, but just as doubtless is the pressing need not to shackle staff when their opposite numbers are free to indulge. Rose had said he was ordering a BMW 7-series engineered to run on hydrogen, a bold move predictably stymied when BMW’s hydrogen programme didn’t keep up with his car-change schedule. So he took delivery of a Bentley Silver Spur instead, which (according to the article I read) he’s now going to dump in favour of, well we don’t know yet, but I’m betting there’s an M&S fleet manager in heavy consultation with the PR department (“The Lexus RX400h is a hybrid, that’ll do.” “He’ll drive a 4×4 over my dead body”). Don’t worry Stuart, there’s a new hybrid Lexus LS luxury saloon out soon that should fit the bill perfectly.

There will always be a clash when conservation meets capitalism, but once you’ve got to the top, you’re expected to lead by example and become the embodiment of your company ethos, which, I’m sorry Stuart, means avoiding the nickname ‘Two Bentleys’ (luckily not as catchy as ‘Two Jags) if you’ve just told the world “there is no Plan B” when it comes to tackling global warming.

Public affair

Private commitment is a completely different matter. Bosses are free to leave the tap running while brushing their teeth, or boil a full kettle when they only want one cup. No-one will know. But a car is very public, and that’s something that trickles right down the fleet. If your company HQ has a giant car-park full of executive motors ready for their daily motorway dash, it’s a visible sign you haven’t stuck to the commitment to get a third of the workforce commuting by bike.

I’m actually jealous of Marks and Spencer. I’d love to win eco fleet manager of the year and be cheered to the podium by colleagues freshly energised from their morning pedal. But without the loyal and comparatively sealed corporate culture of a big company like M&S behind me it ain’t going to happen. Then again, there’s not much hope it’ll happen at M&S either, not when the boss is purring past every morning in one of his two Bentleys.