The UK’s Marks & Spencer is planning its first eco factories, one in Sri Lanka and two in Wales, that will harness the latest renewable-energy and recycling technology to act as a blueprint for other firms, The Times Online reports.

Mike Barry, the head of corporate social responsibility, said: “M&S has made a significant commitment to reducing its environmental impact, and that has to be picked up by our supply chain. They know that if they want to be pursuing business with us in the future, they have got to come on the journey with us.”

The factories aim to be carbon neutral, use renewable energy and send no waste to landfill. Their different  features will include a ‘?green roof’ made from vegetation, the ability to harvest rainwater, compressed rice straw boards for partitioned walls and the use of sun to light production areas.

In addition, Marks & Spencer stores across Ulster will be the first in the UK to charge customers 5p for a plastic bag as part of a major ‘green’ pilot project, The Belfast Telegraph reports.

Hundreds of manufacturers are scheduled to attend a conference on Thursday, at which M&S will launch an internet facility, where it hopes manufacturers will swap ideas on how to become greener.

The initiatives are part of M&S’s Plan A initiative. Here’s an update on M&S’s progress on all of its environmental initiatives.