M&S to start selling loose fruit and veg in shift away from plastic. As part of London store trial greengrocers will also offer tips on how to prevent food waste. Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) is to start selling more than 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables free of all plastic packaging, in a trial that will put the traditional greengrocer back on the shop floor and revive the use of paper bags. As the retailer steps up its drive to reduce plastics, shoppers at its store in Tolworth, south-west London, will be able to pick their own loose produce displayed in two separate aisles. Trained greengrocers will be on hand to help customers and offer tips on how to keep fresh produce and prevent food waste at home. As part of the trial M&S has also removed best before date labels from fresh fruit and veg. Shoppers will be offered more perishable items such as soft fruits and berries in compostable punnets. M&S has also committed to introducing additional lines of loose produce and more sustainable alternatives to plastic in every UK store, which it says could reduce plastic waste by 580 tonnes over two years. The plan will involve replacing plastic produce bags with paper ones and phasing out plastic barcode stickers
Reckitt Benckiser chief Rakesh Kapoor to step down. CEO to exit after eight-year tenure in top job dogged by pay criticism as share price slumped. Rakesh Kapoor, the £100m boss of the firm behind brands from Dettol to Durex, is to leave the company after a troubled couple of years blighted by a cyber-attack, criticism over his pay and factory disruption. Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) said Kapoor would retire as chief executive by the end of 2019, after 32 years at the consumer goods firm and eight in the top job. Kapoor was expected to leave the company having earned more than £100m during his chief tenure. His pay package between 2011 and 2017 totalled nearly £86m, while his 2018 salary was yet to be disclosed. Shares increased from about £32 at the time of his appointment to a high of £80 in July 2017, but they have since fallen to £60. Kapoor’s pay was cut by £11m to £12.5m for 2017, after a sharp fall in the share price and conversations with Reckitt Benckiser shareholders, some of whom had expressed concern that the company’s pay policy permitted excessive payouts.
