Co-op Membership has changed
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Today we’ve released our #TheCoopWay Report – our annual review of ethics and sustainability for 2017. For the first time we’re launching our report alongside our Annual Report so our members can see the full picture of our financial and ethical performance.
Results to be proud of
This year our report includes many highlights, which all our members and our colleagues can be proud of;
- £29.7m invested in communities locally in the UK and around the world
- 54% reduction in direct greenhouse gas emissions since 2006, which means we’ve hit our reduction target three years early
- recognised as the number 1 UK campaigning business – campaigning against modern slavery and tackling loneliness with British Red Cross
- 71% of Co-op branded product packaging is easy to recyclable – we’re aiming for 80% by 2020
- first UK retailer to sell and use only Fairtrade cocoa in own-brand products
- only major retailer to offer 100% British fresh meat
- held the Fair Tax mark since 2015
- raised over £8m from sales of our bottled water to fund water projects in partnership with The One Foundation over 11 years
Doing business responsibly
This year, as part of our #TheCoopWay report, we’ve looked at how we can report on the wider social impact our Co-op generates in local communities with three independent case studies. These case studies have assessed the social value of;
- Co-op funded clean water projects in Malawi
- Co-op’s apprenticeship programme
- Co-op’s Local Community Fund
The results of these case studies are being used to shape our thinking on how we create value for our members through our Co-op difference. Read more about the approach and findings of these case studies in the report.
Our long history of campaigning supports our approach to sustainability, and this report covers the impacts of our work to tackle loneliness and modern slavery. You can read more about the steps we took in 2017 to tackle modern slavery in our business and supply chains in our 2017 Modern Slavery Statement too.
To read more on how we’re doing business responsibly and read the full report at www.coop.co.uk/sustainability.
Paul Gerrard
Policy & Campaigns Director
Read more on our campaigning work here;
I’ll tell you what is ethical – boycotting The S*n and Daily Fail “newspapers”. Give the members a democratic referendum to stop funding hate.
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100% British Meat but is there a guarantee that it is NOT Halaal. I avoid meat because of the Halaal method of slaughter.
Philomena Leech
Member No 633174 9101 1777 3307
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All Co-op own-brand fresh and frozen meat and poultry sold has been humanely stunned prior to slaughter, and all abattoirs and processing plants supplying our own-brand products are required to work to the standards laid down by our strict animal welfare requirements as well as the Humane Slaughter Association in their Codes of Practice.
We do sell some branded Halal certified meat in a small number of stores where there is sufficient demand, but again this is all pre-stunned prior to slaughter.
^Ian
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Great to see you sell only British meat, trouble is it is still most likely halal slaughtered which is very cruel to the animal. Could you not sort out some labelling to say it is halal or not?
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Will you be looking into reducing/eliminating Palm Oil in your Own Brand products & thereby influencing other suppliers to reduce/eliminate the use of Palm oil in its products please?
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[…] can read the highlights or the full report in this blog post by our Policy & Campaigns Director Paul […]
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