CONSUMER COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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COMMUNAUTÉ EUROPÉENNE DES COOPÉRATIVES DE CONSOMMATEURS
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY OF CONSUMER COOPERATIVES
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONSUMER CO-OPERATIVES WORLDWIDE (CCW)
PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE ALLIANCE
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Executive Summary I. Consumer Cooperative Social Responsibility INTRODUCTION ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 6 RETAILERS & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 6 WHAT ARE CONSUMER COOPERATIVES? ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 7 CONSUMER COOPERATIVE APPROACH TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 10 COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 10 CONSUMER COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: SOME BEST PRACTICES ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 12 CONSUMER COOPERATIVES & CSR: REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 22 EXTERNAL REPORTING ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 22 INTERNAL REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 22 CONCLUSIONS ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 23 II. Euro Coop members' CSR best practices PEOPLE ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 24 SOK‐FINLAND ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 24 COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 24 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 25 EROSKI‐SPAIN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 26 KF ‐SWEDEN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 27 PRODUCTS ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 29 EROSKI‐ SPAIN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 29 COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 30 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 32 PRINCIPLES ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 33 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 33 SOK, FINLAND ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 34 EROSKI, SPAIN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 35 ENVIRONMENT ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 36 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 36 SOK‐FINLAND ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 39 KF‐SWEDEN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 40 EROSKI‐ SPAIN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 40 COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 41 COMMUNITY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 44 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 44 SOK‐FINLAND ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 45 3
COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 47 DEMOCRACY ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 48 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 48 KF‐SWEDEN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 48 COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 49 DEVELOPMENT ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 50 COOP ITALIA ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 50 KF‐SWEDEN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 53 THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 54 EROSKI‐SPAIN ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 55 4
FOREWORD orporate Social Responsibility is the new “religion” in business. Investor‐owned companies are now rushing to compete on the basis of who is more socially responsible, or who can best communicate its responsibility. C For consumer cooperatives social responsibility is their nature. As member‐owned and democratically‐controlled enterprises, consumer cooperatives have a different and unique approach to social responsibility. For consumer cooperatives Social Responsibility is not a market issue and they do not seek economic benefits from it. On the contrary, it is by increasing the economic benefits of cooperative enterprises that social activities can be developed. Furthermore, cooperatives have a holistic approach to social responsibility, not limiting themselves to environmental issues or sponsorships. To this end they carry out many activities in the fields that the International Co‐operative Alliance established as indicators for cooperative social responsibility: People; Products; Principles; Environment; Community; Democracy; and Development Euro Coop, the European association of consumer cooperatives produced this report to communicate to its members and other stakeholders some of the best practices in terms of social responsibility. It only takes into account some of these practices and only in 5 countries (Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The reason for this was the limit of pages for this report and therefore it must be understood that this is not a comprehensive work. The report is divided into two main parts. The first part gives a general overview of consumer cooperatives, their approach to social responsibility, the indicators used and some examples. The second part is an annex with the compilation of best practices in a more detailed way. More information about these or other activities can be found in the different Reports of the individual cooperative organisations or by request to the Euro Coop Secretariat in Brussels. This is a work in progress. We intend to develop it in the future and create a more comprehensive database of social responsibility practices from all our member organisations. In any case, we feel this report can give a precise picture of the nature and commitment of consumer cooperatives towards social responsibility. Rodrigo Gouveia Secretary General of Euro Coop 5
I.
Consumer Cooperative Social Responsibility I NTRODUCTION RETAILERS & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Aware of their growing importance, retailers are more and more communicating on CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility, as such, emerged in the late 1990’s as a tool enabling companies not only to make them appear more social and environmental‐friendly, but also to go beyond plain economic logic and to be fully aware of and integrated to social and environmental concerns facing the world. Social and eco‐labels are important CSR tools developed by retailers, as they enable consumers to make ethical choices and it may even be said that it fosters a Consumer Social Responsibility. A CLASSIC DEFINITION OF CSR Many definitions of CSR describe it as a concept by which companies integrate those above mentioned concerns on a voluntary basis in their business behaviour and in their interaction with stakeholders. However, CSR remains an unsettled phenomenon. To be socially responsible means going beyond legal compliance, which can even improve a company’s competitiveness as investment in the social and environmental area, as well as in business practice, may have a direct influence on productivity. Other positive economic effects result from the growing attention of consumers and investors, increasing opportunities on the markets. CSR could be described as having two dimensions: an internal and an external one. Internal dimension: 9
Human resources management (long‐life learning, empowerment of employees, better transition from school to work, responsible recruitment practices, quality in work) 9
Health and Safety at work 9
Adaptation to change (responsible restructuring) 9
Management of environmental impacts and natural resources (eco‐efficiency) External dimension: 9
Local communities (interaction with local labour & physical environment, involvement in community causes) 9
Suppliers, consumers and business partners (fair lasting relationships, design for all, etc) 9
Human Rights (codes of conduct covering working conditions, human rights and environmental aspects particularly those of their subcontractors and suppliers; fight against corruption, etc) 9
Global Environmental concerns 6
CSR is a relatively new discipline and companies are more and more inclined to engage into producing a CSR report stating their best practices in a variety of activities ranging from management to operations and human resources. CSR assessment is a transparency tool for companies in a world where stakeholders are demanding more and more information. The way they report varies. Some use their own set of guidelines, but many companies increasingly use the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). A VALUABLE TOOL, TOO OFTEN ABUSED However, CSR loses too often its credibility when companies merely use it as a marketing tool, without being firmly committed to the objectives they claim to be core to their actions. This is where cooperatives, and among them consumer ones, differ. Consumer cooperatives do develop a specific CSR approach. Before going into the CSR policies they support and their cooperative difference, a precise picture of what cooperatives are is necessary. WHAT ARE CONSUMER COOPERATIVES? OLD ROOTS FOR A STRONG AND MATURE MOVEMENT Born in the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, modern cooperatives bear a long and rich history. Founded in 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers is usually considered as the first successful cooperative enterprise, following the “Rochdale Principles”, used as a model for modern cooperatives. A group of 28 weavers in Rochdale, England, set up the society to open their own store selling items otherwise unaffordable. This first success was the one of a consumer co‐
operative. A UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL Consumer cooperatives are enterprises owned by consumers and democratically controlled by them, aiming at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of their members, who cannot be confused with shareholders. Cooperatives follow a unique business model which can be considered as truly socially responsible, with core principles such as concern for the Community and Democracy. According to the definition of the International Co‐operative Alliance (ICA), a cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly‐owned and democratically‐controlled enterprise”. 7
Cooperatives are: A N ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS Hence the focus of all cooperative activity is on individuals. Cooperatives do not have a capital based structure and therefore their activity is centred on people. V ALUE ‐ ORIENTED ORGANISATIONS The economic benefits generated by cooperative activity are not an end in themselves but a tool to reach other objectives. The ultimate goal is to meet not only the economic, social and cultural needs (present) but also the aspirations (future) of the members. Therefore the activity of cooperatives is not only centred on economic performance but must also provide solutions in terms of social and cultural activities. A very different aim than that of maximising profit for shareholders. D EMOCRATICALLY CONTROLLED ENTERPRISES ( ONE MEMBER ON E VOTE RULE ) A cooperative is democratically managed enterprise, run by its members. Cooperatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Women and men serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner. Equal voting rights means that independently of the amount of the investment made, any individual has the same rights as any other. There are no majority or minority owners. As a consequence, the ownership cannot be “seized” by anyone or by any other company. This is one of the reasons why cooperatives are born, grow and develop in close contact with local communities. Even in the case of nation‐
wide cooperatives, there is always a homogeneous spread of societal activity across the territory because in any given place where there is a member he or she will have the same “weight” as any other member. It is important not to confuse the concept of membership of a cooperative with “loyalty schemes” practiced by other types of enterprises. The word “membership” in a cooperative is used in its true meaning: a member is a structural unit of the organisation. Members have the right to vote, the right to be elected for the management bodies, the right to define the policies of the organisation, among others. It is not only about economic benefits. Members of a cooperative are owners and not clients. CO‐OPERATION: A WORLDWIDE SUCCESS Cooperatives around the world are organised in sectors: agriculture, banking and credit, fisheries, health, housing, industry and services, insurance, travel and consumers. Consumer cooperatives are those whose individual members are consumers. This means that the member of a consumer cooperative is an individual person acting as a consumer. Therefore the aim of consumer cooperatives is to meet the needs and aspirations of consumers. The accountability of managers of a consumer cooperative is to the consumers themselves and not to shareholders. Democratic accountability is direct because every individual member has a right to participate in general assemblies and elect and be elected to supervisory bodies. 8
Through their democratic governance structures consumer cooperatives are in a privileged position to understand and address the real concerns and expectations of consumers. Most critics to the cooperative form of enterprise wrongly state that it would be inefficient and doomed to fail. The reality is on the contrary really encouraging and co‐operation proves to be an important and valuable actor. Indeed, according to the ICA, cooperatives provide over 100 million jobs1 around the world, 20% more than multinational enterprises. The Cooperative Movement brings together over 800 million people around the world. Moreover, the United Nations estimated in 1994 that the livelihood of nearly 3 billion people, or half of the world’s population, was made secure by cooperative enterprises. In Europe alone, 263,000 cooperatives offer services to 160 million members (1 European citizen out of 3). CONSUMER COOPERATIVES IN EUROPE European consumer cooperatives are solid and responsible market players with a combined overall turnover of more than €70 billion, 300,000 employees, 30,000 outlets and, last but not least, 25 million consumer‐
members. European consumer cooperatives are nowadays on a positive market trend and developing fast. In many countries they are in the retailers top 5 like in Spain (Eroski), Sweden (KF/Coop Sweden), Czech Republic (UCMCC), Slovakia (Coop Jednota) or the UK (The Co‐operative Group), being market leaders in Italy (Coop Italia), Denmark (FDB/Coop Denmark) and Finland (S‐Group) for example. Even if their core activity remains food retail, consumer cooperatives also encompass various other activities such as hotels, funeral care, service station stores, gas stations, recreational activities, automotive trade, pharmacies, travel, bookshops and restaurants among others. Consumer cooperatives represent a different vision of retail in which consumers are the core. Consumer cooperatives remain the best tool for the empowerment of consumers, in a time when, unfortunately, an individualistic approach of consumption is booming. 1
ICA website: http://www.ica.coop/coop/statistics.html 9
C ONSUMER C OOPERATIVE APPROACH TO C ORPORATE S OCIAL R ESPONSIBILITY COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Social responsibility is a precept contained and defined in consumer cooperatives’ business mission. The cooperative values and principles deeply root them into the society they serve. The Cooperative Movement has got social responsibility as a founding principle and this is why social responsibility is not considered by consumer cooperatives as a new tool but as the continuity of their activities, always focused on people. The view among cooperative enterprises is that social responsibility is something which is a voluntary and natural function of all cooperatives emanating from their values and principles. As consumer cooperatives are strongly linked to the Global Cooperative Movement, their specific approach will be analysed through 7 indicators used by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) for Cooperative Social Responsibility purpose: People, Products, Principles, Environment, Community, Democracy and Development. These indicators are the most relevant ones to show the cooperative difference. 7 INDICATORS 10
P EOPLE “PEOPLE” is the fundamental stakeholder group including members, customers and employees. The aspects particularly taken into account are: health and safety, training and development, diversity, compensation, volunteering, satisfaction and access to services, among others. P RODUCTS “PRODUCTS” represents the organisation’s products/services, marketing/labelling, the supply chain and interaction with suppliers, around codes of conduct and sustainability. P RINCIPLES “PRINCIPLES” represents the underpinning values and principles, as well as the targets, monitoring and day‐to‐
day implementation of CSR throughout the organisation and externally. It attempts to identify organisations that have truly integrated CSR into their strategy and working culture. E NV IRON MENT “ENVIRONMENT” represents all environmental or green initiatives and data such as renewable energy, waste, transport, energy usage, climate change, transport, paper, animal welfare and biodiversity. Processes, accreditations and targets are also included along with research and green marketing. C OMMUNITY “COMMUNITY” represents local/national initiatives ranging from youth, healthcare, education, employment, partnerships with governments and NGOs to culture and sponsorship. D EMOCRACY “DEMOCRACY” is fundamental to highlight the cooperative difference and represents members and governance. Criteria include democratic participation, education, training, diversity, Board representation, dividends and satisfaction. D EV ELOPMENT “DEVELOPMENT” is focused more upon international initiatives, support and collaboration with other cooperatives, from philanthropy, sharing expertise, work with NGOs/Governments, disaster relief and favourable access to products. 11
CONSUMER COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: SOME BEST PRACTICES PEOPLE Consumer cooperatives enjoy a very special relationship with consumers as well as their employees. Being run by consumers, these cooperatives act as unique retail actors genuinely committed to hear, respect and take into account consumers’ needs and to satisfy them. R ELATIONS W IT H CONSUMERS Constituted to fulfil their consumer‐members needs and expectations, they are committed to develop training and education enabling consumers to be fully empowered and emancipated. Sustainable and responsible consumption remains a core objective than can only be achieved through aware and empowered consumers. Among good practices in this area, the consumer education projects developed by Coop Italia are particularly interesting. In 2007, Coop Italia’s “educating to conscious consumption” national guide containing proposals made to schools and institutions and that focuses on five products: training shoes, water, cocoa, mobile phones and snack foods. These education programmes are implemented in interested schools, as to train children and teenagers, who are already integrated to the consumer society and whose awareness has to be raised. Moreover, Coop Italia launched a website dedicated to conscious consumption, as well as a “alimenta il tuo benessere” (feed your health) didactical kit, to access a large public. The Coop School (Scuola Coop) is particularly active in designing those training and education programmes. A large range of other projects focus on TV (to make children conscious of the difference between virtual and real world), waste management, bubble‐gum, fast food, water consumption, mobile phones, chocolate and shoes. Another example of best practice is given by the Customer satisfaction tracker developed by the Co‐operative Group (UK). In 2006, the Group introduced its Customer Satisfaction Tracker, a measure of customer satisfaction for its food, pharmacy and travel businesses. The first round of satisfaction surveys was undertaken monthly from October to December 2006, each involving 500–600 telephone (Food and Travel) or exit (Pharmacy) interviews with customers of the three businesses. Customers are asked to register satisfaction levels with The Co‐operative and other retailers using a ten‐point scale. The survey enables the Group to: track overall satisfaction; identify the relative importance of the factors that drive satisfaction; and compare its performance to competitors. Many other valuable practices are developed in other countries showing consumers remain core to consumer cooperatives’ commitment (see annexes). Among consumer cooperatives’ main missions, the most important one is and still will be to provide good quality products at a reasonable price, this not only for their own members but for all their clients, as underlined in the following chapter. 12
R ELATIONS W IT H EMPLOYEES Regarding their employees, consumer cooperatives have since their foundations always favoured education and training so that employees feel considered not only as a workforce, but as human beings to be respected and whose well‐being matters. For example, in the UK, the Co‐operative Group has developed a very progressive policy which includes recognition of trade unions and active collaboration with them, personal development and training, good salary and benefits, work/life balance and a dynamic Health and well‐being policy. Concerning training, the Group believes the way to build a successful and cooperative business is to train and develop the people who work in the business. To achieve this, it is committed to ensuring, amongst other things, that all employees receive: induction training; an introduction to the cooperative values; the knowledge and skills training to meet the requirements of the job; financial support for developmental training as appropriate; and entitlement to receive performance reviews. The Group has achieved Investors in People accreditation. This national quality award recognises organisations that aim to improve performance by developing their employees. Moreover, consumer cooperatives, in close connection with the labour movement since their foundation, have developed excellent working conditions. For example, they tend to favour long‐term and permanent contracts for their employees. They also strive for equality between men and women, as shown for example with the Equality Observatory created by Eroski. Eroski developed an Equality Plan with the view to benefiting its workforce and society as a whole on two levels: conveying its respect for human rights and equality on the workplace to its suppliers and subcontractors, thereby providing an incentive for more than 5,800 organisations, providing an example of good practices for the business world. To monitor the Plan, Eroski created the Equality Observatory, a body made up of 17 workers from different areas and representing different interests which is responsible for performing a real‐world diagnosis of the situation of female workers within the organisation. This diagnosis allows for the incorporation of their demands, needs and aspirations, thus guaranteeing the effectiveness of the measures. 13
PRODUCTS G OOD QUALITY , AFFORDAB LE PRICE Products are core to consumer cooperatives’ business. Driven by their values and principles, consumer cooperatives offer a wide range of products, promoting affordable prices and good value for money policies. The aim is not to have the lowest price possible, but the best one. Indeed, the needs and expectations of consumer‐members entail a holistic approach of consumption. Consumer co‐
operators are fully aware of the power of consumption in the supply chain. Social, ethical and environmental concerns are hence also integrated to the product and its price. Consumer cooperatives know that a ridiculous price may hide a bad‐quality product, inappropriate working conditions or commercial unfairness in the supply chain. Consumer cooperation is a means for consumers to have a real influence on the supply chain, a real influence on the products they consume. They are controlling their own consumption because they own the enterprise. Consumers play a key role in defining the products sold to them, as it is illustrated by the Italian example. In Italy, products are evaluated by the consumer‐members before becoming Coop own‐branded. The test is based on a confrontation with leader brands in each market. Before being put on the market, each product after all the scientific verification has to undergo the tasting test for food products or the functionality test for non food products. Only the products that pass the test become Coop Italia’s own‐brand products. Since 2000 more than 205,000 members took part in 1026 tests and the products that were approved represent about 84% of the total. For consumer cooperatives, affordable prices do not go with bad quality. Along with inspections such as the ones described below, they promote healthy products be they GM‐free (Eroski, Coop Italia) or with reduced pesticides. In Spain, Eroski guarantees that its own brand contains no genetically‐modified ingredients. To ensure this undertaking is complied with, there is a work programme that controls the absence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). External bodies such as authorities and NGOs carry out blind testing of Eroski’s own‐brand products: this allows Eroski to state with some confidence that the controls can be seen as a deterrent that promotes the proper behaviour of the suppliers with which the Spanish consumer cooperative works. In the UK, The Co‐operative Group has developed a market‐leading Pesticides Policy, which seeks to reduce the use of pesticides in all of its own‐brand fresh and frozen produce (see details in the annex). Nevertheless, food labelling is also a very important element on the path towards sustainable consumption. Clear and non‐misleading labelling enables consumers to make sound choices and consumer cooperatives are particularly active in this field, for example in Great‐Britain with the Co‐operative Group or in Spain with Eroski, where allergy information and contact phone numbers are provided. T HE FOOD CRISIS In a time of food crisis, consumer cooperatives try to limit price inflation, and on that account the attitude of Coop Italia (n°1 Italian retailer) whose action to stabilise prices for consumers halved its profits, is exemplary. Indeed, in 2007, Coop Italia’s profits almost halved after the group decided to keep prices stable and to firmly 14
limit price inflation. The drop of 43% in the profits resulted from a choice made by Coop Italia in order to keep prices low and to safeguard consumers’ purchasing power. Consumer cooperatives are committed to protect consumers by all means available. Losing profits is not negative as such, provided that it enables to safeguard the interest of the consumer‐members and the consumers as a whole. F A IR RELATIONS W IT H SUPPLIERS Products sold by consumer cooperatives do not only have to be of good quality must they must also incorporate other values. Indeed, consumer cooperatives consider that the supply chain must be taken into account as a whole. This is why many Euro Coop members increasingly promote Fair Trade products and sound sourcing. Among other tools, codes of conduct tend to be established with suppliers. Careful monitoring of suppliers does not mean consumer cooperatives are suspicious towards them. On the contrary, many consumer cooperatives favour stable partnerships with their suppliers and promote capacity‐
building policies (see annex) as underlined in the following best practices. Fair and lasting agreements are core to the behaviour towards suppliers. One illustration of capacity building and sound sourcing is provided by the Co‐operative Group. The Group was a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) – an alliance of companies, non‐
governmental organizations (NGOs) and trades unions established in 1997, who work together with the aim of improving working conditions in supply chains; be it regular employment, the provision of living wages or freedom of association. In 1999, the Trading Group established a Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct, developed with reference to the ETI Base Code and the ILO conventions. This ‘continuous improvement’ code is available in a number of languages and is issued to all own‐brand suppliers at the commencement of trade, requiring them to commit to work towards minimum standards for working conditions. Compliance with sound sourcing criteria is referenced in all letters of agreement with suppliers, and work is underway in 2008 to make this requirement more explicit. Another example comes from Spain where the Spanish Eroski established partnerships with suppliers which are indefinite in duration and subject to lasting agreements that ensure sustainable custom for the farmer. It also promotes local and regional products permanently. Since 1996, Eroski has been supporting regional and local suppliers through an initiative that is unique in the sector. This is a permanent in‐store area where local producers offer their products in the network of Regional Shops and the local sections in Eroski hypermarkets. For the promotion of regional products, Eroski has signed a range of agreements with authorities and institutions. Eroski has been working many years with local authorities and agro‐food associations in Andalucía, Malaga and Galicia. Similar patterns apply for other consumer cooperatives, for example Coop Italia and its local suppliers of peppers, tomatoes, aubergine and clementines in particular. Consumer cooperatives, devoted to the development of local communities and considering society as the most precious good, specially support local retailers. Contrary to many retailers, consumer cooperatives consider that fairness in business relations must also fully apply in our continent and they are firmly engaged in promoting intelligent and win‐win partnerships. 15
PRINCIPLES F IRM CSR COMMITMENT For consumer cooperatives, CSR is not a mere marketing tool. It stems from their founding values, deeply rooting cooperatives into the society and local communities. Hence, the social impact of consumer cooperatives is carefully monitored by their members, through general assemblies and/or other supervisory bodies. I NTERNA L A ND EXTERNAL EVALUATION In addition to that, many consumer cooperatives in Europe have developed special bodies covering social responsibility, like the Ethics committee of the Spanish Eroski. The Ethics committee is made up of the Director‐General, the Consumer Director, the Social Responsibility Director, the Members' Director and the Purchasing Director, which offers efficient management that provides a response to its stakeholders and covers the rights of consumers, workers, suppliers and the community at large. Eroski develops a global management model supported by both horizontal and vertical management systems, covering Eroski’s commitments to economic efficiency, customer satisfaction, the environment, defence of human rights, workplace regulations and the fight against corruption. All consumer cooperatives have since their origin integrated social responsibility into their working culture. Codes of conduct adopted by some members clearly highlight their willingness to act in a socially sustainable way, willingness which is all the more evident as consumer cooperatives take part to global CSR projects or frameworks such as the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) or the UN Global Compact. A good example of this is the SEDEX initiative, which evaluates The Co‐operative Group’s policy regarding food supply. SEDEX, or Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, was started in 2001 by a group of UK retailers and their first tier suppliers. These businesses recognised a need to collaborate and drive convergence in social audit standards and ethical self‐assessment questionnaires. The founding of Sedex would achieve two goals: to ease the burden on suppliers who were being audited multiple times and drive improvements in labour standards at production sites globally. Another valuable illustration comes from Eroski who is a founding member of Fundacion Entorno, promoting sustainable business in Spain, and is also member of the commission that is drawing up the conceptual framework for social responsibility in Spain, promoted by AECA, the Spanish Accounting and Business Administration Association. Besides, its undertakings, set forth in its Code of Conduct, cover the entire value chain, and involve employees, subcontractors and core suppliers. They are monitored by means of an annual internal audit, based on the self‐
assessment tool provided by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs. Awards consumer cooperatives received testify their valuable CSR activities and genuine commitment. For example, the Co‐operative Group received in 2007 the Queen’s award for enterprise‐sustainable development (April 2007): for ethical investments, fair trade issues, community investment, environmental assessment in transports and packaging. Another good example is Eroski which received the European Business Environment award in 2006, 2007 and 2008. 16
ENVIRONMENT Climate is changing. Consumer cooperatives are not among those saying nothing can be done about it. Fighting for consumers’ well‐being, they believe the protection of the environment is of utter importance for present and future generations. S OUND SOURCIN G As retailers, consumer cooperatives strive to mainstream sustainable consumption and production. This means not only looking at the products consumers buy in the stores but also at the way they are produced and how they get to the stores. Soundly sourced and organic products are promoted as well as consumer education. For example SOK takes due account that Finland is a sparsely populated country with long distances between towns and cities. It is both economically and environmentally sound to deliver goods to consumers in as rational manner as possible, avoiding unnecessary transport, packaging and unloading. Co‐operation between trade and industry enhances information management and provides improved opportunities for planning logistics functions. Another example is provided by Eroski, environmental management also covers our supply chain through a programme of classifying suppliers based on the extent to which they implement an ISO 14001 or EMAS‐compliant environmental management system. Under the "e+5" approach, 2005 saw the classifying of 39% own‐brand suppliers, a figure which rose to 81% in 2006. This approach also includes a comprehensive help and training dossier made available to its suppliers to help them to gradually progress to certification of their system. Eroski have a scoring system which it uses to classify each supplier with a score that complements the e+5 classification and which is used as an indicator to monitor the level of compliance with the Management Plan. As for logistics, Eroski set up the Green Transport Forum. The mission of this Forum is to implement measures to help minimise CO2 emissions from Grupo Eroski goods transportation, working on the following pioneering initiatives: Inverse flow logistics and eco‐efficient urban distribution, the use of means other than trucks, the use of additives in its trucks’ fuel, ecological driving. Consumer education and involvement in the field of energy and environment is actively promoted by consumer cooperatives, as no success can be achieved in the future with passive consumers. In that respect, the “progetto energia” run by Coop Italia in 2006 is very interesting. During the Energy year of UNESCO, in 2006, Coop Consumatori Nordest, wanted to give a strong signal in its engagement for the promotion of aware consumption behaviours on the issue of energy saving. The project consisted in two stages: in the first stage the cooperative organized a series of training meetings open to public on the issue of domestic ecology. All the people taking part in the meetings could ask for an analysis of their household’s energy consumption that is free for cooperative members. Funding will be made easy with the help of the cooperative, and members will then gain access to specific energy saving technologies. In the second stage Coop Consumatori Nordest issued a Carta Servizi (Services Card) for professionals and companies that have an agreement with Coop Italia, in the field of energy management. This proved to be very valuable to reduce energy consumption. Local sourcing of products is also a valuable tool used to reduce environmental impacts of logistics, used by many members of Euro Coop. 17
S USTA INAB LE STORES Not only do consumer cooperatives take care about the environmental impact of the production, distribution and consumption of the products they sell, but also they develop new patterns for the stores in order to reduce energy consumption and generate some energy through own sources. For example, Coop Italia aims at improving the energy efficiency of buildings and factories through remote monitoring and regulation systems: over 350 points of sales are equipped with supervision and control that act on the whole outlet and that manages in a one stop shop the cooling and heating systems (see more details in the related annex). Nevertheless, consumer cooperatives are aware that energy efficiency is not enough. This is why they have decided to source their energy from renewable sources or to generate their own energy, as it is the case of the Co‐operative Group. During 2006, virtually all (98%) of the electricity supplied to the Group (some 743,170,286 kWh, or 743 GWh) was sourced from good quality renewable sources – exclusively wind, hydro and biomass technologies. This makes the Group one of the largest purchasers of green electricity in the world, and supports annual CO2 savings of 320,000 tonnes. The Co‐operative Group has made significant progress in the development of its own renewables capacity. Besides, consumer cooperatives have been pioneers in waste management and remain engaged in its development, be it for their stores or their consumers. Retailers may be quite often just seen as a link between suppliers and consumers, but consumer cooperatives, acting as responsible undertakings, have chosen to play an active role in the promotion of a greener world. C LIMATE CHANGE The actions taken by individual cooperative societies in the field of environmental protection are necessary to help in the fight against Climate Change. Nevertheless, to be more efficient and to give an extra impetus to these actions, European consumer cooperatives are preparing a common framework with an integrated strategy to fight against Climate Change in the context of Euro Coop and Consumer Cooperatives Worldwide (CCW). This common framework is set to be approved in early 2009 and it will help in sharing experiences, expertise and best practices. Furthermore, the International Cooperative Alliance has also called for its members to further develop their actions in this field. Consequently, particularly in Europe, cooperatives from all sectors of economic activity are studying possible ways to move forward in a coordinated way. After all, one of the cooperative principles states that “Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures”. COMMUNITY Rooted in the local communities which founded them, consumer cooperatives encourage their local development and support a wide range of social and cultural initiatives. Consumer cooperatives are enterprises who care for the community. Helping the community matches with the expectations of our consumer‐members who are fully aware to be part of the community and favour its development. Responsible undertakings, consumer cooperatives are embedded in the community and act to strengthen its cohesion. Quite often, they are the only remaining shops in remote areas, offering products and services to local communities. 18
S OCIA L AN D CULTURA L ACTIVITIES Social and cultural activities, as well as charity, are part of the actions undertaken by consumer cooperatives. These initiatives focus on education and training on health issues or consumption, food redistribution, food education or charity projects. Some best practices can be found for example in Finland, Italy and the UK. The Finnish S Group has developed a co‐operation programme with the Finnish Red Cross and the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. The S Group has brought to the table its network of regional cooperative enterprises, grocery markets and department stores, hotels and restaurants, service station stores, car dealerships and hardware and agricultural outlets. Through its co‐operation, the S Group aims to bring the Red Cross into closer touch with its member families and its personnel. This provides the opportunity for the Finnish Red Cross to reach out to over 2 million Finns and thus gain additional resources for helping at the local level. The patronage project of co‐operation between the S Group and the Finnish Red Cross is drumming up membership. The number of Finnish Red Cross members has risen steadily throughout the period of co‐operation. Moreover, Finnish Red Cross products are sold in the S Group’s chains. The S Group’s nationwide co‐operation with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare got underway in 2000. Prior to this, the regional cooperative enterprises had already co‐operated with local associations within the framework of projects such as the ”A Good Start to School days” campaign. The S Group also funded the development of an Internet service to support parents and the arrangement of regional ”Parents together” events. These events, which have achieved tremendous popularity, have been arranged in the regional cooperative enterprises’ areas up and down the country and they have covered a number of themes relating to parenthood. Sustainable development of local communities through healthy food habits is actively put forward, for example by the Co‐operative Group. In 2006, The Co‐operative Fund provided £48,795 to Local Food Links in Bridport – a network of organisations active in supporting healthier and more sustainable local food systems – to establish a new school meals cooperative. The project seeks to develop a school and parent‐led model of school food provision that prioritises healthy eating. The project enables six primary schools to source healthy school meals from the cooperative. Another example of British best practice is the “Farm to Fork” project, designed to enable children from local primary schools from Oadby near Leicester to visit a working farm, providing a learning experience that gives primary school children a better understanding of where their food comes from. Even if it may be challenging, consumer cooperatives strive for their communities. For example, In 2006, Coop Italia’s engagement for the diffusion on a large scale of products coming from territories confiscated to the mafia obtained very valuable outcomes. The cooperation with the “Placido Rizzoto – Libera Terra” Cooperative from Corleone in Sicily led to the distribution of 13 new products in the points of sale. 19
DEMOCRACY D EMOCRATIC CON TROL Democracy is the core value of cooperatives. Cooperatives differ completely from other forms of enterprise as they are democratically‐controlled by their members. The supreme ruling body is the General Assembly gathering all the members, who have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) independently of the amount of capital invested. Each layer of representation is also accountable to the membership. Consumer‐members actively participate in shaping the cooperative’s orientation and policies. They have to right to vote and the right to be elected for the management bodies. Because they are owners of the cooperative, consumer‐members are not mere clients. Economic democracy also applies to profits. Members receive parts of the profits made, but always proportional to their transactions with the cooperative, not to the amount of capital subscribed. E NSURIN G THE DEMOCRATIC PRIN CIPLE In the past decades, consumer cooperatives experienced growing difficulties to ensure these democratic principles remained strong and “lively”. Indeed, with a growing individualisation in society, genuine member participation tended to decline, endangering the core nature of co‐operation, based on active membership. This is why, to counter this eroding participation, new ways to involve members have been invented by many Euro Coop members. The internet, questionnaires and public hearings are among the tools used to strengthen the link between management bodies and consumer‐members. Coop Italia’s “Voce ai soce” (voice to the members) project provides a good picture of this new trend, with free hearings where the members give suggestions on coop products and structured hearings of members receiving questionnaires on specific issues. As for the internet, it is more and more used in many cooperatives societies, for example by the Swedish KF, with the development of members’ panels on the internet, enabling members to give their views on various consumer and member issues. Some layers of representation have also been suppressed so as to enable more direct influence. Special committees have also been created to evaluate the respect of our founding cooperative values and social goals, for example in the UK. Indeed, the Group’s Values and Principles Committee oversees the Group’s sustainability, community and membership strategies. Appointed by the Board, it is entirely made up of non‐executive directors. Additionally, each regional board has a Values & Principles sub‐committee, which is tasked with ensuring that cooperative principles and social goals are pursued at a regional level. 20
DEVELOPMENT Another aspect highlighting the cooperative difference is the commitment towards development. This concerns not only the community as seen previously, but also development in third world countries. C O ‐ OPERA TION TOWARDS DEVELOPMEN T Socially responsibility doesn’t end in Europe’s borders. European consumer cooperatives are also socially responsible outside Europe. Promotion of Fair Trade with third‐world suppliers holds a special role in their commitment towards sustainable global development. Fair Trade, enabling consumers to make ethical and sustainable choices and producers to get out of poverty, represents an excellent illustration of conscious consumption put forward by Euro Coop members. Fair Trade, with the empowerment of providers entailed, clearly shows that international development ranks high on our agenda. I NNOVATIVE CON SUMER TOOLS Examples of other very innovative development tools genuinely involving consumers are numerous. Euro Coop’s Swedish member KF has for example implemented “development aid buttons” in its retail shops. Instead of getting a receipt for returnable bottles which can later be exchanged for cash, consumer‐members can press such a button and the money is then sent directly to a humanitarian organisation. These “Biståndsknappen” have been implemented since the end of 2004 in many in many of Coop Sweden’s shops and in an increasing number of the retail societies’ shops. Thanks to these Biståndsknappen on the returnable bottle machines in the shops, the collection boxes at the checkouts, the SEK 0.03 charge for carrier bags, and other collection methods, the Swedish consumer cooperative movement and its customers were able to collect more than SEK 20 million for two aid organisations, Kooperation Utan Gränser and Vi‐skogen during 2007. C APA CITY ‐ BUILDING PROJECTS Several specific development projects are set up by consumer cooperatives. In a period of huge uncertainty, international solidarity needs to be at the forefront, and such projects function as a link between developed and developing countries. Capacity‐building of local suppliers and communities contributes to a vision of development in which consumers are aware of their global responsibility and cooperate with those suppliers and communities to open the way leading out of poverty. Examples of projects can be found in Italy were Coop Italia launched the Tsunami project and the “Água para Dois Irmãos” project. The Tsunami project was an emergency intervention in favour of those cooperatives that were damaged by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, with a particular attention to the Hambantota and the Kalutara districts. As for the “Água para Dois Irmãos” project, it involved the construction of about 1,000 family water tanks for capturing rain water in the municipalities of the area of Serra dos Dois Irmãos in Brazil. The Spanish Eroski, through its Fundacion Eroski, founded several development projects with an open call for proposals. One of these projects is run by Fundación África Directo, carrying out an education and skills programme including seven specialist courses in Sierra Leone. The aim is to provide an opportunity for the progressive development of a society led by its women and which is based on principles of peace and cooperation. With this skills training, women can start small production cooperatives that allow them to provide for their families and also recover their self‐esteem. 21
C ONSUMER C OOPERATIVES & CSR: REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY CSR is a young discipline and too often used as a simple marketing tool. On that account, CSR reports have become more and more important to communicate CSR policies. Again, another cooperative difference can be found and underlined regarding reporting. Indeed, consumer cooperatives have a different approach in reporting CSR activities. This approach is directed in two ways: external and internal. EXTERNAL REPORTING Externally, consumer cooperatives report CSR activities in a similar way to private companies. Indeed, they publish reports communicating to the public the various results they achieved in social and environmental fields. Increasingly, many consumer cooperatives use external auditing to assess their practices and some are part of major reporting initiatives such as GRI. Nevertheless, in addition to this common, classic reporting directed towards the public, consumer cooperatives also report on their CSR activities to their members. INTERNAL REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY Members, through General Assemblies and meetings, discuss achieved results and, as owners, they have the tools to require management bodies to modify and strengthen policies and to require exhaustive explanations on possible setbacks. The main cooperative difference in this respect consists thus in a much wider reporting which include members, who are genuinely interested in the achievement of social and environmental goals. This goes far beyond classic CSR reporting in private companies. Social Responsibility activities in consumer cooperatives are not only judged by clients but also by their own members. What differentiates consumer‐members of a cooperative society from shareholders of investor‐owned companies is their different aim and vision. Consumer‐members, as all co‐operators, have come together to fulfil their economic, social or cultural needs and aspirations, not to maximise profits. The outlets they run are a means to deliver high‐quality goods at affordable prices to themselves and the community at large. Among the member’s aspirations is the genuine contribution to community development, respect for people and society progress. Socially responsible actions and behaviour are hence of the utter importance for them and not a marginal commitment. Having an irresponsible approach towards society would simply mean a breach of core cooperative philosophy and identity. Therefore, accountability to the members on CSR issues is very strict. Moreover, in some cases, special bodies have been set up, as Eroski’s Ethics Committee or the Values and Principles Committee of the Co‐operative Group. In Spain, Social Responsibility is hence a value promoted by an Ethics Committee made up of the Director‐
General, the Consumer Director, the Social Responsibility Director, the Members' Director and the Purchasing Director, which offers efficient management that provides a response to stakeholders and covers the rights of consumers, workers, suppliers and the community at large. In Great‐Britain, the Values and Principles Committee of the Co‐operative Group makes sure that social responsibility is fulfilled. Besides, each regional board has a Values & Principles (V&P) sub‐committee, which is tasked with ensuring that cooperative principles and social goals are pursued at a regional level. 22
C ONCLUSIONS This report shows what being Socially Responsible means in the daily life and behaviour of consumer co‐
operatives and the members they are based on. From relations to suppliers to consumer education, from support to the local community to development projects in developing countries, from the constant strive for good quality products to the cooperative democratic empowerment, consumer cooperatives are, by nature, socially responsible enterprises. Cooperative enterprises, owned by the consumers themselves, embody a different vision of consumption favouring fully aware and empowered consumers, which directly influence the conditions of production and entail social, economic, environmental and cultural aspects. Consumer cooperatives, efficient value‐driven retailers, are fully aware of their Cooperative Social Responsibility. In the following pages, a compilation of some Euro Coop members’ best practices can be found, giving more details about the previously mentioned initiatives and others. As mentioned before, this is not an exhaustive compilation because it only takes into account some of the member organisations of Euro Coop and only a small part of their work. More exhaustive information can be found in the individual Social Responsibility Reports of these organisations or on demand to Euro Coop’s secretariat. Finally, it is important to note that this is a work in progress and a larger compilation of best practices will continue to be developed by Euro Coop’s Secretariat. 23
II. Euro Coop members’ CSR best practices P EOPLE SOK‐ FINLAND WELL‐BEING AT WORK POLICIES In Finland, the S Group started to carry out a coherent plan of job well‐being activities. The S Group is fully aware of the importance of developing job well‐being and the various forms it can take as part of the Group’s management culture and day‐to‐day supervisor work. Training courses are also designed on this topic. Central to the S‐Group policy are appraisal discussions, an essential aspect of the management system. Appraisal discussions mutually delineate responsibilities, expectations and objectives as well as the factors related to reward. Occupational health, which is primarily arranged through SOK’s own and joint company occupational health units, serves as SOK Corporation’s key support function in promoting well‐being at work. Activities comprise general practitioner care, with an emphasis on occupational health, alongside activities that serve a preventive purpose and promote occupational wellbeing. Over the years, the emphasis of occupational healthcare has shifted from treating accidents and illnesses and preventive care to promoting and sustaining health and well‐being. COOP ITALIA EDUCATION PROJECTS IN SCHOOLS In Italy, very interesting education projects are developed by consumer cooperatives. One of these projects involves young teenagers (10 to 15 years old), teachers and Coop employees. This exercise of sustainable consumption is carried out in schools, where each involved pupil receives a small budget of 15 euros. With this amount of money, he has to plan and buy what he needs for a week, avoiding gadgets, toys or sweets, but looking for example for suitable meat. The pupil has to buy the right quantity with good value for money. Besides this education to responsible consumption, other aspects of the project include raising awareness on the air pollution, the polluting industry and the Co2 emissions coming from cars. A large range of other projects focus on TV (to make children conscious of the difference between virtual and real world), waste management, bubble‐gum, fast food, water consumption, mobile phones, chocolate and shoes. VOCE AI SOCI (VOICE TO THE MEMBERS) PROJECT This project wants to put members first, because they can make the difference in the social and the business aspects of the Coop. This project was started in 2004 and became permanent in 2006. The members are organised in two ways: free hearings where the members give suggestions on coop products and the structured hearings of members receiving questionnaire on specific issues. Five big cooperatives took part in the free hearings project and 20 local organizations were involved. In 2006, the interviewed members were 181 and gave 220 contributions. The main concern is the development of the products. 24
In 2006, structured hearings carried out an inquiry of 2294 interviews regarding lifestyles and food habits. PROTECTION AND INFORMATION OF CONSUMERS Coop Italia carries out activities of consumer protection with three main tools: promotion of legislative change (GMOs; pharmaceuticals), information and communication campaigns, education and seminars. For example, in 2006 the Coop communication campaign on consumer issues involved 43,519 people. EMPLOYEES EMPOWERMENT Coop Italia is applying CSR principles to its behaviour towards the employees. In 2006 Coop Italia worked to develop the principles into concrete guidelines: The main fields of intervention were the following: development of the participation, quality of work. In 2006 (latest data available), 82.7% of cooperative employees had a fixed contract. The participation of the employees in the life of the cooperative is the core of the cooperative business. The training of cooperative employees takes place both inside the cooperatives and in the Coop School. Inside the cooperatives they focus their attention on the improvement of vocational training. The main goal of the Scuola Coop is courses aimed at reinforcing the cooperative values and identity. Coop Italia’s commitment to reduce work‐related risks has continued with training, and attention to facilities and equipment. THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK TRADE UNION RECOGNITION, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING, SALARY AND BENEFITS, WORK/LIFE BALANCE, HEALTH AND WELL‐BEING In the UK, Trade Unions are specially well‐considered and respected by consumer cooperatives. The Co‐
operative Group appreciates that trade unions make an important contribution to business and society as a whole. During 2007, four trade unions were recognised by the Group as a whole, covering the range of employees across the business. At the beginning of 2008, the Cooperative Financial Services (CFS) and the recognised trade unions reviewed the effectiveness of current agreements and have made improvements, setting up among others a consultative framework. This framework of meetings is to support negotiation on pay and terms and conditions of employment. It also supports a joint problem‐solving approach to strategic issues, such as business performance. Besides, the Co‐operative Group put emphasis on the training of its employees, which has been officially recognized. Indeed, the Trading Group continues to maintain its Investors in People (IiP) accreditation. This national quality award recognises organisations that aim to improve performance by developing their employees. During 2007, as previously described, CFS made a significant investment in setting up the University for All, which will lead to a radical change in the way colleagues will be supported in their development going forward. As a consequence, CFS is exploring a number of accreditation options (including, among others, IiP and accreditation through the Financial Services Skills Council) and will pursue the option that will generate both the greatest potential return for the business and the best opportunities for colleagues. In the meantime, the CFS accreditation under IiP has been allowed to lapse. 25
WELL‐BEING AT WORK In April 2007, a new Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) was rolled out across the Group, provided by ICAS. The service includes a free 24‐hour helpline, available 365 days per year, which is staffed by fully trained and qualified telephone counsellors; face‐to‐face counselling; an online information portal to ICASxtra, which is available to employees through the intranet; and the availability of a ‘LifeManagement’ practical advice line, which offers quick, confidential information on a range of everyday issues, such as financial services, family care and legal advice. The service is available to all employees and their immediate family members. The EAP was promoted during 2007 in a number of ways, including through HR representatives within each business; a desk drop of wallet cards; a poster campaign; and intranet and employee magazine articles and adverts. In addition, a presentation was given to union representatives in December 2007, at which agreement was reached on their acceptance and understanding of the scheme, its operation and the usefulness of this to their members. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TRACKER In the late 2006, the Co‐operative Group introduced a Customer Satisfaction Tracker: a measure of customer satisfaction for the Food Pharmacy and Travel businesses. Surveys are now undertaken on a monthly basis and involve 500‐600 telephone (Food and Travel) or exit (Pharmacy) interviews with customers, who are asked to register satisfaction levels with The Co‐operative and other retailers using a 10‐point scale. Benchmarking has not yet proved possible, as the data obtained for competitors was not considered sufficiently robust. Consequently, other options for generating accurate competitor satisfaction data are being investigated and, once identified and agreed by the business, benchmarks and meaningful targets will be set for the individual businesses. EROSKI‐SPAIN PREVENTION OF WORKPLACE RISKS Management of health and the prevention of workplace risks are centralized in a shared service. The Prevention Committee oversees actions in this area, which include the performance of periodic reviews of activities, the updating of the emergency plan and workplace risk prevention training. Specific measures range from simulations, programmed inspections and internal and external audits to the implementation of the system in new outlets and awareness‐raising and training campaigns. Monitoring of workers’ health is carried out via Unidades Bàsicas de Salud (UBS, Basic Health Units) or services contracted from mutual assurance companies in cases where the former are not implemented. 6 UBS cover Bask land, Murcia, Màlaga and Madrid. DISABLED PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT Eroski’s policy concerning disabled people is directed at two dimensions of disabled people: disabled as a consumer and disabled as a worker. As for the consumer side, Eroski is committed to reserve spaces for the disabled in its hypermarkets car parks that goes beyond legal requirements (12 places), and includes an area that can only be accessed with a card designed especially for them. Efficiency, proper location, vehicle accessibility, car park signposting, shopping centre accessibility have all been tested with a number of disabled organisations who, together with the Development Department, evaluated and improved the pilot project. This experience has been extended to the sales floor and headquarters. On the sales floor, special emphasis has been put on adapted trolleys, product placement (at least in the case of basic products), a special checkout and aisle widths. 26
As for the worker side, Eroski seeks to increase numbers of disabled hired, in collaboration with organisation supporting disabled but also groups with social integration difficulties. EQUALITY OBSERVATORY Consumer cooperatives are eager to promote gender equality. In this respect, the projects carried out by Eroski appear as pioneering ones. Eroski developed an Equality Plan with the view to benefiting its workforce and society as a whole on two levels: conveying its respect for human rights and equality on the workplace to its suppliers and subcontractors, thereby providing an incentive for more than 5800 organisations, providing an example of good practices for the business world. To monitor the Plan, Eroski created the Equality Observatory, a body made up of 17 workers from different areas and representing different interests which is responsible for performing a real‐world diagnosis of the situation of female workers within the organisation. This diagnosis allows for the incorporation of their demands, needs and aspirations, thus guaranteeing the effectiveness of the measures. The actions promoted by the Obervatory to date have focused upon the following areas: The elimination of physical obstacles, social prejudices and traditional roles that perpetuate discriminatory habits. The use of non‐sexist language in the workplace: a Guide for Equality‐based Communications in Eroski has been published, in collaboration with Hispacoop, and promoted professional training and internal promotional campaigns. Improving working conditions affecting the health and wellness of women, providing workshops on health at work, from both a preventative and palliative point of view. Implementing measures to help reconcile personal and professional lives: Eroski offer the chance to take advantage of more flexible or reduced hours, increases in maternity leave, etc As for the Equality Plan in itself, each objective implied objective indicators and specific actions. For example, as for the specific actions, a style book on non‐sexist language was issued, as well as criteria for using images and slogans in communication supports. Corporate communications supports were also adapted to use non‐
sexist visual and written language: Nexo and Aduana, Interdog, Sede. The male/female variable was also introduced in applications, questionnaires and information systems. KF ‐SWEDEN KEEP‐FIT AND HEALTH POLICY KF’s keep‐fit and health care policy is the foundation for keep‐fit and health efforts. The starting point is that the efforts should be preventative, with a combination of activities. Absence through illness in the parent company was 1.4%, of which 0.6% lasted 60 days or more, in 2007. Work in the field of keep‐fit and health is conducted on the basis of KF’s keep‐fit and healthcare policy, with the aim of encouraging at least ten per cent of employees to become actively involved in the company’s keep‐
fit activities. In operational terms, the work varies somewhat between companies, but the starting point is the same: efforts must be targeted in a preventive way using a combination of activities. All of the Group’s companies have links with external occupational healthcare schemes, which focus primarily on preventive measures such as ergonomics, education and health profiles. The sports club that was formed in Stockholm in 2005 has continued to grow in popularity, while at the same time there has been increased collaboration with keep‐fit centres. 27
TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR EMPLOYEES KF puts an emphasis on training programmes for employees. Management and employee development are priority areas in KF. In 2006 work started on the development of a strategic skills development plan at Group level. The plan aims to cover any skills gaps and develop employees in all functions within the Group. Within the framework of the strategic plan, a joint system for courses and training, the KF Academy, came into force in 2007. At the new KF Academy, the Group‐wide system for courses and training, employees in the Group receive further training and skills development. During the year KF introduced a central HR function and staff policy, whose practical tool is KF Academy. This is a Group‐wide online tool and knowledge database for staff training. With this, the Group’s employees are regularly given further training and skills development. The aim is to have a central function that can offer and quality‐assure courses that employees will be taking, and to adapt more clearly training programmes according to roles and jobs in the organisation. KF is also working to improve opportunities for internal transfers and careers in order to guarantee the availability of skills in the future. 28
P RODUCTS EROSKI‐ SPAIN PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS Eroski’s own‐brand quality goals lead it to implement partnerships with suppliers which are indefinite in duration and subject to lasting agreements that ensure sustainable income for the farmer. Eroski establishes agreements with trade unions and product manufacturers that promote progress at a local and regional level. Additionally, there are internal policies aimed at achieving socially responsible practices designed to support human rights, solidarity and respect for the environment. The requirement for certification of the legal and sustainable sourcing of products is a growing trend which is shared with Intercoop, the international non‐food purchasing platform for consumer cooperatives from Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Before being registered as such, suppliers are sent a code of conduct, which contains these principles and which is subject to audits. This task, designed and managed by the Ethics Committee, covers not only own‐brand ranges but also the entire purchasing centre. PERMANENT PROMOTION OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL PRODUCTS Since 1996, Eroski has been supporting regional and local suppliers through an initiative that is unique in the sector. This is a permanent in‐store area where local producers offer their products in the network of Regional Shops and the local sections in Eroski hypermarkets. For the promotion of regional products, Eroski has signed a range of agreements with authorities and institutions. Eroski works for years with local authorities and agro‐food associations in Andalucia, Malaga and Galicia. GMO‐FREE OWN‐BRAND PRODUCTS Eroski guarantees that the Eroski brand contains no genetically‐modified ingredients. To ensure this undertaking is complied with, there is a work programme that controls the absence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). External bodies such as authorities and NGOs carry out blind testing of own‐brand products. This allows Eroski to state with some confidence that the controls can be seen as a deterrent that promotes the proper behaviour of the suppliers with which they work. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS AND ANALYSES The Eroski brand includes a double‐tested guarantee of quality and food safety. What is more, the commitment to the environment and different social concerns can be seen in a wide range of products. To ensure this aim, the Quality and Environment Department has an exhaustive assurance programme, from the farm to the point of sale. This programme is supported by Eroski’s ENAC certified laboratory and a network of both internal and external auditors. Every year, more than 10,000 analyses and more than 1,400 inspections of more than 150 products are carried out for Consumer Eroski magazine. Eroski’s emphasis on "cooperative quality" eliminates unproductive activities in stores, in addition to improving the quality levels of the product on offer. To ensure that Eroski Natur fresh products meet the most demanding quality, origin and taste standards, in 2005 (latest data available), the Quality Department performed a total of 1,162 audits and inspections in farms and production centres. In addition to these periodic controls, they must pass an initial approval audit to guarantee product traceability, compliance with technical and health regulations, the implementation of a natural system and other specific requirements. 29
COOP ITALIA SA 8000 CERTIFICATION STANDARD SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International (SAI). SAI offers training in SA8000 and other workplace standards to managers, workers and auditors. It contracts with a global accreditation agency, Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) that licences and oversees auditing organisations to award certification to employers that comply with SA8000. GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY The specific goal of Coop Italia is to guarantee everyday to its consumers the good value for money. The cooperatives have a reference basket of goods which is at least the price of the competition or cheaper in 1,100 products of its supermarkets, and in 5,500 products of its hypermarkets. LIBERA TERRA PROJECT This project is a very special form of cooperation between farmers and consumers. Agricultural cooperatives have been set up on fields confiscated to the mafia in Calabria. The products of these “free fields” have got a favourable access to Coop Italia’s shelves. The project proved to be very popular in Italy and the sales almost doubled between 2005 and 2007, amounting to more than €1.1 million. APPROVED BY MEMBERS The project concerns controls and evaluations that the members make with regard to own brand products. The test is based on a confrontation with leader brands in each market. Before being put on the market, each product after all the scientific verification has to undergo the tasting test for food products or the functionality test for non food product. Only the products that pass the test become coop products. Since 2000 more than 205,000 members took part in 1026 tests and the products that were approved represent about 84% of the total. The approved by members project certifies the good value of the coop product, it represents a bottom down involvement of the coop system. There is also a top down approach with the approval of the results by the board members. In 2006 the total number of tests that were carried out were 186 of which 45 were managed by the cooperatives. In 2006 the interviewed members were 33,000. In 2006, 47 products were rejected and 10 were improved. The other products that were not approved by the members started an improvement process. At the end of 2006, 821 own brand products were approved. Not only are the consumers involved, but also cooperative employees. They are also fully involved in the choice and quality of the products. More than 100 polysensorial tests were carried out by 2600 more testers in 2006 in the “area sensoriale” laboratory, which is increasing its research activities of quality control year by year. As regards safety of products, Coop Italia often goes beyond compliance in cooperation with academic and scientific institutions. 4 million Euros were invested in 2006 in order to carry out analysis on its own branded products. 1,412 inspections and 291,900 analyses of fresh products (meat, fish, fruit and vegetables) were conducted in 2006. In general, the price of Coop Italia’s own‐brand products is inferior by 24% to that of the market leader. 30
ENLARGEMENT OF MUTUALITY Coop Italia is proceeding with the opening of cooperative bookshops with a discount of 10% for members. For some years, coop offers financial and investment products and loan through a network of promoters with SIMGEST. Some Cooperatives decided to carry out a consumer credit service in order to protect members from insolvency. Since some years the cooperatives offer to their members advantageous tourism prices through a network of agencies or cultural association. PRIVATE LABEL PRODUCTS For Coop Italia, having private label products is one of the expressions of the cooperative mission. First of all, it’s the main tool to offer members and consumers the guarantee of quality, safety and good value for money. The own‐brand product plays an important role in order to improve awareness of good consumption. The range is divided into eight categories. Solidal (Fair Trade), Ecolabel, Bio‐logici (organic) are the environmental and social products. The number of references of own‐branded products changed over the years depending on the result of the “approved by members” test, and on the needs of consumer‐members. In 2006, the number of items has increased by 4,4% compared to 2005 to a total of 2,634 products with a turnover of 2,291 million Euros. SAFEGUARDING BIODIVERSITY Coop Italia is the single Italian retailer that obtained Forest Stewardship Council certification for 50% its cellulose products from its Tutela range. Coop Italia adopted the precautionary principles as regards GMO, and asked the producers of its own branded products through supply‐chain agreements and external audit to avoid raw materials with GMOs. The certified non‐GMO products are 294. Coop Italia was the first Italian retailer to be listed in the Dolphin‐safe enterprises list. Since 2001 own‐brand tuna cans carry the logo “on the dolphin’s side”. Coop Italia also takes part in “Friend of the Sea”, an extension of the previous project, which has the goal to promote socially sustainable and eco friendly products. 31
THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK MARKET‐LEADING PESTICIDES POLICY For consumer cooperatives, safe and pure products are of utmost importance. In this respect, the Co‐operative Group has developed a market‐leading Pesticides Policy, which seeks to reduce the use of pesticides in all of its own‐brand fresh and frozen produce. The Policy determines that the use of pesticides by growers should be considered only as a last resort. In 2001, The Co‐operative Food worked with suppliers to draw up a list of pesticides where use would be prohibited (approximately 20) or restricted (approximately 30) in the production of fresh, frozen, dried and canned produce, ready meals (frozen), wine and a number of ambient grocery lines. In 2004, The Co‐operative Food established a Pesticide Advisory Group comprising individuals from The Co‐operative Food, The Co‐operative Farms, expert NGOs and the UK Government’s Advisory Committee on Pesticides, with a view to the further development of the Pesticides Policy. During 2006, consultation with suppliers sought to establish whether there is a commercial need for the use of these pesticides, and the new Pesticides Policy, containing 24 banned, 98 prohibited and 322 monitored pesticides, was formalised at the end of 2007. In 2007, an Internet‐based pesticides portal was rolled out to all tier 1 produce suppliers. The portal is designed to help suppliers comply with The Co‐operative Food’s policy requirements and to source information to control the most hazardous situations for workers, suppliers and consumers. The system allows suppliers to check the current status of all listed pesticides and to make an online derogation application for prohibited pesticides where necessary. In instances where the Pesticides Policy is breached, sourcing from the specific supplier/grower temporarily ceases, pending the conclusions of a full investigation. Where appropriate, The Co‐operative Food then secures corrective actions from the supplier; however, should these not prove to be forthcoming, the relationship with the supplier/grower will cease. ETHICAL TRADING The Group was a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) – an alliance of companies, non‐
governmental organizations (NGOs) and trades unions established in 1997, who work together with the aim of improving working conditions in supply chains; be it regular employment, the provision of living wages or freedom of association. In 1999, the Trading Group established a Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct, developed with reference to the ETI Base Code and the ILO conventions. This ‘continuous improvement’ code is available in a number of languages and is issued to all own‐brand suppliers at the commencement of trade, requiring them to commit to work towards minimum standards for working conditions. Compliance with sound sourcing criteria is referenced in all letters of agreement with suppliers, and work is underway in 2008 to make this requirement more explicit. Ultimately, The Co‐operative Food aims to demonstrate that manufacturing sites producing its own‐brand products strive to achieve ethical operations and have a genuine commitment to the criteria set out in the Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct. Work is also underway during 2008 to re‐present the Code so it better aligns with the ETI code format, and to consider formally extending the Code to cover activities of other trading businesses in The Co‐operative Group. 32
P RINCIPLES THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK SEDEX REGISTRATION FOR FOOD The Group was a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) – an alliance of companies, non‐
governmental organizations (NGOs) and trades unions established in 1997, who work together with the aim of improving working conditions in supply chains; be it regular employment, the provision of living wages or freedom of association. In 1999, the Trading Group established a Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct, developed with reference to the ETI Base Code and the ILO conventions. This ‘continuous improvement’ code is available in a number of languages and is issued to all own‐brand suppliers at the commencement of trade, requiring them to commit to work towards minimum standards for working conditions. Compliance with sound sourcing criteria is referenced in all letters of agreement with suppliers, and work is underway in 2008 to make this requirement more explicit. Ultimately, The Co‐operative Food aims to demonstrate that manufacturing sites producing its own‐brand products strive to achieve ethical operations and have a genuine commitment to the criteria set out in the Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct. Work is also underway during 2008 to re‐present the Code so it better aligns with the ETI code format, and to consider formally extending the Code to cover activities of other trading businesses in The Co‐operative Group. In 2005, The Co‐operative Food became a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex); an internet‐
based electronic database where suppliers post labour standards information, including social audit reports. From August 2007, The Co‐operative Food own brand suppliers were asked to join Sedex and complete a self‐
assessment registration, and the systematic transfer of labour international development and human rights, standards information from the existing internal system to Sedex commenced By the end of 2007, over 700 Co‐operative Food sites had registered and completed a self‐assessment on Sedex, which represents over 69% of targeted sites and around 130,000 workers. REPORTING AND ACCOUNTING As regards relations with suppliers, the Co‐operative Group believes it is equally important to have efficient accounting systems and reporting in place. This is way a particular emphasis is made on this aspect. The Co‐operative Food makes an annual submission to the ETI, which contains details of its sound sourcing management programme on a site‐by‐site basis. The ETI rates and benchmarks performance and categorises it as ‘beginner’, ‘improver’, ‘achiever’ or ‘leader’. In one of the five reviewed areas (‘commitment’), the Group’s performance in 2007 was rated as ‘leader’, with the ETI welcoming an increase in the number of clearly measurable targets set by The Co‐operative Food to monitor performance. During 2007, 190 assessments were progressed amongst suppliers to The Co‐operative Food to determine the degree of compliance with sound sourcing criteria. For the first time, a significant proportion of assessments were sourced from third parties – such as retailers and suppliers themselves – which The Co‐operative can access via the Sedex system. 33
CAPACITY‐BUILDING THROUGH WORKBOOKS Going forward, the role of The Co‐operative Food’s technical managers will be to work with suppliers to address issues identified by approved independent audit bodies. When problems are found, a corrective action plan is agreed with the supplier. Since August 2007, monthly monitoring sheets detailing the status of improvement actions have been circulated to those who manage supplier relationships. The constant capacity‐building of suppliers is notably enabled by workbooks. For example, in addition to assessments, work continued to help suppliers build skills and knowledge via capacity‐building workbooks and supplier training sessions. The workbooks allow sites to assess themselves against the Code of Conduct, identify areas of risk, consider improvement actions and pursue continuous improvement and commitment to the Code. The workbook also serves as a useful information tool for suppliers, containing information on national and international legislation. The first workbooks were rolled out in 2001, and cover a total of 16 countries, with workbooks for China, Argentina, Chile, Belize and Costa Rica updated during 2007. A workbook for UK growers was developed in collaboration with other retailers and launched in March 2008. In addition, during 2007, two one‐day seminars were delivered in China and attended by 27 suppliers. These were run by independent experts and provided the opportunity for suppliers to share best practice and understand changes to Chinese Labour Law, as well as helping to offer advice and support in addressing the underlying causes of excessive working hours, which is of particular concern in China. As part of the continued commitment to raise awareness of sound sourcing within the business, four half‐day training sessions were delivered during 2007, to buyers, category trading managers and technical managers; some 69 individuals. This covered the sound sourcing strategy and Code of Conduct and the role of buyers, and is due to be rolled out to new buyers and key operational roles in Supply Chain, Product Development and Distribution functions during 2008. Sound sourcing responsibilities for buying teams was due to be more formally integrated into role portraits and appraisals in 2008. In addition, a training session on ethical trading was delivered to representatives from the unions NACO and Usdaw in April 2008. SOK, FINLAND DEVELOPING CO‐OPERATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS The S Group is working closely and fairly with suppliers through Intrade Partners Oy and the BSCI. Intrade Partners Oy is the S Group chains’ procurement and logistics company whose primary responsibility is the apparel, cosmetics, leisure and household product areas. In addition to providing a competitive range, co‐operation between suppliers emphasized availability and improving other operational quality as well as assessing suppliers from the perspective of operational quality. Intrade Partners Oy energetically implemented the European responsible importer model, the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). BSCI sets out common social requirements and provides a monitoring system to verify and improve the social conditions of goods suppliers. 34
EROSKI, SPAIN GRUPO EROSKI applies a global management model based on the principles of the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM), which allows the assessment of management quality and adopt measures for its improvement. This model is supported by both horizontal and vertical management systems, which cover the commitments to economic efficiency, customer satisfaction, defence of human rights, workplace regulations, the environment and the fight against corruption. ETHICS COMMITTEE Social responsibility is a value which Eroski applies in its way of doing business. It is a value promoted by an Ethics Committee made up of the Director‐General, the Consumer Director, the Social Responsibility Director, the Members' Director and the Purchasing Director, which offers efficient management that provides a response to stakeholders and covers the rights of consumers, workers, suppliers and the community at large. The undertakings, set forth in the Code of Conduct, cover the entire value chain, and involve employees, subcontractors and core suppliers. They are monitored by means of an annual internal audit, based on the self‐
assessment tool provided by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs. SA8000 CERTIFICATION FOR HQ AND PURCHASING CENTRE. Eroski has SA8000 certification for its Headquarters and Purchasing Centre. This standard lays down the principles guaranteeing respect for human rights in line with the resolutions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Compliance is certified annually by independent external auditors after their monitoring audits and, every three years, there is a complete recertification of the management system and its continuous improvement against the standard. In addition to their own staff, procedures have been established for the evaluation of suppliers to the Purchasing Centre, in accordance with the risk of breach of the points of the standard and by means of on‐site audits, with special emphasis on respect for the principles of absence of child and/or forced labour. The criteria defined within the scope of SA8000 are: Health and safety at work, via the prevention of workplace risks system implemented in the company headquarters and governed by a Prevention Committee, with the performance of periodic reviews of activities, the updating of the emergency plan and training. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, via the company's internally structured decision‐making bodies. Non‐discrimination in recruitment and internal promotion processes, aimed mainly at the integration of temporary staff, the recruitment of persons with disabilities and partnerships with organisations for persons with integration difficulties and the boosting of gender equality in management positions. A work timetable and remuneration designed to comply with the employment laws in force in each financial period, and overtime and flexibility measures designed to help staff find a balance between their professional and personal lives. PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS Eroski is a founder member of the Fundación Entorno‐BCSD España, with which the cooperative works on the promotion of business sustainability. It is also a founding partner of ASEPAM, the association of all the Spanish organisations adhering to the UN Global Compact. Eroski also forms part, as an organizational stakeholder, of the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), an international organisation which has developed the leading reference material on the drawing up of annual sustainability reports. Eroski is also a member of the commission that is drawing up the conceptual framework for social responsibility in Spain, promoted by AECA, the Spanish Accounting and Business Administration Association. 35
E NVIRONMENT THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK COMMITMENT TO REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY 25% As a result of the increased use of renewable electricity, the Group’s net CO2 emissions from energy consumption have decreased by 20% compared with 2005 and by 89% compared with a 2003 baseline. The Co‐operative Group has committed to reduce its energy consumption by 25% by 2012, and to generate 15% of its energy from its own renewable sources (such as the wind farm in Coldham, Cambridgeshire). The strategy will focus on The Co‐operative Food’s stores, distribution and Head Office operations, which comprise over 90% of the Group’s energy use. Initiatives include: Installation of a combination of fridge cabinet blinds and freezer trim controls, together with refrigeration pack controls in high consuming stores. Enhanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control equipment, which will be more efficient than those switching heating, hot water, ventilation, cooling, lighting and appliances on and off when not required. During 2006, virtually all (98%) of the electricity supplied to the Group (some 743, 170, 286kWh, or 743GWh) was sourced from good quality renewable sources – exclusively wind, hydro and biomass technologies. This makes the Group one of the largest purchasers of green electricity in the world, and supports annual CO2 savings of 320,000 tonnes. ON‐SITE RENEWABLES GENERATION The Co‐operative Group has made significant progress in the development of its own renewables capacity. In July 2006, an eight‐turbine wind farm on Group farming land at Coldham, Cambridgeshire began operating. It is anticipated that this will generate 38.5GWh each year, sufficient to provide electricity for the equivalent of 9,000 homes and to yield CO2 savings of 36,000 tonnes each year. All output is paired with the Group’s Head Office in Manchester, and other locations. Local community groups in Cambridgeshire have benefited from a one‐off £45,000 payment and by £6,000 each year as a result of the development, and will be provided with good access to the facilities. Having established this as a viable business model, the Group’s Property Division is working to develop a 14‐turbine, 71GWh per annum project on the Group’s land at Goole. In April 2008, planning permission was given for a 28MW, 14‐turbine wind farm on Group land in Goole, Humberside. This will be capable of supplying enough electricity to power more than 16,000 homes annually, with completion anticipated in 2009/10. In May 2008, the Group gained planning permission for a seven‐turbine extension to Coldham wind farm. When completed, Coldham and Goole wind farms should supply 15% of the Group’s electricity requirements. Output from the Group’s own renewable energy installations in 2007 was approximately 34,000MWh. This represents 3% of the Group’s energy requirements, based on 2006 levels. 36
The Group is also actively developing micro‐generation scale renewable energy projects across its estate. At present, microgeneration is generally not cost‐effective in most circumstances in the UK; however, if this infant industry is ever to realise its enormous potential, then far‐sighted supporters are needed. In 2007, the following micro‐generation projects were completed: a photovoltaic roof was installed on the atrium of a refurbished food store in Wadebridge in Cornwall; a biomass boiler, with integrated solar water‐heating system, was installed at the Group’s head office recycling centre; and 19 replacement micro‐wind turbines were installed on the roof of the 13‐storey Portland Street building in Manchester, in August 2007. This work to develop micro‐generation across the Group follows on from the Solar Tower project, the UK’s largest photovoltaic installation. It is intended that further micro‐generation projects will be pursued where viable. The Solar Tower project, completed in May 2006, is the UK’s largest‐ever solar power installation and was visited by the UK’s then Prime Minister, Tony Blair MP, in 2005. This £5.5m project has transformed the 400ft, 25‐storey landmark Co‐operative Insurance tower into a facility capable of producing on‐site renewable energy. The building now has over 7,000 photovoltaic cell panels with the potential to create 181MWh of renewable electricity each year and save 78 tonnes of CO2 emissions. STRICT WASTE AND PACKAGING POLICIES The Co‐operative Group (like most large UK retailers) has been a signatory to the Courtauld Commitment since 2005, which seeks to ‘design‐out’ packaging waste growth, deliver absolute reductions in packaging weight and tackle the amount of food that consumers throw away. The Co‐operative Food was the first retailer to successfully run a packaging reduction programme with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), whereby own‐brand tomato puree packaging was redesigned to save 8.5 tonnes of card per annum. In 2006, a Packaging Policy for Co‐operative own‐brand food products was developed, which prioritises absolute packaging reductions and governs acceptable packaging materials based on food safety and environmental considerations. Despite an increase in sales turnover of £1,160m at The Co‐operative Food and The Co‐operative Pharmacy since 2001, total packaging levels (branded and own‐branded) have remained relatively stable at around 145,000 tonnes. As glass accounted for 49% of primary packaging in 2007, it will continue to be a priority area for packaging reduction in 2008. The Co‐operative Food is a signatory to the Government initiative to reduce the environmental impact of plastic carrier bags by 25% by 2008 and, in March 2008, reported to WRAP a 10.5% reduction in impact, based on weight, of single‐use carrier bags in 2007 compared to 2006. This was achieved through the increased use of plastic ‘bags for life’ and the Fairtrade cotton carrier bag, which was launched in February 2007; the decreased use of single‐use bags; and an increase in the number of lighter single‐use bags. Analysis of carrier bag ordering figures for the period October 2007 to March 2008, compared to the same six‐month period in 2006/07, showed a 38% reduction in carrier bags ordered by the Regional Distribution Centres. 37
ENERGY‐EFFICIENT GOODS White goods and domestic lighting account for 56% of all domestic electricity consumption in the UK. Early in 2007, The Co‐operative Food became the first major food retailer to commit to only stocking white goods (e.g., fridges, freezers and washing machines) which are energy rated ‘A’ or above, or Energy Saving Recommended. This policy is projected to result in savings of 13GWh of electricity and 5,500 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of these products (based on their displacement of less energy‐efficient equivalents). In addition, this was recognized at the UK CEED National Energy Efficiency Awards 2007, where The Co‐operative was ‘highly commended’ for its actions. Also in 2007, The Co‐operative Food committed to phase out the sale of tungsten incandescent light bulbs by no later than 2010. Between November 2007 and April 2008, the phase‐out was piloted at 50 stores. CARBON OFFSET Through the carbon offsetting projects undertaken in 2007 the Group not only achieved real reductions in carbon dioxide, but helped deliver social benefits in developing countries: Licensing agreements have enabled local communities to extract resources from the Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda at sustainable rates (and with permit revenues reinvested in, and controlled by, the local community). Shares in tourism revenue receipts have led to the construction of schools and health clinics in the area and the project provides employment for up to 400 local workers in high season. Households using biogas systems to replace inefficient wood‐fired mud stoves around Ranthambhore National Park in India should benefit from fewer respiratory ailments from this cleaner burning fuel. The slurry that is produced as a by‐product from the biogas digesters also provides a free, organic fertiliser. Energy efficient stoves in Cambodia emit less airborne particles and so can improve the living conditions of the users. In addition, less fuel is required for these stoves compared with their less efficient counterparts, meaning that households (and women in particular) do not need to spend as much time collecting wood. The use of treadle pumps in West Bengal (India) has helped generate extra, year‐round income for farmers and, subsequently, reduced the need for work‐driven migration for long periods. Improvement of land management has also helped households to enrich their diet through the increased variety of crops they are able to grow and increased options to afford livestock. TRUCKS & LOGISTICS Across the Group, reported CO2 emissions connected with transport increased by 1% and total mileage decreased by 5% (some 7.6 million miles), during 2007. The small increase in reported CO2 emissions is as a result of changes to conversion factors in Defra’s guidance for company reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. The decrease in mileage is due to a decrease in company car mileage of 8.1 million miles, when compared to 2006. Comparing like‐for‐like data (ie, excluding former United Co‐operatives), CO2 emissions connected with transport increased by 2% and total mileage decreased by 6% compared to 2006. In 2003, The Co‐operative Food converted 60 Foden articulated lorries to allow them to run on both compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel. The dual‐fuel scheme operates from two distribution depots (Alfreton and Cumbernauld) and, in 2007, 385 tonnes of CNG were utilised (2006: 686 tonnes), displacing 509,000 litres of diesel and saving 317 tonnes of CO2. At its inception, the pilot was the largest of its type in the 38
UK; however, the subsequent erosion of CNG tax benefits and the curtailment of conversion grants has meant that it has not been extended to the remainder of the fleet of 970 vehicles. The fleet includes 40 double‐decker trailers, fitted with a pair of solar panels. These charge the batteries that power the moving deck and reduce the need for charging at the distribution depot. In 2008, The Co‐operative Food became a signatory to the British Retailing Consortium’s ‘A Better Retailing Climate’ initiative, and committed to a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions from its distribution activities by 2013 based on 2005 levels. SOK‐FINLAND INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL SKILLS OF EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS Training policy to increase environmental skills of employees and suppliers is an important part of day‐to‐day environmental work. Information was supplied to employees through training, communications, reporting and pilot projects. Training in environmental compliance is carried out in co‐operation between the Jollas Institute and the S Group’s units. The Jollas Institute includes environmental compliance in store opening training, management training days, commercial field training and in vocational degrees in sales and service station store sales. The units have also carried out their own internal training with, for instance, suppliers and other interest groups. The environmental message is put across to employees in the S Group’s Ässä professional magazine and on the Internet. Trade magazines, guidebooks, brochures, concepts, fairs and working groups also serve as important sources of information. REAL ESTATE POLICY The prominence given to environmental compliance at new building and renovation sites set up by the S Group’s real‐estate arm as well as in the development of maintenance and servicing functions has taken on new dimensions with each passing year. SOK is actively involved in pioneering programmes in the property and construction field. The PromisE system, which is used for classifying and comparing the environmental characteristics of properties, has been in pilot use since 2002. Developer construction across the S Group has progressively adopted technical environmental targets that serve as a design tool in planning. Targets are defined for a construction site, the building itself and for the operations planned for that building. Scheduled to open for business in autumn 2007, Suur‐Seutu Cooperative Society SSO’s Prisma in Lohja is a pilot for supermarket construction. ABC PETROL STATION STORE VIITASAARI : AN INTEGRATED ENERGY SOLUTION Recently, the S Group launched a very innovative petrol station store concept, sourced with 100% renewable energy. The pilot store is situated in Viitasaari at the very centre of Finland. 290 kW from a heat pump, 10 kW from a wind turbine, 200 kW from a local heating network and 32 kW from solar panels ensure the petrol station store is environmentally sustainable. 39
SOUND SOURCING AND LOGISTICS Finland is a sparsely populated country with long distances between towns and cities; it is both economically and environmentally sound to deliver goods to consumers in a way as rational as possible, avoiding unnecessary transport, packaging and unloading. Co‐operation between trade and industry enhances information management and provides improved opportunities for planning logistics functions. Over half of the grocery products sold by the S Group’s chains are transported to stores by means of the sourcing, warehousing and distribution services provided by Inex Partners Oy. Environmental co‐operation between the S Group and Inex Partners is an important aspect of the entire logistics chain. Intrade Partners Oy acts as the S Group chains’ procurement and logistics company for consumer goods. In the financial year, 78 per cent of the consumer goods sourced by Intrade Partners for the S Group were delivered via centralised distribution. Packaging requirements stress the need to avoid excess packaging and the importance of using packaging materials that can be recycled or used in other ways. Packaging materials and their recyclability must be marked in accordance with EU practices. Products that place a lower burden on the environment must feature a nationally or internationally approved ecolabel. The company’s instructions specify environmental and ethical requirements for goods suppliers. These guidelines are taken into consideration when evaluating a new supplier. The S Group’s procurement companies are responsible for ensuring that purchased goods and the information provided about them comply with environmental legislation and requirements KF‐SWEDEN “VI PLANTERAR TRÄD” FOUNDATION KF formed the “Vi planterar träd” (We Plant Trees) foundation in 1983 based on an initiative in the Vi magazine. The original idea was to plant trees to prevent erosion. The activities now are far broader, although in this age of accelerating climate change its basic principle is more important than ever. Vi‐skogen’s vision is to create an ecologically sustainable environment in the form of a green belt around Lake Victoria as well as good living conditions for families of small farmers. In 2006 total income was around SEK 60 million, of which SEK 29 million comprised a subsidy from Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) Collections raised around SEK 23 million. EROSKI‐ SPAIN ARTEA HYPERMARKET: PILOT CENTRE FOR ECO‐INNOVATION The Eroski hypermarket in Artea has had ISO 14001 environmental certification since 2000. The information monitoring in Artea forms the basis for estimating consumption, emissions and waste disposal in other points of sale. Additionally, it has become the test bed for environmental improvements to the sales network, acting as a pilot centre for environmental initiatives 40
I S O 14001 OR EMAS‐COM PLIANT ENV I R O N M E N T A L M A N A G E M E N T SYST E M With regard to protecting the environment, in addition to controlling the environmental attributes of Eroski Natur products, environmental management also covers the supply chain through a programme of classifying suppliers based on the extent to which they implement an ISO 14001 or EMAS‐compliant environmental management system. Under the "e+5" approach, 2005 saw the classifying of 39% own‐brand suppliers, a figure which rose to 81% in 2006 (latest data available). This approach also includes a comprehensive help and training dossier which is made available to suppliers to help them to gradually progress to certification of their system. Eroski has a scoring system which is used to classify each supplier with a score that complements the e+5 classification and which is used as an indicator to monitor the level of compliance with the Management Plan. ACTIVE PARTICIPANT TO THE GREEN TRANSPORT FORUM One of the key elements of the new Grupo Eroski Environmental Plan is the reduction of emissions from transport. To this end, Eroski has, over the last two years, formed a working group made up of Consumer and Logistics staff which has studied the different alternatives for the environmental optimisation of transport, with the support of outside experts. The mission of this Green Transport Forum is to implement measures to help minimise CO2 emissions from Grupo Eroski goods transportation, working on the following pioneering initiatives: Inverse flow logistics and eco‐efficient urban distribution. The use of means other than trucks. The use of additives. 2005 saw the commencement of a project run by experts to use a vegetable‐
based additive in the trucks' fuel. Test results have been very positive with a significant cut in atmospheric contaminant emissions carbon monoxide (average reduction 77%) Eroski has cut fossil fuel consumption by 2.2%. During the months of the test, there was a reduction of CO2 emissions by 800 kg, the equivalent to planting 80 trees a year. Ecological driving. During the course of 2006, around 90 workers from the Eroski HQ received ecological driving courses organised by EVE, the Basque energy body. The 4‐hour long courses led to an estimated 10% reduction in fuel use. As from 2007, the EVE course was improved to reach 8 hours. COOP ITALIA “COOP FOR KYOTO” PROJECT: Coop Italia launched the “Coop for Kyoto project” that asks for voluntary adhesion of suppliers of private label products to the goals of reduction of green house gases emissions and the adoption of dedicated actions aimed at reducing the consumption of energy. Bureau Veritas Quality International is a partner of the initiative. It gives monitoring support to the suppliers’ consumption; it elaborates the results and proposes new measures to reach efficiency. The activity of opening and managing a retail point involves a series of environmental impacts that Coop Italia constantly tries to reduce, both through an intelligent planning of its structures and by using technologies that guarantee an efficient use of 41
resources. In order to reduce the impact associated with energy consumption, works on energy saving and efficiency, through the INRES which is the national institute for planning and engineering. Also by using energy produced from renewables and own‐produced energy (photovoltaic). E NER GY S AVI NG M EA S UR E S . Coop Italia aims at improving the energy efficiency of buildings and factories through Innovative regulation system, as over 350 points of sales are equipped with monitoring regulators that control the whole outlet and manage the cooling and heating systems. Highly efficient steam‐generating stations are solicited to heat and cool the retail points. Ventilation and air‐conditioning: eco friendly gases are used in the storage facilities. Food refrigeration: the heat produced by the fridges is reused in order to produce hot water for sanitary use. Since 1994 Coop Italia decided to develop indirect refrigeration plants in order to obtain the necessary reduction of the emissions of gases that destroy the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. As regards lightening, Coop Italia was the first big European retailer that participated in the Green Light programme, both through INRES and the larger cooperatives that are partners in the programme. The Greenlight programme of the European Commission aims at reducing energy consumption by maintaining or improving a high quality of lighting. U SING R EN E W A BL E E NER GIES In 2006, more than 51Mkwatt of electrical energy used for the supply in the points of sale were sourced from renewable sources. Some coop points of sale are producing photovoltaic energy which is part of the energy used by daily consumption of the store. Five of these installations are in use for a maximum output of 860 kWp. P R O G ET T O E N ER GI A (P ROJEC T E NER GY ) During the Energy year of UNESCO, in 2006, Coop Consumatori Nordest, wanted to give a strong signal in its engagement for the promotion of aware consumption behaviours on the issue of energy saving. The project for the creation of a local and national joint action was carried out in order to plan and implement initiatives on information, education and innovative supply of joint services. This project was experimented in Reggio Emilia and Udine regions. The project consists of two stages: in the first stage the cooperative organizes a series of training meetings open to the public on the issue of domestic ecology. All the people taking part in the meetings can ask for an analysis of their household’s energy consumption which is free of charge for cooperative members. Funding will be made easy with the help of Coop Italia, and members will then gain access to specific energy saving technologies. In the second stage Coop Consumatori Nordest issued a Carta Servizi (Services Card) for professionals and companies that have an agreement with Coop Italia, in the field of energy management. This proved to be very valuable to reduce energy consumption. 42
D ISTRIBUTIO N O F R EC H AR GE S In some of their points of sale, Unicoop Firenze and Unicoop Tirreno adopted experimental systems for the automatic distribution of detergents. These systems provide consumers with a re‐usable one litre bottle in order to buy different detergents contained in distributors on the point of sales P A RK I PER K YOTO PROJECT COOP Italia gives its members the possibility to take part in the “Parchi per Kyoto” (Parks for Kyoto) Project, a forestation initiative promoted by Federparchi (the Italian Parks and Natural Reserves Federation) and the "Kyoto Club" non‐profit association. By giving 2000 COOP loyalty points to the “Parks for Kyoto” Project, the members can finance the planting of a tree in one of the dedicated areas of national and international parks. Throughout its life cycle, each planted tree will neutralize the equivalent of 700 kilograms of CO2. That means that, with a 2000 points donation, a member can neutralize the green house gas emissions produced during 4 years by his travels from his home to the point of sale (by considering an average of three travels per week and an average distance covered of 5 kilometres per travel).
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C OMMUNITY THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK “FARM TO FORK” FOOD EDUCATION PROJECT The Co‐operative’s “From Farm to Fork” programme is designed to enable children from primary schools to visit a working farm, providing them with a learning experience that promotes a much better understanding of where their food comes from. These visits are intended to encourage children to make more informed food choices and give them a passion for good food. The programme caters for children from reception class up to year six. In 2006, the farm hosted 36 class visits, with 1,080 children participating in the programme. A further 150 teachers and parents have also visited the farm. The feasibility of extending the Farm to Fork project into a national programme with links between local primary schools, Co‐operative Food stores and Co‐operative Farms is presently being investigated. In support of the ‘good with food’ theme, the North Eastern & Cumbrian Region enlisted the assistance of community chef, Mark Earnden, to promote to local people – particularly schoolchildren and their families – cooking and healthy eating. The emphasis is on nutritious food being fun, affordable and easy to prepare. Thousands of schoolchildren, their families and cooperative members saw Mark’s cookery demonstrations in the first year. The Group supported the publication of 5,000 copies of a children’s book, ‘Mark and the Dragon’, that is intended to promote healthy eating amongst schoolchildren. In 2007, 78 classes of children visited Co‐operative Farms as part of the programme, with some 2,499 children being taught to cook with fresh, healthy ingredients. Impact evaluation of the programme has shown that 49% of parents have seen a lasting improvement in their children’s attitude to food, and that 90% of teachers reported improvement in classroom learning as a result of the visit. The project was awarded a Business in the Community BigTick award in 2008 for its achievements in communicating healthy eating messages to children. SUPPORT FOR FOOD REDISTRIBUTION CHARITY Throughout 2006, Co‐operative Food continued to be a corporate supporter of FareShare, a national charity that works with the food and drink industry to fight food poverty through the redistribution of surplus food to organisations working with disadvantaged people. Alongside its corporate membership fee of £5,000, support in 2006 included a donation of £3,000 towards FareShare’s Christmas Meal Appeal. SCHOOL MEALS COOPERATIVE In 2006, The Co‐operative Fund provided £48,795 to Local Food Links in Bridport – a network of organisations active in supporting healthier and more sustainable local food systems – to establish a new school meals cooperative. The project seeks to develop a school and parent‐led model of school food provision that prioritises healthy eating. The project will enable six primary schools to source healthy school meals from the cooperative. FOOD, ACCESS TO OUTLETS The Co‐operative Food aims to retain and invest in viable community shops and to develop new stores that will be viewed by the communities they serve as an asset; offering high‐quality shopping and facilities in locations accessible by all. The Group is obliged to consult member‐controlled area committees on intended store closures, store disposals and new developments, and a detailed process involving the area committees and regional boards is invoked if a store is considered to be under‐performing or loss‐making. An analysis of the 44
location of The Co‐operative Food outlets reveals that 18% and 19% are located in deprived areas and rural areas respectively, in 2007. The Group’s Food stores located in deprived areas represent, on average, 24% of the food retail space provided in those areas. Additionally, approximately 280 Post Offices are located in Food stores throughout the country; further contributing to the range of services customers can access through The Co‐operative Food stores. Of the stores containing Post Offices, 18% are located in deprived areas and 20% in rural areas. CO‐OPERATIVE LOAN FUND The Co‐operative Group, Bank and Insurance, together with Midcounties Co‐operative, finance The Co‐
operative Loan Fund, which provides support to cooperatives and social enterprises throughout the UK through the provision of accessible, ethical loan finance. Loans are provided to set up new, or expand existing, enterprises; assist employee buyouts or company successions; purchase a property or business; and to purchase capital equipment or create working capital. The Fund is managed by Co‐operative and Community Finance, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Following support from the Loan Fund, in December 2007, community‐owned Porthmadog football club opened a new hub, which acts as a community centre for local residents, whilst raising income for the club. Further case studies are available on the Fund’s website. During 2007, the Fund’s resources were almost fully committed, such that, in early 2008, the Group made a further donation of £100,000 to the Fund. THE CO‐OPERATIVE FOUNDATION The Co‐operative Foundation is a charitable trust that was set up in 2000 and is solely funded by The Co‐
operative Group – United Region. The Foundation awards grants of £500 to £30,000. The Co‐operative Foundation seeks to support locally‐led groups that can demonstrate evidence of living the cooperative values and principles of self‐help, equality, democracy and concern for the community. Additionally, projects attracting funding must fall within the United Region trading area and benefit disadvantaged groups or communities. CHARITIES OF THE YEAR In 2007, employees raised £2.9m for the Group’s Charities of the Year 2007 – The Children’s Society and its partners and DiabetesUK. Going into the details of the Children’s Society project, this proved to be very popular and attracted much attention. Against an initial target of £1.5m, employees, customers and members of the Group raised £2.3 million for The Children’s Society. The donation will enable The Children’s Society and its partners to provide specialist support and care for over 6,000 disadvantaged children and young people nationwide, including child refugees, those with disabilities and those who have run away from home or become involved with crime. Over 40 projects across the UK will benefit from the funding. SOK‐FINLAND CONSUMER COOPERATIVES ROOTED IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 45
The Maakunta Cooperative Society in Kainuu has promised to be the last business ever to leave the region. It is brave in its investments and in its belief in the future. Now its positive attitude has affected the whole district. The region is one of the poorest in Finland. ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE LIFE OF KAINUU To improve the quality of life of the region, Cooperative Society Maakunta has implemented a strong growth strategy and invested boldly into its service network. At EUR 90 million investments per year since 1993, the society has brought grocery services to every parish in Kainuu, with a total of 14 S‐markets. Services to members will improve further when the hardware and interior decoration store Kodin Terra is built next to the Prisma in Kajaani. It is important for regional businesses to participate extensively in what goes on in the area, for instance through sponsorships and various partnerships. It is natural for the cooperative to support Kainuu’s sporting pride and joy, Sotkamon Jymy sports club, as well as several important cultural events. The society also lends a hand to a number of other sportsclubs, events and charities, and organises its own activities for members and staff. Responsibility is not just a slogan for Cooperative Society Maakunta, but something that is reflected in all everyday actions. The best way to implement responsibility in practice is to run a profitable business, creating jobs and welfare for the region. The cooperative takes environmental issues into account in all its decisions, supporting regional production and including local products in its selection. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEANS COOPERATION “The cooperative shares all of the region’s joys and woes,” says Esa Karppinen, who started as Chairman of Cooperative Society Maakunta’s Supervisory Board at the beginning of 2007. Karppinen is a farmer from Paltamo, “It is important for the cooperative to work closely with municipal decision‐makers. The interests of regional businesses are in line with those of the local council,” he says. Karppinen knows what he is talking about, having sat on the council for two terms and worked on municipal committees for more than 15 years. Karppinen joined Maakunta’s board in 1985 and has therefore lived through the cooperative’s hardest periods as well as its rise to current prosperity. “The ideology at the beginning was very conservative, but we now have a share of the S Group’s success. Profitability has given a huge boost to the self‐confidence of the cooperative’s staff and members. We can now say the same of the Kainuu population in general, as the region enjoys a new upturn.” “The basic task of regional cooperatives is to take services to where people are. In sparsely populated areas such as this, the S Group’s stores are true retail centres. They are linked to post offices, pharmacies, and now even a bank – namely the S Bank.” Karppinen explains that thanks to the way it is managed, the regional cooperative has unique opportunities for receiving information on members’ wishes, needs and expectations, whether they live in Kajaani, Hossa or Saunajärvi. “The cooperative’s board and members can rely on a well functioning management,” he says. And why shouldn’t they, in the light of the successes of recent years! The S Group, n°1 retailer in Finland, is committed to ensure the local communities are well‐served and well‐
supported in their development. 46
COOP ITALIA The interventions carried out by Cooperatives for the benefit of the community are articulated both into objectives and into tools and methods/typologies. With regard to their objective and contents they can be divided as follows: Local solidarity projects “Buon Fine” ( good end) home delivery International solidarity projects Education to conscious consumption Organisation of training and dissemination activities on health issues. Organisation of cultural events These initiatives are directly related to communities and they aim at the participation and involvement of stakeholders in order to answer their needs and to redistribute the produced value. Some examples of best practices: BUON FINE PROJECT: For the recovery of unsold products, the use of unsold products for social purposes is not new, especially for Coops. But it may be the first time that dedicated organisational processes are organized, that are able to involve different actors and to create added value for the whole system and the territory. The environmental benefit is also important. The practice of the recovery of unsold products is diffused over almost all the Italian territories. Seven big cooperatives carry out on a daily basis this initiative. Also, some of the medium cooperatives participate. This diffusion led to an increase by 30% of the quantity of products that were recovered and given to 992 accredited associations that help more than 30,100 persons. In 2006 the Coop system redistributed to the territory about €8.2million including both the local solidarity projects and the value of goods given thanks to the Buon Fine project. RAISING AWARENESS IN CONSUMPTION Started almost 30 years ago, the project of educating to consumption increased its territorial impact in 2006. The national guide for 2007 “educating to conscious consumption”, which contains the proposal that Coop Italia made to schools and institutions and that focuses on five products: training shoes, water, cocoa, mobile telephony and snack foods, was published. Moreover, the creation of a website was launched dedicated to conscious consumption in the national e‐Coop website. In 2007, the content of the didactical Kit “alimenta il tuo benessere” (feed your health) was defined. 47
D EMOCRACY THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK VALUES AND PRINCIPLES COMMITTEE Oversight of the Group’s sustainability, community and membership strategies is undertaken by a senior committee of The Co‐operative Group Board – the Group Values & Principles Committee. The Committee is appointed by the Board and, during 2007, comprised one elected director from each of the former Group’s eight regions, and three directors from the former United Region, along with a Deputy Chair of the Board, who chairs the Committee. That such authority should rest with a body made up entirely of non‐executive directors, many of whom are drawn from the Group’s ordinary membership, is significant, and is almost certainly unique among large businesses in the UK. The term ‘social accountability’ is gaining increased currency amongst businesses; however, its scope is usually restricted, at best, to stakeholders having a say in what issues a business measures and reports on (ie, the ‘materiality’ of the issues). Besides, each regional board has a Values & Principles (V&P) sub‐committee, which is tasked with ensuring that cooperative principles and social goals are pursued at a regional level. A region’s V&P committee comprises elected members delegated from area committees and the regional board, and has the authority to escalate issues for the consideration of the Group V&P Committee. In 2007, the Group V&P Committee established an Environmental Advisory Committee chaired by a non‐
executive member of the Group Board. The Committee includes representation from management and six regional board designates (as put forward by the regions for the consideration of the Chair). KF‐SWEDEN NEW WAYS FOR THE MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE The consumer cooperative movement maintains a continuous dialogue with individual members, in order to get guidance about how shops and hypermarkets should develop in order to best meet consumers’ present and future wishes. A good example of how this dialogue is maintained is the Coop Membership Panel, which is a web‐based tool for regular surveys on food and health issues. During 2007, more than 60,000 people took part in various surveys. Another form is getting together members, shop managers and employees in various member and shop councils at individual shops. These member and shop councils maintain a regular dialogue about the business and the direction of the development. The opportunities for members to take part and exert an influence on the shops as part of going to the shops is becoming more and more important, particularly as time is becoming an increasingly scarce resource for many consumers. The members’ corner is a particular place in the shop providing information to members, where they can easily suggest improvements or express their opinions. 48
Based on local customers’ wishes, some shop managers have also been given greater scope to select goods from the national purchasing company Cilab’s product range. The structures for influencing the shops will also be further enhanced. COOP ITALIA VOCE AI SOCI (VOICE TO THE MEMBERS) PROJECT This project wants to put the member first, because they can make the difference in the social and the business aspects of the cooperative. This project was started in 2004 and became permanent in 2006. The members are organized in two ways: free hearings where the members give suggestions on coop products and the structured hearings of members receiving questionnaire on specific issues. Five big cooperatives took part in the free hearings project and 20 local organizations were involved. In 2006, the interviewed members were 181 and gave 220 contributions. The main concern is the development of the product. In 2006, structured hearings carried out an inquiry of 2,294 interviews regarding lifestyles and food habits. The relation between members and the cooperative is guaranteed by a specific tool which is the monthly magazine. They also communicate with members in shops. MEMBERS’ PARTICIPATION AND EDUCATION: The members can participate in the democratic governance of the Coop, meaning that they can take part in the local activities carried out in the members’ sections. In 2006, they carried out 3,226 initiatives of direct participation in 287 members’ sections. In 2006, the elected volunteer members were 4,735. In 2006 Coop Italia carried out a promotion activity of the specificity of the cooperative movement. The larger cooperatives carried out 972 assemblies and meetings at local level. In 2006, Coop Italia also trained 6,500 members which have representative capacity at a cost of € 30,000. MEMBERS GET REWARDS In 2006 there were specific promotions for members (discounts, offers, ..) amounting to € 212.5 million. Collection of shopping points (€ 83 million), the rise of the social capital, the refund that members get in proportion of their purchases which reinforces the mutualistic aspect of the cooperative amounted in 2006 to € 10.6 million. 49
D EVELOPMENT COOP ITALIA INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY: Coop Italia has been committed for many years to the promotion and implementation of international solidarity projects with a special attention towards developing countries. This activity articulates in two main groups: the first one consists of national projects that have a single coordination which directly involves cooperatives. The second projects consists of projects that are developed in an autonomous way. With regard to the first group the following projects were carried out: “TSUNAMI” AND THE “AGUA PARA DOIS IRMAOS” PROJECTS The first project consists in an emergency intervention in favour of those cooperatives that were damaged by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, with a particular attention to the Hambantota and Kalutara districts. The second consists in the construction of about 1,000 family water tanks for capturing rain water in the municipalities of the area of “Serra dos Dois Irmãos” in Brazil. With regards to the second group of intervention there are two main methods: child sponsorship is also carried out with the involvement of many members and the support to the auto‐development in partnership with NGO’s working on the field. “STOP WORLD POVERTY” CAMPAIGN In 2002/2006, Coop Italia launched a major development campaign: “Stop World Poverty”. In total, 14 projects have been developed. Already in the previous 2002‐2006 various projects have been implemented by a number of entities that have involved more than 40 countries, and more than 50,000 direct beneficiaries, especially children and women, for a total activated resource of more than 30 million euros. Coop Italia has worked in four main directions: The direct support by the individual cooperatives, projects of cooperation and international aid, the result of relationships built and shared in the territory of relevance, with NGOs, associations and local institutions, with the primary objective of meeting the most basic needs of childhood, from nutrition, health, to education. Project financing is done with the direct involvement of shareholders, consumers, employees, through various forms of fundraising. National campaigns, consisting of a coordinated set of projects, financed primarily with the resources of the cooperatives. The last two campaigns, to which € 3 million worth of resources have been allocated, respectively “Save A Child” and “Water for Peace”, focused interventions for health and education of children and the construction of facilities to ensure access to drinking water in various countries in the South of the World. Fundraising campaigns or necessary first steps, to support people affected by natural disasters, with projects responding to emergency needs and for first line intervention. The resources of this collection from citizens in retail outlets will be added to those made available by Coop Italia and individual Cooperatives. This arrangement has affected Sri Lanka ultimately, which was hit a few years ago by a tsunami. 50
The sale of Fair Trade products and the effort sustained through the implementation of the SA 8000, to provide guarantees to all sectors of own‐brand products, which gives respect to the inalienable rights of individuals and employees. CAMPAIGN GOALS ƒ
To redefine the fight against poverty as affirmation and protection of the six universal rights: The right to access food, right to access water, right to health, right to education, right to work, right to freedom. ƒ
To combine the fight against poverty with cooperation, as an instrument for relations between developed and developing countries but also as a peculiar economic form able to better respond to other development issues while respecting the rights of workers and the environment. Coop Italia expects to see more structural intervention through the associations and cooperatives who can design innovative scenarios for strengthening and structural development of economic activities in the field of food self‐sufficiency and trade. These actions will constitute the most specific forms of support to small producers and the development of productive partnerships in developing countries as tools for local development. The idea of this development will be promoted within each single project, and as far as potential exports are concerned, reports will be started to evaluate options for insertion on experimental finished products within the cooperative Fair Trade category. ƒ
To combine the fight against poverty with actions of solidarity that see Coop Italia’s members as protagonists in assuring basic social facilities as well as food security, health care, education and social infrastructure. The contributors of these activities will be the cooperatives, their social bases and the economic and social reference in the territory of relevance. THE PROJECTS AT A GLANCE An international evaluation committee, where, among others, more than 60 persons from non‐governmental organisations or associations were represented, selected 14 projects for self‐sustainable and durability, which is financed in large part by Coop Italia who will complement the activities of international solidarity already in place or planned by individual cooperatives, which adhere specifically to aid people in the field of health, nutrition and education. The projects involve some of the sectors, not just food, and depart from initiatives already in place and strongly linked to the typical production and peculiarities of the territories and communities concerned. The sectors include: FRESH FRUIT AND RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IN BRAZIL The project will strengthen the productive capacity, trade and agricultural cooperatives of two Amazonian fruit growers. There will also be a feasibility study conducted for a cooperative for citrus farmers south of the country to assess the increased processing capacity and the integration of processed fruit in the Italian market. Another significant component will support the Mother Earth Project, a farm school in Foz de Iguacu, which puts forward a recovery plan for difficult children and teens through the implementation of agricultural activities and responsible tourism, to be addressed to cooperative members and consumers. The partners are Ucodep and the Oreundici Association. COFFEE IN NICARAGUA AND UGANDA The production of arabica coffee in Nicaragua is foreseen, and already included in the Coop Italia Solidal (Fair 51
Trade) category. This production will complement that of some of the associations of coffee producers in Uganda, necessary to increase the production of the "robusta" mixture, which has high marketability in the Italian market. The partner is GVC. ESSENTIAL OILS AND SHOES FROM EQUADOR 20 indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian province of Morona‐Santiago, will improve their living conditions due to income derived from the development of medicinal species production and cosmetic and herbal products for local and Fair Trade markets. There is a cooperative in Ecuador, the Vinicio Calzado, which produces high quality shoes and employs 50 workers, of which 26 are disabled and 15 are women. Since 2005 the cooperative began a fruitful relationship with Coop Italia in the design of a shoe. This project will allow the market to hopefully sell it as Fair Trade. The partners are Fundaciòn Chankuap, VIS, the Capodarco international community. HONEY FROM LATIN AMERICA Nicaragua, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia share a project to strengthen productive and social order in the Pan‐American network of small producers. Honey is a product whose demand is growing and represents an opportunity in a small technology‐
intensive organic context that allows the production of quality with a medium‐high quantity threshold. The improvement in quality and quantity of production would allow their inclusion into the Italian market, as well as enhance production capacity, management and marketing of hundreds of small disadvantaged producers. The partner is Cooperativa Sin Fronteras. VEGETABLES FROM BURKINA FASO The objectives are to increase incomes, the elements of sustainable food security and the livelihood of family farmers in rural areas affected through the actions of diversification, the increase in fruit and vegetable crops and the improvement of their conservation which allows a fair and reliable commercialization within the country, its sub regions and Europe. To allow the cultivation of green beans, potatoes, onions and garlic, 300 ha of arable land will be cultivated in the vicinity of the available water source. The projects could also use marketing channels already tested for beans from Burkina, from Coop Italy under the brand TerraEqua. The partners are CISV and the Shalom Movement. MAFTOUL AND DRIED FRUITS FROM PALESTINE The project focuses on improving the production of maftoul, a traditional region of the Mashreq (Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan) through the strengthening and support of two committees of women in the district of Hebron. In the West Bank and the Gaza Strip over 600 women, divided in 40 groups in different rural communities, are producing dried fruit, with the criteria for organic farming, these products will soon be certified according to European regulations through the establishment and accreditation of the international Palestinian certification body, Center of Organic Agriculture in Palestine (Coapi), in collaboration with Icea and AIAB. The partners of the two projects are Ucodep and ACS. MANGO AND FISH FROM SENEGAL In 1987, a group of farmers from districts of Diouloulou wanted to specialize in the cultivation of fruit trees and improve the existing products. It was created as l'Association des Planteurs de l'Arrondissement de Diouloulou (APAD), which currently has improved varieties of citrus and mango. In 2004, the APAD was empowered by the Senegal Ministry of Commerce as a subject fit for marketing and export in the same year it was certified by Fair Trade. The project aims to enhance the production of mango, already on sale at some cooperatives with the 52
Fairtrade mark. The partner is COSPE. A second project concerns the fishing community of Dakar, to develop the production of fresh or dried fish, ensuring safety at work and the quality of the product. SCARVES FROM NEPAL With the increased effort and organization in the production of scarves from a cooperative of Nepalese women who are victims of abuse and violence due mainly the communities marginalization, will be made available 80 frames, to ensure that the resulting production meets the agreement with Coop Italia to sell under the Fair Trade brand. The project partners such as the Women's Foundation and The Ray of Light Foundation. SPICES FROM SRI LANKA The proposal, aimed at the poor and marginalized in the District of Kandy in Sri Lanka, include a strategy for long‐term sustainable development that focuses on a key sector of the country's economy, agriculture, and on production quality, in particular spices and tea, in addition to addressing economic effects following the tsunami disaster of December 2004, the structural causes of underdevelopment of the Sri Lankan socio‐
economic system. The Partners of the two projects are GVC, Ucodep, ICEI, Overseas. Coop Italia, during the three years expected for the implementation of these projects, as well as the contribution to the financing of these projects, will ensure a commitment, from its technical and commercial structures, both in relation to companies and cooperatives who work for cooperative own‐brand products and with undertakings in line with ethic Banks and Fairtrade Italia, with the accompaniment of several routes, share tracking, product quality guarantee aid, product safety, aid to individual micro‐credit for small producers, the development of packaging techniques and marketing and achieving compliance with standards for Fair Trade certification and eventually organic standards. Coop Italia is also committed to experimentation, with respect to conditions of quality, safety and standards of their own, the marketability of these products on the Italian market, with the objective to strengthen and broaden the range of products included in the line of Fair Trade solidarity. In parallel, Coop Italia will develop effective measures to provide information and awareness towards its “social base” ‘(membership), consumers and young people on issues of poverty alleviation. There is a need for awareness and sensitivity because everyone plays their part: for a better future for the vast community of people on our planet. KF‐SWEDEN THE DEVELOPMENT AID BUTTON The Development Aid Button ”Biståndsknappen” Since the end of 2004, in many of Coop Sverige’s shops and in an increasing number of the retail societies’ shops, consumers have been able to make a new kind of donation to the Swedish Cooperative Center and Vi‐skogen. Instead of getting a receipt from the machine for returnable bottles, which can be taken to the checkout to exchange for cash, there is the option of pressing the “Development Aid Button”. The money is then sent directly to the aid organisation. “Bistånd på köpet” Members with a Coop MedMera Account can automatically round up payments to the nearest whole krona, and thus contribute towards cooperative aid. The money is shared between the Swedish Cooperative Center and Vi‐skogen. Thanks to the Biståndsknappen (Development Aid Button) on the returnable bottle machines in the shops, the collection boxes at the checkouts, the SEK 0.03 charge for carrier bags, and other collection methods, the consumer cooperative movement and its customers were able to collect more than SEK 20 million for Kooperation Utan Gränser and Vi‐skogen during 2007. 53
THE CO‐OPERATIVE GROUP ‐ UK WIDEST RANGE OF FAIR TRADE PRODUCTS IN THE UK The Co‐operative Group has been the UK’s leading supermarket supporter of fair and ethical trade for over 160 years and has demonstrated continued commitment to the FAIRTRADE Mark since it was launched in the UK in 1994. Whereas sound sourcing work focuses on improving the working conditions of people making products at a factory level, Fairtrade is primarily based on requirements of the trade relationship at a community producer level. In a 2008 book on the history of the movement, the Executive Director of the UK Fairtrade Foundation described The Co‐operative Group as “a pioneer in the area of sustainability” and made extensive references to The Co‐operative Group, CFS and individual staff who have played key roles in promoting Fairtrade over the years. It was estimated, in October 2006, that over 1.5 million disadvantaged producers worldwide have benefited from Fairtrade terms, with a further five million benefiting from Fairtrade‐
funded infrastructure and community development projects. During 2007, the range of Fairtrade products for sale in The Co‐operative Food stores was extended, with 180 being offered (up from 151 at the beginning of the year), of which 110 were ownbrand. Sales of Fairtrade goods totalled £31m in 2007 (2006: £22m), an increase of 40%. This represents 14% of all UK Fairtrade sales through supermarkets, which stood at £225m in 2007 (by comparison, The Co‐operative Food represents only 4% of overall UK grocery sales). ONE WATER In March 2007, The Co‐operative relaunched its own‐label water, Fairbourne Springs Mineral Water, as the first own‐label ethical water of its kind in the UK. Each sale includes a donation to One Foundation, a UK charity that works in Africa installing innovative PlayPump™ Water Systems, which are powered by children playing on roundabouts. Post‐relaunch sales from September to December 2007 raised £205,000, enough for 26 PlayPumps™, which will benefit an estimated 60,000 people. KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK In 2007, the Group approved funding of £20,000 (£10,000 in 2007 and 2008) for a project benefiting villages adjacent to Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda, in addition to the funding provided for reforestation of the Park through the carbon offset programme. These villages had been subject to raids by forest elephants from the park, damaging villagers’ crops and homes. Funding, channelled through the Group’s partner, Climate Care, has paid for trenches to be dug over a total of six kilometres of the park’s border, and for four wells to be dug in two of the poorest villages, to provide clean water. It is also hoped that the project will build better relations between the villages and park authorities, encouraging local people to give more support to environmental projects within the reserve. 54
EROSKI‐SPAIN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FINANCED PROJECTS In addition to supporting the activities of other NGOs, the Fundación Eroski carries out its own cooperation initiatives, following the guidelines laid down in the Cooperation Programme. In the last six editions, more than 700.000 euros were devoted to Eroski’s own call for proposals in support of international development cooperation financed projects. In 2006, some projects focused on the creation of cooperatives in Argentina and Benin. For example, the 2006 annual call for entries in support of international development cooperation financed projects submitted by Geólogos del Mundo, Fundación Global Nature and Asociación Nuevos Caminos. In total, these three organisations shared € 97,000. In 2006, the three recipients of this financing were Asociación Solidaridad con Benin, Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo and Fundación África Directo. In the five previous editions of this aid, Eroski financed projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia to the tune of € 633,402. The common denominator of all the projects selected in the previous edition was Latin America. Fundación Global Nature presented a project for the treatment of waste water in the municipality of Los Llanos in the Dominican Republic. Geólogos del Mundo took urgent action in Nicaragua to carry out a hydrogeological evaluation of the springs and rural aqueducts supplying seven communities in the municipality of Mozonte. Asociación Nuevos Caminos aims to improve the diet of families in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, by creating family allotments and starting training workshops on agriculture, nutrition and food handling. All these activities also help to boost the integration of these people into the community. In the most recent edition, the projects supported were that submitted by Asociación Solidaridad con Benin, which consisted in the construction of three villages in the rural area of Bembereke to start up cooperatives processing Karité (a product similar to walnut, rich in nutrients and moisturizing agents). The goal of this initiative is to promote gender equality and to secure the independence of women participants. Karité processing involves producing semi‐finished goods, which means the price increases fourfold. Fundación África Directo is carrying out an education and skills programme including seven specialist courses in Sierra Leone. The aim is to provide an opportunity for the progressive development of a society led by its women and which is based on principles of peace and cooperation. With this skills training, women can start small production cooperatives that allow them to provide for their families and also recover their self‐esteem. Guaranteeing environmental stability and development in communities that need them are two of the goals covered by the aid granted to Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo to build a palm heart canning plant cooperative in Andresito, Argentina. Amongst the project's objectives are for sales to reach Fair Trade channels. SOLIDARITY VOTE The ‘Solidarity Vote’ is an initiative that was launched during 2006 and 2007. It is the first initiative of its kind in the distribution sector which enables customers, workers and Friends of the Eroski Foundation to decide which project the Foundation is to fund. Through this initiative Eroski Foundation assigns part of its funds (€ 10,000), that Eroski increases adding one more euro for every participant. The Friends of Eroski Foundation can cast their votes by mail and the rest of participants can use the stands located inside the Eroski Supermarkets. 55
In its second edition Eroski Foundation gave € 26,500 to different NGOs: “Doctors without Borders” which uses the money to cut HIV/AIDS infection and death rates among children and their families in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) “Economists without Borders”, that fights against poverty by developing fairer economic and social structures. “Vicente Ferrer Foundation”, that works to develop Anantour, one of the poorest parts of India. In 2006, Eroski Foundation gave more than € 26,500 to UNICEF and € 25,984 to Ecology and Development Foundation. 56
Sources Eroski‐Spain 2006 & 2007 social responsibility reports The Co‐operative Group‐ United Kingdom 2006 & 2007 Sustainability reports Coop Italia‐ Italy 2006 & 2007 Social reports (in Italian) partly translated by Euro Coop’s secretariat KF‐ Sweden 2006 & 2007 annual reports SOK‐Finland 2006 & 2007 annual reports 57