Co-op Ethical Operating Plan 2011-2013

8/7/2019 Co-op Ethical Operating Plan 2011-2013

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LEADINGTHE WAY.A revolutionary approach to social responsibility.

Ethical Operating Plan (2011-2013)


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The Co-operative has always had a purpose beyond prot, and

recognised that some things are plainly unjust and need to be

tackled, with or without a business case. Weve learnt that we

need to manage and develop our business in a sustainable manner,

and will always be transparent and accountable in our pursuit of

this. We are guided by the long-established co-operative valuesof self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and

solidarity. We are proud of our radical roots and campaigning

heritage and believe that signicant progress requires in many

cases well crafted public intervention. Time-poor consumers are

now faced with a myriad of choices every day and are looking for

trusted businesses to help them navigate a manageable range of

options, whilst ensuring that safeguards on ethics as well as quality

are in place across the board.

We will review our Plan annually with our members through our

Values and Principles Committees to ensure that it shows the way

forward for corporate sustainable development in the UK.

ETHICAL

OPERATING PLAN(2011-2013)

StreetGames Revolution:

Helping 3,000 young volunteers to bring theircommunities together through sport.


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DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND REWARDFor over 150 years, weve been owned and democratically controlled by our members. The Co-operative is now the largest

consumer co-operative in the world, with over six million members, who last year earned more than 50m from a share of our

prots. We distribute at least 40% of our prots to members, staff and community groups and truly have a purpose beyond prots.

We are controlled by members through a governance structure of 49 democratically elected area committees, seven regional boards

and a Group Board; from where individuals can progress from ordinary members to Group Chair.

We will continue to set new standards for openness and honesty globally, and seek to utilise new technology to enhance

consumers abilities to make ethical choices

We will continue a prot sharing scheme with our members that is amongst the broadest and most generous of any majorUK business

We will aim to have 20 million members by 2020

We will encourage ethical consumerism through engagement with members and extra share of prot from 2012

Subject to legislation, we will encourage a new generation of co-operators with an extension of membership to under 16s

Uniquely in the UK, we will continue to use our inuence to campaign for a more sustainable world and engage with 500,000

members per annum, and always be open about such lobbying and its outcome

The remuneration of senior staff will be inuenced by the degree to which The Co-operative is viewed as a leading champion

of corporate social responsibility in the UK


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SUPPORTING CO-OPERATIVESAgainst the backdrop of a challenging economy, the UK co-operative sector has continued to grow. There are now some 4,800

co-operatives nationwide involved in everything from food retail to housing, farming and education. Worldwide, there are more

than 800 million individual co-operators; and when taken together, the top 300 co-operatives equate to the worlds tenth largest

economy. We believe that economies that unduly reward the providers of capital are both unsustainable and unjust: strong public

and co-operative sectors are essential for the sustained progression of equality and quality of life. We believe in the principle of

co-operation amongst co-operatives and will endeavour to support the sector, particularly growth in new areas such as schools,

community energy, sports clubs and rural services.

We will act as the primary funder of co-operative encouragement bodies such as the Co-operative College, and invest

11m to support the growth and development of co-operatives by 2013

We will invest 1m to celebrate 2012 as the United Nations Year of Co-operatives, seeking to help more people than ever

understand the strength and benets of the co-operative difference

We will initiate a 20m international Co-operative Development Loan Fund

We will support the development of peer to peer lending between our members and individuals in the developing world


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The Oxford Cycle Workshop Revolution:

Teaching more people the joy of cycling.


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KEEPING COMMUNITIES THRIVINGSince 1844, The Co-operative has aimed to serve as broad a range of groups as is economically viable, and our ethical offerings

are for all not a select few. We are very much a community business, with a presence in every postal area in the UK. We have

some 5,000 stores and branches, and our members, via our area committees and regional boards, ensure that local interests are

considered in matters as diverse as community giving to store portfolio changes.

We will continue to be socially inclusive, seeking to have a physical presence in every postal area in the UK, and will increase

our number of stores by 300 by 2013

We will ensure that 10% of the prots available for distribution is made available for community investment by 2013, with 5m

deployed per annum to tackle UK poverty around our stores and branches

Our stores and branches will act as a focus for 10,000 community initiatives per annum

We will grow our UK farming business further and aim to supply a quarter of all fresh produce sold in our stores by 2015,

whilst at the same time helping secure the future of priority species in our locales


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Play Montgomeryshires Revolution:

Giving children the chance to play.


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INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLEShackled with the legacy of national debt, an increasingly rickety property ladder and an uncertain future shaped by climate change,

its a challenging time to be a young person in Britain. So weve established a community programme that will directly benet over

250,000 young people across the UK, and help them change their world through active citizenship. But weve also set our sights

higher and want to help bring about a cultural shift in the way that young people are viewed and treated in this country.

We will provide 30m for our Inspiring Young People programme by 2013, and establish a Co-operative Academy that will

create 2,000 apprenticeships

We will broaden the work of the Co-operative Enterprise Hub and offer advice and training to support young people who wish

to start up co-operative businesses

We will support the establishment of 200 Co-operative Schools, drive forward our Green Schools programme which reaches

some 100,000 children per annum, continue to campaign for Votes at 16 and demonstrate how young people are ready, able

and willing to be more fully engaged

We will create an advisory panel of young members who will inform a newly appointed Board Champion for young people


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PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENTWe recognise that there are physical limits to the resources of the Earth (both in terms of generating materials and absorbing

waste), and that any business activity that exceeds these limits is, by denition, unsustainable in the long run. We take an

evidence-based approach to policy making, and are committed to making absolute reductions in emissions, but never at the expense

of the worlds poorest.

We will reduce the gross greenhouse gas emissions from our operations by 35% by 2017, and will generate the equivalent of

25% of electricity needs from renewable sources by 2017

We will render our operations carbon neutral by 2012 , with carbon offset solutions provided by a programme of international

co-operative projects

We will construct a head-ofce by 2012 that will set new standards in sustainable design, construction and operation in the UK

We will ensure that the vast majority of our operational waste is diverted away from landll by 2013, and will expand our work

with Fareshare on food waste, and on top of the 15% weight reductions achieved in packaging, we will reduce the environmental

impact by a further 10% by 2012 and increase our carrier bag reduction target to 75% by 2013

We will enhance our market leading pesticide policy further, and seek to ban chemicals such as endosulfan and paraquat

We will aim to be the UKs leading retailer on forest protection, moving our palm oil and soya sourcing to a sustainable footing by

2011 and 2015 respectively, whilst maintaining our leading edge work on wood and paper

We will continue to maintain our position as one of the UKs most responsible retailers of sh

We will extend our Plan Bee campaign and seek to address the decline of additional at risk pollinators, and broaden our

campaign against unconventional fossil fuels to encompass solutions such as community energy

We will reduce the water consumption across our operations by 10% by 2013


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Energy4Alls Revolution:

Helping communities to build their own windfarms.


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TACKLING GLOBAL POVERTYWhilst a world without extreme poverty might seem like a distant dream, signicant progress has been achieved in recent years and

the lives of hundreds of millions of people have been improved. We believe that when undertaken equitably, trade and nance have

an unparalleled capacity to enhance quality of life, and are proud to have led the way for over 165 years. Our founders, the Rochdale

Pioneers, fought for trade justice from the outset. Today, we continue to strive for a fairer world, where basic human needs are met

and rights are respected, and are proud that some 500,000 people benet every year from our work.

We will continue to show the greatest commitment to Fairtrade in the UK, remaining second to none in terms of availability

and overtrade, and will now aim that if a primary commodity from the developing world can be Fairtrade, it will be Fairtrade

by 2013

We will develop a unique range of projects and initiatives that benet producers and take us Beyond Fairtrade

We will invest 7m per annum to help tackle global poverty through co-operative support initiatives and look to further expand

our afnity range, with initiatives such as a Pharmacy UNICEF handwash product that will fund vital sanitation work

We will introduce a balanced scorecard in 2011 to inuence the selection of Food suppliers that share our ethical values, and

as part of our commitment to ensure workers benet from decent jobs that will lift them out of poverty, we will target 800 sites

in six countries in our supplier training programme to create better workplaces by 2013

We will continue to champion our human rights and trade policy, and as a matter of last resort curtail trade when called uponby the peoples of affected areas

We will campaign anew to make poverty history, beginning with a reinvigoration of the Jubilee third world debt campaign


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Bettys Revolution:

Ensuring she and 11,000 other tea farmers get a fair deal for their tea.


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RESPONSIBLE RETAILINGImproving the nations health

By 2050 it is estimated that 60% of men and 40% of women will be clinically obese and that we could be seeing the rst generation

to die before their parents. We are determined to play our part to improve the health of the nation by making it easier for customers

and colleagues to make healthier food and lifestyle choices. We believe that Co-operative Simply Value products should not be

nutritionally inferior and that our Healthy Choice products should not attract a price premium. Openness and honesty are core

principles of The Co-operative and we will always seek to maintain a leadership position on labelling and the improvement and

extension of consumer advice and information. Our Pharmacy chain provides a growing network of dispensing services, and health

and lifestyle advice, to communities across the UK.

We will continue to target salt, saturated fat and sugar reductions in key products whilst maintaining food safety

and product quality

We will ensure a minimum of 30% of food promotions are for healthy offerings

We will ensure that Healthier Choice products are no more expensive than standard equivalent lines

The nutritional content of Simply Value products will be at least as good as standard equivalent lines


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Respecting animal welfare

We have long known that animal welfare is an important issue to many of our members, who tell us that they are against

unnecessary suffering and the testing of cosmetic and household products on animals. We seek to ensure that good baseline

standards are applied across our own-brand range, and are not only available to a select few.

We will continue to ensure that shoppers operating on a variety of budgets have the opportunity to support higher baseline

animal welfare standards, and that all shell eggs and egg ingredients in own-brand products are at least free-range

We will extend our higher baseline standards, Elmwood, from chicken and turkey to pork in 2011

We will improve the animal welfare standards for dairy cows, together with environmental impacts, by developing

a dedicated supply chain for milk

We will continue to take a lead on the issue of animal testing of cosmetic and household products


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ETHICAL FINANCEWe have long recognised that the provision of ethical nance is crucial to the pursuit of sustainable development. Following the

introduction of an Ethical Policy in 1992, The Co-operative Bank has withheld over 1bn of funding from business activities that

its customers say are unethical. Whilst at the same time, increasing its total commercial lending sixteenfold to almost 9bn.

Against a backdrop of failing nancial institutions, we remain independent and strong, increasing lending to business by 40%

in the last three years alone. In addition to the provision of ethical nance, active and responsible shareholding is fundamental

in encouraging corporate responsibility. Our asset management business introduced the worlds rst customer-led Ethical

Engagement Policy, and is committed to use its inuence to push for improvements in the social and environmental performance

of its investee companies.

We will extend our ethical screening activities to the 1bn of investments underpinning our key insurance products, bringingthe total assets screened to 18bn

Where screening is not feasible (owing to duciary duties) we will continue to ensure that our engagement with investees is the

most active, assertive and transparent of UK institutional investors and supports our campaigning activities

We will continue to take a lead on nancial inclusion and champion nancial literacy among young people

We will extend our commercial lending in the area of energy efciency and renewables from 400m to 1bn, recruiting extra

resource to key business centres, and will help to kick-start a revolution in community-owned renewable energy generation via

a combination of 1m of grants and the development of a new nancial product for the public sector

We will continue to tackle global poverty via our 25m micronance fund support


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Co-op Ethical Operating Plan 2011-2013

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