charity of the year

Congratulations! You’ve helped us raise £3.7 million for RNID

We’d like to say a big thank you to our colleagues, members and customers, for their truly outstanding contribution to our 2009 Charity of the Year. From dropping change into a collecting box in-store, to throwing themselves out of planes, supporters have helped us to raise a staggering £3.7 million for national deafness and hearing loss charity RNID.

Fundraising activities over the year have included numerous sponsored stunts, from mountain climbs to head shaves! Coffee mornings, karaoke evenings, a Santa Dash through Manchester, fancy dress days… our staff really pulled out all the stops in 2009, resulting in the largest amount ever raised for one charity by The Co-operative’s family of businesses.

Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative, said, “Our colleagues have a great appetite for fundraising, especially when they have been inspired by such a worthwhile charity.”

Beating the initial £2 million fundraising target, the £3.7 million total is a record amount of money raised for RNID, and will be used to fund the expansion of the charity’s vital Hear to Helpservice. Deafness and hearing loss affect the quality of life for millions of people in the UK. From the hard of hearing to the profoundly deaf, the condition can lead to frustration and isolation from society. The money raised will help over 20,000 vulnerable people throughout the UK.

RNID Chief Executive, Jackie Ballard, added, “This is a fantastic achievement and an amazing amount to be raised in a charity partnership. It has been a pleasure to work with such a dedicated team of people, who can be proud in the knowledge that this money will be used to make a significant impact on the lives of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Not only has The Co-operative beaten its fundraising goal by a mile, but it has embraced RNID’s cause and helped us to raise awareness of the impact of hearing loss and the importance of checking your hearing regularly.”

animal welfare

The People's Choice for Animal Welfare

Back in October 2008, we were awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award by the RSPCA for our leadership position on animal welfare. Amongst other achievements, these awards recognised the following:

We offer the largest range of RSPCA Freedom Food-labelled products in the UK. Find out more about our position on animal welfare in food production.

We became the first UK supermarket to ban animal testing for our own-brand toiletries and cosmetics. Find out more about our stance on cruelty free cosmetics, toiletries and household products.

We do not sell any products containing fur. In addition,The Co-operative Bank’s Ethical Policy states that it will not finance any business involved with the fur trade, and the Ethical Engagement Policy of The Co-operative Insurance and The Co-operative Investments states that they will encourage the companies in which they invest to end the trade in fur. The policies feature several other animal welfare statements, on issues such as animal testing and intensive farming. In 2009, the bank's Ethical Policy was relaunched. As a result, the bank will not finance any organisation involved in the exploitation of great apes, e.g. in experimentation or general commercial use.

community investment

In 2009, we invested £11.3 million* in the community, benefiting thousands of people through a wide range of initiatives. Our Community Plan focuses our investment on three key areas: Inspiring young people, Combating climate change and Tackling global poverty. Find out more about some of our local community projects, by clicking the links below:

• Green Schools is a series of initiatives aimed at encouraging young people to think green.
• The Co-operative StreetGames Young Volunteers scheme enables young people to coach children in their communities in sports and other activities.
• The Co-operative British Young Film Academyenables budding film-makers to gain the experience and skills to help them break into the industry.
• Kits for Kids has provided football kits to more than 3,700 youth teams and coaching for more than 16,500 children.
• Bank Accounts for Prisoners have led to a significant reduction in re-offending.
  

Funds and Foundations

Along with investing money into our own projects, we assist community groups and co-operatives through our funds and foundations. Many of our 113,000 employees also volunteerand take part in fundraising initiatives to make a difference in their local communities.

climate change projects

The Co-operative is combating climate change to make life good for everyone

The Co-operative is among the world’s leading businesses when it comes to taking up the challenge of tackling global climate change. Our approach to the issue is five-fold, focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energy consumption and generation, carbon offsetting, the provision of finance and public policy lobbying.

We have over 4,000 outlets powered by renewable energy, and have significantly cut the energy consumption in our buildings in recent years. An £18 million efficiency programme has been initiated to reduce electricity and gas consumption even further by 2012, by which time we also plan to be generating 15% of our energy from our own renewable sources. Our approach to climate change includes the following projects:

The Solar Tower

The Co-operative Insurance Solar Tower in Manchester is clad in over 7,000 solar panels, making it the UK’s largest solar power installation. We may not always get the best weather in Manchester, but the tower can still generate enough electricity every year to make 9 million cups of tea, potentially saving 78 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

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Wind farms

Coldham wind farm on The Co-operative Farms land in Cambridgeshire is a joint venture with Scottish Power. Eight turbines are now generating enough electricity to meet the equivalent needs of over 9,000 UK homes. Plans are currently in place to extend the Coldham wind farm, and to develop a 14-turbine windfarm on Group land in Goole, Humberside. The Merchant Wind project was established in September 2004, through a £4 million, eight-year contract between The Co-operative and green electricity generator, Ecotricity.

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Community projects

We invested £10.4 million in the community in 2007 alone. Many of the community projects we support have environmental benefits, such as our Green Energy for Schools scheme, which has already provided renewable energy solutions in the form of solar panels to more than 100 UK schools.

Another of our community projects helps schools set up Walking Buses where groups of children walk to school together accompanied by an adult, allowing families to cut down on car journeys.

Climate Change

The Co-operative is combating climate change to make life good for everyone

The Co-operative is amongst the world’s leading businesses when it comes to taking up the challenge of combating global climate change.

During 2007, 99% of our electricity was sourced from good quality renewable (or green) sources, such as wind and water power.

The Coldham Wind Farm in Cambridgeshire is a joint business venture owned by The
Co-operative Group and Scottish Power. The electricity generated from this wind farm alone is enough to meet the equivalent electricity needs of over 9,000 UK homes.

We supported The Wave, which took place days before the crucial UN climate change talks in Copenhagen. It sent a strong message to world leaders that a safe and fair deal must be agreed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and protect the world’s poorest.

We are also campaigning against tar sands development alongside the Beaver Lake Cree.

Fighting climate change is also one of our community investment priorities, with many of our projects, such as Green Energy for Schools and Walking Buses, working to address the issue.

Learn more about how we're combating climate change and find out how you can get involved inclimate change projects.

human rights

On December 10th 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the basic principle being that all people are free and equal with regards to the dignity and rights they are entitled to. Since 1950, December 10th has been declared Human Rights Day. Over sixty years may have passed since the declaration was signed, but basic human rights are still increasingly being abused around the world.

Marine Reserves

Campaign success for Marine Reserves Now!

We want to thank all those customers and members who have campaigned with us for Marine Reserves Now. Thanks to your support, the Government now has a statutory duty to introduce a network of marine conservation zones by 2012.

In the UK alone, 22 species of marine wildlife currently face the threat of global extinction, and only eight of 47 fish stocks are considered to be in a healthy state. It’s an issue that we feel needs addressing, and so do our customers; 527,000 votes were cast in support of marine reserves at Co-operative Food checkouts (over 80% of participants).

First of all we got our own house in order, by introducing a responsible fish sourcing policy for all of our own-brand produce. We’re also helping several UK fisheries to improve their sustainability and gain Marine Stewardship Certification. And, of course, we’ve been campaigning for Marine Reserves Now, in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). As part of the campaign, we’ve met with Ministers, key MPs and senior civil servants to discuss the need for marine reserves and a strong Marine Act. And, almost 5,000 Co-operative members and customers lobbied their MP on the issue.

A primary goal of the campaign was that the Marine Act would introduce marine reserves. On Thursday 12th November this Act received Royal Assent and became law; as a result the Government now has a statutory duty to introduce a network of marine conservation zones by 2012. These will include ‘no take’ marine reserves - areas closed to damaging activities such as commercial fishing and dredging.

Following this success, we need your help again. MCS has identified 73 possible sites for marine reserves around the UK, after six years of surveying work by divers. These would help protect a spectacular array of sealife, from vibrant coral reefs, to rare seahorses, to giant basking sharks. We’re asking you to vote for which sites you want to see protected, at the Your Seas Your Voice website.

The sites were unveiled by BBC Coast and Countryfile presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff, on November 10th. She said, “I’d like to say a huge thank you and well done to The Co-operative for the hugely valuable campaigning you have undertaken on marine reserves; it has made a real difference. Now we have the legislation we need, I urge The Co-operative’s staff and members to go to the Your Seas Your Voice website to see for yourself the wonderful wildlife in our seas and to vote for the sites you want protecting.”

Just by signing up to our campaign and emailing your MP, you’ve helped to bring about legislation that will protect our seas for future generations. If you want to find out what other issues we’re campaigning on, please visit our Take Action page.

Oil Pollution

Toxic Fuels

Tarnished Earth

Tarnished Earth is a dramatic street gallery of photographs by Jiri Rezac telling the story of tar sands, one of the world's biggest ecological disasters.

A spectacular presentation of pristine wilderness, human folly, consequences and alternatives, Tarnished Earth is an exhibition of devastating power.

Tarnished Earth is free to all on the South Bank of the River Thames, London, from Tuesday 14 September to Thursday 14 October. It will then tour to a further 8 locations (TBC) across the UK.

The Tarnished Earth website will launch shortly.

Visit the Toxic Fuels campaign website

Toxic Fuels, our campaign with WWF-UK, aims to combat the shocking global trend of extracting oil from unconventional sources, such as tar sands and shale oil. Such exploitation threatens global efforts to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and risks local ecological disaster.

take action

• Contact your MP to pressure the UK Government to help stop tar sands expansion
• Donate to the Beaver Lake Cree and help them stop tar sands
• Spread the word – tell your friends, family and colleagues about this issue and help them join our fight via our pages on Twitter andFacebook as well as our campaign site.

tar sands film trilogy

As part of our Toxic Fuels campaign, in 2010, we've supported the UK cinema release of three tar sands films - Dirty Oil, Petropolis and H₂Oil. More information can be found on the film website.

reports

• Unconventional Oil: scraping the bottom of the barrel: published with WWF-UK, this report looks at the increasing exploitation of unconventional oils, such as tar sands and shale oil, and the global and local impacts this will have. The report concludes that exploiting North America's unconventional oil reserves would trigger runaway climate change and risks a local ecological disaster.
• Carbon Capture and Storage in the Alberta Oil Sands - A Dangerous Myth: published with WWF-UK, this report debunks the idea, lauded by oil companies and the Canadian government, that carbon capture and storage (CCS) will significantly counter the high levels of greenhouse gases emitted in the production of oil from tar sands deposits in Alberta, Canada.
• The Opportunity Cost of the Tar Sands Report (PDF 562 KB), written by The Co-operative and WWF-UK , this report shows how the planned investment in tar sands between now and 2025 (£256 bn) could be better spent, including paying for a vast solar array in North Africa connected to Europe by a new supergrid or funding a Europe wide shift to electric vehicles. It could also fund some of the Millenium Development Goals including providing universal primary education and giving 1.6 billion people access to improved water and sanitation.

For more information on our campaign, visit our campaign website.

Plan Bee

Whilst looking at the ethics behind the Co-Operative I found out that they are starting a program about how to save the bee.

Screen shot of the Co-Operative Plan Bee campaign.

Advertisement for the same campaign to save the bee. This billboard uses 10,000 bees.

Part One - Plan Bee - The Co-Operative

Part Two - Plan Bee - The Co-Operative

Bee Facts - Plan Bee

bees - the facts

1. Bees contribute £200m a year to the UK economy through pollination. Examples of foods pollinated by bees.
2. Bee numbers in the UK have halved over the last 20 years. Last year alone a fifth of bee colonies did not survive the winter.
3. No-one knows for certain what is causing bee losses. Explanations include: bad weather, pesticides, importing of non native bee species, viruses and a mite called Varroa.
4. Neonicontinoids are a group of pesticides that have been linked to bee declines elsewhere in Europe. Sign our petition.

There are 44,000 beekeepers in the UK and over 95% are amateur. It’s easier to keep bees than you might think

Plan Bee activity in 2010

1. The Co-operative will continue raise awareness about honeybees and their recent decline.

2. A further £160,000 has been made available to support research into the demise of the honeybee. This is in addition to £150,000 committed to research in 2009.

3. The Co-operative Food will continue with its temporary prohibition on the use of six of the neonicotinoid pesticides on own-brand fresh and frozen produce, which was introduced in 2009.[1]

4. The Co-operative Farms is in the second year of a three year trial to develop a wildflower seed mix that will be planted alongside crops on our farms.

5. The Co-operative will continue to support its members and customers to become bee-friendly gardeners, with advice and tips, through the Plan Bee campaign.

6. In 2009, The Co-operative gave away over 300,000 packets of seeds to members and customers. More packets of wildflower seeds will be given away in 2010.

7. The Co-operative will continue to make availablediscounted bee boxes which provide shelter for solitary bees.

8. The Co-operative will continue to support its members to find out more about amateur beekeeping. In 2010, we will have urban beekeeper training projects in Manchester, London and Scotland.

9. The Co-operative Farms is again inviting beekeepers to establish hives on its farms.

10. The Co-operative will continue to promote the two documentaries we produced about ‘What’s happening to bees in the UK’ and ‘The Co-operative’s Plan Bee’. We'll also continue to support the film documentary ‘Vanishing of the Bees’, released in UK cinemas in 2009.

    [1] In April 2010, in light of evidence that two of the neonicotinoids, acetamiprid and thiacloprid, are lower risk to bees these have been moved from prohibited to monitored status in the pesticides policy.

Phone Recycling

The Co-operative Group helps you recycle your old mobile phone for Oxfam,part of our commitment to tackling global poverty.

£300,000 has been raised so far, enough to fund Oxfam’s HIV and AIDS programme in Malawi for one year.

What can be recycled?

Working handsets are refurbished for resale and broken handsets are completely recycled within the EU. In fact, any unwanted mobile phones, iPods, digital cameras and some inkjet cartridges* can be turned into money for Oxfam.

Just pop your phone into one of our FREEPOST recycling bags, seal it, post it and you could be helping Oxfam with their essential work in Malawi.

and we’ll send you as many FREEPOST recycling bags as you need.

How can recycling my phone make a difference?

In Malawi, Oxfam is tackling HIV and AIDS through projects aimed at promoting increased access to care, treatment and support for HIV and AIDS patients and training vulnerable families in sustainable farming techniques.

• One working mobile phone could pay for two bags of seed for families affected by HIV and AIDS, enabling them to grow and eat more - vital in a country where 85% of people survive through subsistence farming.
  
  
• Two working mobile phones could pay for workshops, where drama and songs are used to educate communities about HIV and AIDS – essential in a country where so many people are unable to read or write.
  
  
• Six working mobile phones could provide a ‘positive living’ pack for a HIV and AIDS health-care volunteer, enabling them to keep whole communities fit and healthy through the provision of food, medicines, soap, blankets and training.