HHW and corporate social responsibility

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HHW and corporate social responsibility

• Derek Jackson
• Co-operative Retail

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Our business

• Largest consumer co-op in the UK.
• Established in 1863.
• Have food stores, bank, insurance business,
  funeral branches, travel agents, pharmacies and
  farms.
• Employ over 69,000 people.
• Have more than 3,000 high street outlets.
• Internet shopping.
• Sales circa 7.5 billion.

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The Co-operative Group

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Our identity

• We don't exist to make a profit for shareholders.
• Our priority is to service to our members. This
  means
• making our businesses the best they can be
• investing in the communities where our members
  live.
• Members have the opportunity to
• shop without worrying about how their money will
  be used
• vote in our elections and/or stand for election
• attend a wide variety of events (for e.g.
  Fairtrade)
• shape the decisions we make.

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Our values (define us as a co-op)

• Self-help,
• members join together to make a difference
• Self-responsibility
• every member takes responsibility for helping to
  make the Co-operative Group a success
• Democracy
• all members are equal, one member, one vote
• Equality
• members have every opportunity to play their part
• Equity
• committed to rewarding members fairly
• Solidarity
• together we're stronger so members join forces.

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Our food business

• Of our 3,000 outlets, over 1,700 are food stores.
  
• UK leader in top-up food shopping with Welcome
  convenience stores based in neighbourhoods.
• We also have supermarkets and medium-sized Market
  Town stores serving local communities.

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Our stores
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CSR Characteristics

• Understanding society
• Understanding the role of each player
  government, business, trade unions, NGOs and
  civil society.
• Building capacity
• and external partnerships, creating strategic
  networks and alliances.
• Questioning business as usual
• Open to new ideas, challenging others to adopt
  new ways
• Stakeholder relations
• Identifying stakeholders, building relations
  (internal and external), consultation, balancing
  demands.
• Strategic view
• Taking a strategic view of the business
  environment.
• Harnessing diversity
• Respecting diversity

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CSR attainment levels

• Awareness
• Broad appreciation and how they might impinge on
  business decision-making.
• Understanding
• Basic knowledge of some of the issues, with the
  competence to apply this to specific activities.
• Application
• Ability to supplement basic knowledge with
  competence to apply it to specific activities.
• Integration
• In-depth understanding of the issues and an
  expertise in embedding CSR into the business
  decision-making process.
• Leadership
• The ability to help managers across the
  organisation operate in a way that fully
  integrates CSR in the decision-making process.

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Environment Policy

• We recognises that our business has an impact on
  the environment
• We aim to reduce this through a programme of
  continuous improvement.
• Environmental management systems are being
  developed to effect policies and procedures.

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Policy Procedures

• Comply with and exceed current and future
  legislation
• Monitor, Measure and Report on environmental
  impacts.
• Reduce the adverse environmental impacts of
  transport, waste and energy.
• Integrate environmental objectives into the
  everyday management.
• Establish effective communication on
  environmental issues.
• Encourage suppliers to reduce their impact on the
  environment.
• Stimulate debate on environmental issues.
• Work closely with stakeholders to identify
  measures that will make a positive contribution
  to the environment.

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Waste Streams

• General Waste
• Segregate waste at stores, depots and HQ.
• Segregate items for recycling
• Paper, glass, aluminium/steel cans, plastic
  drinks bottles 
• Clean soft plastics - bale 
• Clean card packaging bale
• Blue and other pallets - stack for return to depot

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Hazardous waste

• Computers and other electronic equipment (WEEE)
• Refurbishment and furniture waste
• Vegetable oil/Chicken fat
• Waste oil, paints, chemicals, fluorescent tubes
  etc
• Miscellaneous chemicals, paints, oil drums,
  vehicle batteries etc.

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Closing the loop

• Our waste paper, previously went to landfill, is
  now collected, recycled and, via our paper
  product suppliers, is recycled. For e.g.
• Co-op 100 Recycled Toilet Tissues and
• Co-op 100 Recycled Kitchen Towels
• These account for 890 tonnes of post consumer
  waste per annum.
• This scheme was awarded the independent Green
  Apple award for Environmental Best Practice.
• Another scheme uses scrap plastic film from our
  stores and distribution centres and is recycled
  into Co-op Bin Liners.

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Recycling

• Closing the loop on paper
• Green Apple award

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Recycling

• Mobile phones

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Recycling

• Ink jet cartridges

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Supplier screening

• Have an EMS (or planning for its implementation).
• Have an environmental policy.
• Know about applicable environmental legislation
  and regulations.
• Recognise own environmental aspects.
• Documented and measured the environmental impacts
  of significant aspects.
• Have improvement programmes.
• Have an environmental training program.
• Assess supplier environmental performance.
• Consideration of environmental issues during
  research, development, manufacturing process
  design and production.
• Declare the raw material content of its products
  delivered to Co-operative Retail.
• Provide end of life treatment recommendations for
  its products.

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Co-op brand packaging

• Look to minimise the use of packaging to that
  which is essential for product safety and
  integrity.
• We encourage recycled packaging materials to be
  used wherever possible.

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Co-op brand packaging

• To facilitate recycling and allow consumers to
  identify packaging types, materials are
  identified using standard industry symbols.

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Co-op Brand Packaging

• Other Issues
• Greenpeace Pyramid of Plastics (see Chart)
• CEPE Printing Inks
• Water Based Inks
• Bio/Degradable Printing Inks
• Bio/Degradable Adhesives
• Recyclability (Reduction of Mixed/ Composite
  Materials)

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Degradable Packaging

• September 2002 we were the first British retailer
  to use Degradable plastic carrier bags.
• Carrier bags are oil based, but contain an
  additive which makes them degrade in specified
  timescale.
• They can be reused and just as strong as
  conventional plastic bags.
• The production and supply of biodegradable and
  degradable packaging is limited at present but
  there are ongoing developments in this area.

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Biodegradable Packaging

• Exploring biodegradable packaging, made from
  natural renewable starch based produce such as
  corn and potatoes, for our Organic Fresh Produce
  range.
• These materials can be composted with normal
  household and garden waste.
• Biodegradable plastics will decompose, breaking
  down into carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts
  and methane.
• Biodegradable packaging will help reduce the
  waste going into
• Landfill,
• reduce Green House Gases and
• also help reduce the litter affecting wildlife
  and the environment in general.

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Biodegradable Packaging

• June 2002 Co-op Organic Oranges and Organic
  Onions have utilised biodegradable netting
• January 2003 Co-op Organic Tomatoes (six pack)
  use biodegradable trays and film.

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Package labelling

• "Keep Britain Tidy" symbol is used, where space
  permits, on relevant products such as snacks and
  drinks.
• "Bag It and Bin It - Don't Flush It" message is
  carried on all relevant products such as sanpro,
  disposable nappies, razor blades and medicines.

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Chemicals Strategy

• Concerns over chemicals found in everyday food
  and household products.
• Pesticides, packaging materials and food
  additives have all come under the spotlight.
• A wide range of issues including
• adverse health effects,
• environment and
• Those that accumulate in the environment and
  affect the food we eat.

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Chemical Strategy

• OSPAR Convention
• PICS List
• Pressure Groups (e.g. FoE Greenpeace)

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Friend of the Earth

• FoE Chemicals Pledge
• Co-op have backed Friends of the Earth's
  chemicals pledge, challenging other stores to
  phase out risky chemicals from the products they
  sell

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Co-op Brand priority list

• Brominated flame retardants are no longer used in
  our garden furniture range
• Nitromusks and Polycyclic musks have been removed
  from Co-op Brand household and health beauty
  ranges.
• No chlorine bleach in paper products.
• Phthalates are no longer used in cling film and
  children's products.
• EDTA in Co-op Brand is always questioned and
  removal/replacement actioned wherever possible.
• Current policy aims to avoid the use of PVC as a
  packaging material wherever possible.
• We do not use Triclosan (Microban), an
  antibacterial agent

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Pesticides

• Ban worldwide the use in Co-op fresh and frozen
  produce of over 20 pesticides for which
  alternative controls exist.
• Restrict the use of a further 30 other pesticides
  by insisting more benign alternatives are
  considered
• Publish our own residue testing results on our
  website
• Inform customers about pesticides via our
  consumer's Right to Know scheme

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Pesticides

• Support the sharing of information to provide a
  balanced and independent view on the use of
  pesticides and alternative methods
• Call on other retailers and food manufacturers to
  follow suit
• Lobby the government to outlaw the use of the six
  chemicals on the Co-op's banned list which are
  still approved for use in the UK and to lobby for
  same throughout the EU
• Lobby the government to empower the Advisory
  Committee on Pesticides to encourage benign
  alternatives and provide government funding for
  research into this area

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Co-op brand textiles

• Textiles are the result of a complex series of
  manufacturing processes and diverse range of
  chemicals may be used. Some of the chemical
  hazards produced are-
• acidity/alkalinity (pH level)
• pesticide residues
• type of dye stuff
• dyestuff residues
• dye carriers (chloro-organic)
• formaldehyde
• pentachlorophenol
• extractable heavy metals
• volatile organic compounds
• odours
• flame retardants
• biocides

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Co-op brand textiles

• Oeko-Tex Standard 100
• consumers a guarantee that amounts of potentially
  harmful substances in textile products are below
  permissible limits

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WEEE

• BRC - RETAIL COMPLIANCE SCHEME
• Deigned to be a cost effective solution for
  retailers meeting the objective of convenient
  take-back for consumers.
• Co-op will probably sign up to
• Incorporate Civic Amenity site upgrade fund for
  Local Authorities
• Fund of money will be available (6.7 million)
• Maintenance fund of 600k.

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Thank you for listening