Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Democratic control and reward
• Supporting co-operatives
• Keeping communities thriving
• Inspiring young people
• Tackling global poverty
• Protecting the environment
• Responsible retailing
• Responsible finance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced operational greenhouse gas emissions by 40% since 2006
• Reduced waste by 37% compared to 2006
• Reduced the weight of own-brand packaging by 29% since 2006
• Reduced water consumption across its estate by 18% since 2008
• The Co-operative Funeralcare became the first UK-wide carbon neutral funeral director

Social Achievements

• Invested £18.9m in supporting UK communities
• Charity of the Year partnership raised £7m (exceeding £5m target)
• Launched Green Schools Revolution, with over 3,300 schools registered
• Launched a partnership with CARE International UK for peer-to-peer lending
• Extended customer-led bank Ethical Policy to include motor and home insurance

Governance Achievements

• Launched Ethical Plan setting wide-ranging sustainability targets
• Membership grew from 5.8 million to 7.2 million
• 25% of Group Board members are women
• Extended ethical screening to £1bn of investments underpinning key insurance products

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Challenging economic and trading conditions
• Rising unemployment and worries over job security
• Developing complete accounting systems to monitor indirect emissions
• Developing accounting systems to monitor soya used in own-brand products

Mitigation Strategies

• Continued heavy investment in the business
• Launched 'Join the Revolution' campaign
• Work underway to develop accounting systems for indirect emissions
• The Co-operative Food began development of an accounting system to monitor soya used within the feed chain of its Elmwood range

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 205 site assessments/year

Responsible Procurement

• Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct
• Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex)
• Supplier Performance Matrix

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G3.1 Guidelines (A+ application level)

Certifications: ISO 14001 (Banking Group)

Third-party Assurance: Two Tomorrows (AA1000 Assurance Standard 2008)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Compostable carrier bags
• Reduced-tint milk bottle tops
• Ecological cleaning range
• PVC-free bank and membership cards

Awards & Recognition

• Green Retailer of the Year (Grocer Gold Awards)
• Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development
• Business in the Community’s International Climate Change Award
• RSPCA’s People’s Choice Supermarket Award
• Compassion in World Farming’s Most Improved Supermarket Award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• UK communities
• International communities
• Responsible retailing
• Promoting equality
• Climate change
• Waste and packaging
• Biodiversity
• Water and chemicals
• Members
• Co-operatives
• Employees
• Customers
• Suppliers and supply chains
• Economic impact
• Public policy

Environmental Achievements

• 45% reduction in direct GHG emissions (CO2e) since 2006
• 3% reduction in direct GHG emissions in 2013
• 41% reduction in energy consumption (MWh) since 2006
• 2.5% reduction in energy consumption in 2013
• 72% of waste reused/recycled in 2013
• 98% of own-brand wood or paper products sold in The Co-operative Food are FSC-certified or recycled
• 62% of own-brand wild fish and seafood from MSC-certified fisheries

Social Achievements

• £15.7m invested in UK communities in 2013
• £6m raised for Carers Trust
• 1.5 million young people benefited from Inspiring Young People programme
• Sales of Fairtrade products increased to £140m benefiting 225,000 people
• 100% own-brand eggs, milk, fresh and frozen chicken, turkey, beef, pork and sausage is UK-sourced
• Implemented Pearls – a networking and development programme for women in senior management

Governance Achievements

• Established a new Values and Principles Board

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Governance issues
• Financial crisis
• Progress on sourcing sustainable soya has been harder than anticipated
• Reduced income of The Co-operative Membership Community Fund
• Sales of products from animals reared to higher welfare standards decreased in 2013
• Increased complaints in Pharmacy

Mitigation Strategies

• Commissioned reports by Sir Christopher Kelly and Lord Myners to establish what went wrong at the Bank and how to address governance issues
• Developed alternative sourcing strategies for soya
• Made an additional donation of £800,000 to offset the shortfall in Community Fund contributions
• Developing Joint Business Plan approach with suppliers
• Launched Project Orion, a Group-wide cost reduction programme

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 270 audits in 2013

Responsible Procurement

• Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct
• Sustainable Procurement and Supplier Policy
• Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G3.1, AA1000AS (2008)

Third-party Assurance: DNV GL

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Compostable carrier bags
• Hydrocarbon fridge packs

Awards & Recognition

• IGD Environmental Sustainability Award 2013
• Business Charity Awards 2014
• ENDS Green Economy Award 2013
• Guardian Sustainable Business Award 2013
• Ethical Corporation Awards 2013
• Global Corporate Register Reporting Awards 2014

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Community and society
• Products and services
• Environmental impact
• People

Environmental Achievements

• 9% reduction in energy consumption
• 95% of our waste is reused or recycled
• 98% of our electricity sourced from renewables

Social Achievements

• £8.1m of support for local communities, including colleague volunteering
• 80,000 colleagues and Members voted to decide the focus for our campaigning
• 126,000 people now have access to clean water in Africa from sales of own-brand bottled water
• 2nd for openness and honesty at Corporate Register Global CR Reporting Awards 2015

Governance Achievements

• Implementation of 'One Member One Vote' for the 2015 Annual General Meeting

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reduced community investment due to no profit in 2013 and no dividend payment in 2014
• Increased direct GHG emissions in 2014 due to increased GHG intensity of electricity supply and improved data recording for refrigerant leakages
• Increased refrigerant gas emissions in 2014 due to improved data recording
• Increased controllable employee turnover in 2014 (22%) due to uncertainty and change within the business
• Decreased colleague engagement score in 2014 (67%) compared to 2013 (74%) due to business challenges and reputational damage
• Traceability issues in non-food product supply chain hindering the achievement of 100% sustainable palm oil from segregated sources

Mitigation Strategies

• Continued community investment through businesses, membership, and Group-wide programs
• Behavior change initiatives and targeted Food store improvement program to reduce energy consumption
• Improved data recording and reporting systems
• Work with five recognized trade unions to improve the delivery of change programs
• Planning a new deal for colleagues to improve clarity and offerings
• Reducing reliance on GreenPalm certification and stipulating segregated CSPO for own-brand food and non-food products where feasible

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 460 audits in 2014

Responsible Procurement

• Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct
• Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex)
• Sustainable Procurement and Supplier Policy (SPSP)

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G3.1

Third-party Assurance: DNV GL

Awards & Recognition

• 2nd in the ‘Openness and Honesty’ category at Corporate Register’s Global CR Reporting Awards 2015
• Winner of the Transport Project of the Year at the Business Green Leaders Awards 2014
• Winner of the Environmental Improvement award at the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2014
• Winner of the Freight Transport Association’s Multimodal award 2015 for our contribution to Environmental Sustainability
• Ranked second (Silver award) in the biennial Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Supermarket Survey (2013)
• Sustainability Initiative Star from MCS
• Ranked 26th in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2015
• Ranked in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women (2014)
• Co-operative Electrical received a customer satisfaction rating of 98% from Feefo, earning a Gold Trusted Merchant Accreditation

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Safety and security
• Planning for the future
• Enhancing the customer experience
• Building resilience
• Looking after our people
• Being a good neighbour
• Protecting the environment

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved Level Three Airport Carbon Accreditation in 2016.
• Reduced carbon intensity by 26% and achieved an absolute reduction of 8% since 2010 (target met four years ahead of schedule).

Social Achievements

• Recognised as an Employer of Choice by the Australian Business Awards.
• Increased community investment to $3.3 million (doubled since 2014).
• Introduced an employee volunteering policy.
• 8.7% growth in female representation, reaching 36.4%.

Governance Achievements

• Finalised a new sustainability strategy.
• Established performance targets and KPIs for material issues.
• Finalised a Supplier Code of Conduct.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Aircraft noise disturbing local communities.
• Managing waste generation at the airport.
• Climate change impacts on airport assets.

Mitigation Strategies

• Working with government and airline partners to manage and mitigate noise impacts.
• Initiated a review of the Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy to identify options to reduce waste generation and improve recycling.
• Prepared a detailed climate risk assessment and adaptation plan.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Almost 9,000 site inspections conducted.

Responsible Procurement

• Procurement Policy with risk assessments, governance standards, and contractual requirements for suppliers.
• Supplier Code of Conduct.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Sea level risk, temperature, east coast lows, wind, drought

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G4 Guidelines (core option)

Third-party Assurance: KPMG (limited assurance)

Awards & Recognition

• Australian Airports Association award for aviation safety performance.
• Australian Business Awards Employer of Choice.

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental Sustainability
• Social Responsibility
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Many brands developed sustainability strategies with measurable targets; collected data from across the supply chain to track sustainability performance; established dedicated sustainability teams; and invested in new technology to reduce environmental impact.
• Companies like H&M and Adidas have invested heavily in sustainability practices across their supply chains, driving up standards in the entire industry.
• Some brands, like Reformation, have placed sustainability at the core of their business models.

Social Achievements

• Increased focus on improving working conditions and labor standards in supply chains.
• Several brands are working to improve transparency and traceability in their supply chains.

Governance Achievements

• Many brands have established dedicated sustainability teams with their own budgets.
• Increased reporting on sustainability performance.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• High cost of implementing sustainable practices.
• Uncertainty about consumer willingness to pay more for sustainable products.
• Lack of access to high-quality and comparable data on sustainability performance.
• Lack of standardized data collection techniques.
• Supply chain disruptions.
• Difficulty in recycling and reusing blended and dyed fabrics.
• Coronavirus pandemic and ensuing recession impacting brands' capacity and willingness to implement sustainability agendas.

Mitigation Strategies

• Brands are investing in new technologies to improve traceability, recycling, and reduce waste.
• Collaboration between brands, start-ups, and policymakers to develop and implement sustainability targets.
• Brands are working to improve data collection and standardization.
• Brands are embedding sustainability into their brand identity and marketing efforts.
• Brands are focusing on long-term sustainability goals and not watering down their targets due to the recession.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Many brands are working to improve transparency and traceability in their supply chains.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, Higg Index