As a sustainability leader, Coop fully embraces its social responsibility to people, animals and nature. Coop believes that sustainability must be a key component of business activity.
Sustainability is integrated into Coops' Articles of Association, Mission Statement and the missions of the retail sales formats that bear the Coop name. The Coop sustainability strategy 2022-2026 is based on three pillars and ensures that sustainability feeds into all relevant corporate divisions. These three pillars also reflect the key United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals", which the Coop Group wants to help achieve.
Pillar 1: Sustainable product ranges
To continually expand the range of sustainable products and maintain their appeal, Coop works closely with partners who guarantee the highest possible standards. With a comprehensive selection of organic, animal-friendly and fair-trade products, Coop makes it possible for consumers to shop in an environmentally friendly, humane and socially responsible manner. Coop is committed to ensuring compliance with stringent minimum standards at all stages of the supply chain, from production and processing to sales. Coop requires business partners to respect human rights and ensure their supply chains are deforestation and conversion-free and promote animal welfare.
Pillar 2: Environment and climate protection
Coop is committed to scientifically based climate targets and has confirmed this commitment to effective climate protection by signing the "Science Based Targets Initiative". Coop regularly calculates the CO2e emissions and sets ambitious and effective targets for all business units. By 2026 Coop will have reduced the CO2e emissions that can be directly influenced by a further 21% and is tackling emissions reductions in the supply chains and the value chains upstream. Coop aims to be a zero-waste company and is constantly striving to close energy and material loops. Coop is also consistently reducing the amount of water used.
Pillar 3: Employees and social commitment
As a cooperative, Coop has a special commitment to society and its employees, as well as to its members. Employees benefit from the best collective employment agreement in the Swiss retail sector, a wide range of training and development opportunities and good career prospects. Coop is also the second-largest provider of apprenticeships in Switzerland. Coop works with a variety of different partners to directly support the common good and encourages employees and the rest of the population to do good deeds.
An important tool in this pillar is the Coop Sustainability Fund, through which Coop facilitates research, development and awareness-raising projects in Switzerland and abroad.
Areas for action
For each of the three pillars of the sustainability strategy, Coop has defined two areas for action that summarise the focus areas. For each of these areas of action, Coop has defined several fields of activity.
- Responsibility in supply chains
- Long-term protection of natural resources
- Net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest
- Vision of a zero-waste business
- Progressive employer
- Social responsibility
Long-term objectives
In 2013, to create an overarching framework for the commitment to sustainability throughout the Coop Group, Coop set multi-year sustainability targets to be achieved between 2014 and 2021. In 2021 Coop redefined the targets and adjusted them to include the requirements of stakeholders. The new targets apply to the entire Coop Group and are an important tool to advance the sustainability strategy and the commitment in the specified fields of activity.
In the annual "Sustainability Progress Report" Coop reports transparently on the current status of achieving these targets.