Products
Mountain Equipment Co-op
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 15, 2007 - 2:32pm. Mountain Equipment Co-op | Retailing | Canada | Products | Environment | Principles/CSRMEC is Canada’s largest supplier of quality outdoor equipment. It has 11 stores across Canada, as well as a comprehensive web store and phone/mail order service.
Global 300 ranking:
532Number of members:
2,300,000Member Dividend:
USD $1,722,727Number of employees:
1,120Gender Diversity:
46% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 168,679,960Type of Co-operative:
Consumer Co-operativeDate founded:
1971Operating Countries:
Canada, and internationally via mail order.
Website:
Products
MEC product sourcing:
- MEC is one of the top 25 global purchasers of organic cotton.
- 100% of cotton in MEC brand clothes is organic.
- Recycled polyester at 4% in MEC brand items.
- MEC actively monitors its manufacturing facilities to ensure compliance with their standards for health and safety of workers, as well as addressing issues such as forced labour, child labour and freedom of association. This applies all the way down the supply chain.
Product Recycling:
Environment
Product policy
MEC’s Board-level Product Selection Policy ensures MEC will not design or buy
products specifically for:
- Motorised activities.
- Activities that have an unacceptable impact on the environment.
- Activities intended to kill or harm animals.
Reducing environmental impact
- PVC and other environmentally harmful substances are being removed from all MEC’s products to reduce their environmental impact.
- Target to further reduce Greenhouse gas emissions from facilities (down 52% from 2003).
- Target to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions from logistics by 5% in 2006.
- Target to donate 1% of sales to environmental causes in 2007.
MEC was ranked top retailer in the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business’ annual
Corporate Social Responsibility Ranking.
MEC was ranked top retailer (4th overall) in the Ethical Trading Action Group’s
Transparency Report Card
Coop Adriatica
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 15, 2007 - 2:26pm. Co-op Adriatica | Retailing | Italy | Products | Community | Principles/CSRCoop Adriatica has 114 points of sale in 4 regions (Emilia Romagna,
Marche, Abruzzo and Veneto.) It is part of the Coop group of
retailers in Italy.
Global 300 ranking:
96Number of members:
890,112Member Dividend:
USD $139,153,960Number of employees:
9,120Gender Diversity:
68% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Co-operativeDate founded:
1995Operating Countries:
Italy
Website:
Products
Coop Adriatica’s outlet in Ascoli Piceno was the first supermarket in Italy with green brands ‘Tutt' Oggi’. Coop is the only retailer in Italy to have obtained FSC certification for their own brand cellulose based ‘Tutella line’ of paper products.
Other innovative materials used for packing own brand products are the recycled celluloses the ‘Cartalatte’ and ‘Cartafrutta’ (trade mark by Tetrapak), used in the production of duvet covers and pillowcases of the Collection ‘Letto Coop’.
Coop Adriatica has other own brand products with official organic certification.
Coop Adriatica’s cosmetic products are certified ‘Not tested on animals’.
Coop Adriatica has been the first Italian distribution chain that has been listed in the official directory of Dolphin-Safe companies. All tuna sales are from dolphin friendly fisheries.
Community
Coop Adriatica collaborates with the Food Bank Foundation that
carries out, on the last Saturday of November, a collection of non perishable food products. These are donated by customers and given to organisations that assist needy persons locally. In 2005 the collection was carried out at 97 Coop Adriatica stores and produced a total of 195.918 kilograms of foods, with a value of approximately €657.000.
Coop Lombardy has developed with the Caritas Ambrosiana a service ‘due mani in più (two hands more)’ to deliver shopping and company to the homes of the elderly, invalids and handicapped people.
Coop Adriatica publishes an annual list of voluntary service associations and social co-operatives, the ‘C’Entro Anch’io’. The aim is to identify and to support projects in favour of infants and youth.
The project ‘Agua Para dois Irmãos’ assists in the construction of approximately 1.000 family cisterns for rainwater capture in the municipality of Dois Irmãos, Brazil. Financed by the ANCC/Coop Italy and undertaken by ONG Toscaza UCODEP, the project was started in September 2005 and will achieve a total number of 1.000 cisterns by the end of 2007.
Coop Adriatica has provided assistance for co-operatives damaged by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka, with a focus on the Districts of Hambantota and Kalutara. Partners in this intervention are the ONG UCODEP of d’Arezzo and GVC of Bologna. The project was started in May 2005; the date planned for completion is June 2007.
Coop Adriatica and its associates have become active in the international campaign ‘Make Poverty History’, selling the campaign’s white bracelets in all its hypermarkets and in approximately fifty supermarkets. To date more than €25,000 has been raised for this cause.
Over the past two years, many thousands of members of Coop Adriatica have supported, a health centre build by ‘Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF) in Cuemba/Angola (Africa). Altogether the members of the co-operative have distributed the equivalent of €800,000. When added to the donations from the members of the ‘Coop Consumatori Nordest’ and the ‘Coop Estense’, the total raised comes to €1.3 million.
Banque Populaire Group
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 15, 2007 - 1:12pm. Groupe Banques Populaires | Banking and Finance | France | Products | Environment | Community | Principles/CSR | DevelopmentWith over 7,000,000 customers and 2850 branches, the bank has one of the largest retail networks in France. They have 45,000 employees in France and abroad.
Global 300 ranking:
21Number of members:
3,000,000Number of employees:
45,530Turnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Co-operatively owned GroupDate founded:
1917Operating Countries:
France and 67 other countries.
Website:
Products
Banque Populaire Group is the no.1 provider for business start-ups and buyout loans in France. In partnership with Sociétés des Cautions Mutuelle Artisanals (SOCAMA) and with support from the European Investment Fund, Banque Popular Group has developed innovative products such as ‘Prêt Express Socama’, loans without personal guarantees for clients’ equipment purchase, and ‘Prêt Socama
Transmission-Reprise’ for buy-in/buy-out financing.
Eleven of the group’s solidarity based saving products are Finansol labelled. The French Finansol Label is a guarantee of transparency, ethics and social conscience. The Group is also a leading player in solidarity based financing and no. 1 in microloan financing (source ADIE).
Environment
The Banque Populaire group has introduced a savings scheme ‘CODEVair’. This scheme pays a slightly reduced interest rate the savings collected are assigned to the project ‘PREVair’ that funds environmentally friendly property projects.
The Banque Populaire Foundation funds projects addressing the preservation and renovation of the national maritime and aquatic environment.
Community
Healthcare: During 2005 the group’s Natexis Banque began to support efforts to combat malaria, something of a forgotten disease in the developed world but which kills over two million people every year. To this end, it began by pledging its support to the Franco-African day of action against malaria, which was organized by the ‘Plan France’ NGO. In addition, two projects to combat malaria led by other NGOs received the support of Natexis Banque.
Culture: The Banque Populaire Foundation’s activities are focused in three areas:
- Culture - by supporting young musicians in the early stage of their career;
- Social Action - by helping young disabled people to pursue a life-changing project or to join the business world;
- Maritime preservation - see Environment, above.
Almost 300 prizes and bursaries have been awarded since the Foundation was set-up in 1992.
Development
Crédit Maritime d’outre mer and BRED Banque Populaire set up a ‘Sofipêche’ unit on Réunion Island, in conjunction with Coopération Maritime. This product, which was called ‘SOFIRUN 2005’ and has €4.9 million in capital, aims to widen ownership of new fishing vessels by young fishermen setting up a business for the first time.
Coop Swiss
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 15, 2007 - 12:31pm. Coop Swiss | Retailing | Switzerland | Products | Principles | Principles/CSRCoop Swiss is the no. 2 retailer in Switzerland with an overall market share of 16.7%. It has over 1500 shops and hypermarkets and has petrol outlets, banks and restaurants.
Global 300 ranking:
13Number of members:
2,316,223Number of employees:
44,916Gender Diversity:
61% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Consortium and FederationDate founded:
1890Operating Countries:
Switzerland
Website:
Products
Environmentally and socially responsible flagship labels: Coop’s flagship labels Coop Naturaplan, Coop Naturaline, Coop Oecoplan and Max Havelaar are success stories with a history extending back over ten years. With these flagship labels, Coop
has taken environmentally and socially responsible products out of their niches and made them attractive to a broad public.
Fair-trade products: Coop is and will remain the world’s biggest provider of fairtrade products and is constantly adding new items to this range – most recently Max Havelaar avocado and Bio Noisette chocolate.
Textiles: In 1995, Coop launched the sale of organically produced cotton from fair trade under the Naturaline label. “Today, Coop is the world’s largest retailer of organic and fair-trade textiles.” The training centre in the cotton-growing area of Maikaal, India, was financed by the Coop Naturaplan Fund.
ProSpecieRara: The aim of the ProSpecieRara Foundation is to promote the revival of heirloom native plants and prevent threatened breeds of domestic animals from becoming extinct.
Purchasing: In February 2006, Coop and the retailers Colruyt (Belgium), Conad (Italy), E.LECLERC (France) and REWE Group (Germany) established a joint purchasing alliance. The main goals of ‘Coopernic’, as the alliance is called, are to pool the sourcing of internationally tradable goods, eliminate sourcing intermediaries and lower logistics costs with a view to offering customers more affordable and more attractive products.
Animal Welfare: The Swiss animal welfare organization STS performed a broadly based study of animal protection in the Swiss retailing sector, awarding Coop the highest number of points and the accolade of being Swiss champion in animal welfare – a success deriving from years of development work on the Naturaplan flagship label.
Principles
Standards: Seven Naturaline suppliers have already been certified to the highest social standard SA 8000, and others will follow suit in 2006. Many products have certifications such as Swissmill (Products: flours, flour mixtures, semolina, maize, oat flakes, extruder products, durum wheat semolina. Certifications: ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, SA 8000. The reporting is based closely on the indicator list of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
CSR Related Awards: In February 2005, Coop was awarded first prize for the best sustainability report by ‘öbu’, the Swiss Association for Ecologically Aware Company Management. In February 2006, the WWF and the ‘Vier Pfoten’ animal welfare organization presented Coop with the Golden Shopping Basket for the best performance in the field of sustainability.
Membership of CSR group: In January 2005, it became a member of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), an association of European retailers set up to implement social-accountability standards. In parts of the textile sector, membership of BSCI has the advantage that the code of conduct, which is based on the ‘Clean Clothes Campaign’ in existence since 2000, can be implemented more efficiently and to greater effect.
CSR related research: On the basis of the experience gained with vegetable producers and their suppliers in Southern Spain, Coop has entered into a joint projectrelated partnership with the GTZ (German Society for Technical Innovation) and EurepGAP. The project is entitled GRASP (Good and Risk-oriented Social Practices in Agriculture) and aims to improve social conditions for plantation and seasonal workers in agriculture.
Migros
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 14, 2007 - 9:16am. Migros | Retailing | Switzerland | People | Products | Community | Principles/CSRNo.1 retailer in Switzerland with a market share of 18.5%, and the largest employer with 580 stores – supermarkets, convenience and department stores. Migros also has banking and insurance operations, printing and publishing concerns and restaurants.
Global 300 ranking:
7Number of members:
1,982,033Number of employees:
81,049Gender Diversity:
59% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Consortium and FederationDate founded:
1925Operating Countries:
Switzerland, France, Germany
Website:
People
% Minority Ethnic Groups: Migros employs people from about 100 different countries.
Pension Plans: Women and men at Migros retire at age 63, and that Migros pays an old-age reserve pension.
Senior Citizens: Zurich’s ‘Poschti Bus’ runs four times a week, taking senior citizens to do their shopping at Migros. The old folk are accompanied by retired store managers.
Customers: Migros reinvests its entire profit in its own business, and gives it back to its customers through cheaper products.
Family
- Children: With its day nursery at the Zurich operations centre, Migros is also giving low-income parents the possibility of giving their children the best possible care.
- Parents: Female workers at Migros have been entitled to 14 weeks maternity leave for many years now, and in 2003 the entitlement actually rose to 16 weeks. Since autumn 2004, fathers can take a maximum of four weeks’ paternity leave in their child’s first year.
Attendance: At the heart of the attendance management system are the employees. It is important to have discussions with them and to co-operate with internal and external authorities (for example, internal job placement, company doctor, career counselling, disability insurance).
Rio Negro: In the Rio Negro coffee plantation in Costa Rica, Migros has been funding facilities that benefit the workers – a small restaurant and a medical station where a doctor and a dentist work. There are also two community centres that are used as a crèche during the day.
Products
Ethical Brands/Services: Migros stocks more than 1,000 organic products across its product range. Under the umbrella brand ‘Engagement’, Migros sells products that are
produced under special social and ecological conditions.
Suppliers: Migros suppliers have to sign up to its Code of Conduct. This code, whose terms include a ban on abusive child labour by suppliers, is backed up by the Charter of Human Rights, the United Nations’ special rights of children and women, and the International Labour Organization’s declaration on multinational enterprises and social policies.
Community
The Migros Cultural Percentage provides over CHF 100 million every year to support cultural and social projects, promote talent and offers reduced price tickets for events.
- Supporting Education: Every year half a million people attend the more than 600 different courses and training events at the Migros Club Schools.
- Vocational Training: Migros currently has 2,717 young women and men learning one of 35 different trades.
- Promoting the Family: Low-income families receive family allowances at six Migros Cooperatives and enterprises.
- Artists: Artistic sponsorship has a long tradition at the Migros Culture Percentage, and study prizes are awarded in music, dancing, acting and singing.
- Music: The national pop music festival m4music, which takes place every spring in Zurich, has become established as one of the most important events on the Swiss pop music calendar.
- Museum: The Migros Museum of Contemporary Art is a modern museum, whose focus and meaning lies in identifying new trends.
ZEN-NOH
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 12, 2007 - 3:30pm. Zen-Noh | Food and Agriculture | Japan | Products | Environment | Principles/CSRZEN-NOH, Japan’s federation of agricultural co-operatives is one of the largest in the world. It purchases and distributes material and equipment for agricultural production for almost 3 million farm households in Japan. It is equally involved in the collection, distribution, and marketing of agricultural products.
Global 300 ranking:
1Number of members:
4,444,800Member Dividend:
USD $2,126,577,815Number of employees:
12,557Gender Diversity:
17% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Co-operative FederationDate founded:
1972Operating Countries:
Japan
Website:
Products
Green Labelling:
ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives Association), has developed sophisticated green labelling and product promotion strategies linked to company monitored production programmes. For producers of small volumes of organically certified products aiming to secure premium prices for quality products, the supermarkets are unlikely to offer the returns available through specialist stores.
Establishment of an Inspection and Quality Control System:
ZEN-NOH has urged all ZEN-NOH group food product departments and companies and feed companies to acquire ISO9001 status (including SQF2000.) The agrichemical residue inspection system was strengthened by expanding Agricultural Research and Development Centre facilities and equipment. In preparation for the complete
privatization of agricultural product inspections in 2006, ZEN-NOH developed a rice inspection system for JA to replace the current nationalized inspection system.
Approval of Agrichemicals for Minor Crops:
The ‘JA Group Minor Crop Measures Headquarters’ was established in August 2003 to promote approval of agrichemicals for minor crops and work was begun towards that goal.
Preserving a stable supply of rice:
They are involved in the planned production and stable supply of rice, Japan’s staple food. The JA Group promotes the planned production of rice based on demand in order to keep supply and demand in balance.
Thinking of the consumers:
- JA Rice is rice provided by the JA Group based on the fundamental concept of ‘safety and reliability.’ This trusted rice is:
- produced from seeds confirmed to be of a certain variety (100% pure seed), and
- inspected by a registration agency.
In addition - production history records are verified.
- ‘Pearl Rice,’ the JA Group’s milled rice brand, is the nickname of the rice delivered by the JA Group to rice stores, the Japanese Consumer Cooperative Union (JCCU), JAs and supermarkets. In the production of its rice, the JA Group promotes the acquisition of ISO9001 status and thorough quality control.
- Horticultural Farm Products Industry: They are involved in many projects in the horticultural industry, including the co-operative adjustment of supply and demand in major production areas.
Environment
Environmental Measures:
- Livestock: To comply with the final enactment of the Livestock Waste Law in November 2004, ZEN-NOH established the ‘National Livestock Farmer Individual Inspection Campaign’ within the JA Group.
- Recycling: ZEN-NOH is promoting recycling-based agriculture by operating large-scale livestock manure treatment facilities, handling manure properly, and producing quality compost.
- Agriculture: As part of strengthening measures to create environmentally friendly agriculture, ZEN-NOH increased use of biodegradable mulch by providing information on its use and establishing local test plots.
ISO14001: On January 30, 2003, ZEN-NOH held a conference to kick off its pursuit of ISO14001 status. All prefectural headquarters, including the Ehime Prefectural Headquarters that was combined in April 2004, achieved ISO14001 status in 2005.
SEHI-MEIZIN: ZEN-NOH developed the original software named ‘SEHI-MEIZIN’, that means ‘The best Application Master’ for coated fertilizer. It enables the prediction of the release duration and pattern of coated fertilizer during the actual cultivation period only by inputting the soil temperature information of the area.
CSR Streams
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 10, 2007 - 4:50pm. People | Products | Principles | Environment | Community | Democracy | Principles/CSR | DevelopmentThe seven CSR streams define corporate/co-operative social responsibility for the Global 300 initiative. They are linked to the seven colours of the ICA brand identity and have been designed to identify the main areas that highlight the co-operative difference around democracy. CSR is a broad subject with no clear definition and the streams focus on the areas that matter.
People
The People/fundamental stakeholder groups are customers and employees, and included are aspects such as: health and safety, training and development, diversity, compensation, volunteering, satisfaction, absenteeism, feedback, and access to services.
Products
Products represent the organisation’s products/services, marketing/labelling, the supply chain and interaction with suppliers, around codes of conduct and sustainability.
Principles
Principles represent the underpinning values and principles, as well as the targets, monitoring and day-to-day implementation of CSR throughout the organisation and externally. It attempts to identify organisations that have truly integrated CSR into their strategy and working culture.
Environment
Environment represents all environmental or green initiatives and data such as renewable energy, waste, transport, energy usage, climate change, transport, paper, animal welfare and biodiversity. Processes, accreditations and targets are also included along with research and green marketing.
Community
Community represents local/national initiatives ranging from youth, healthcare, education, employment, working with Governments/NGOs to culture and sponsorship.
Democracy
Democracy is fundamental to highlighting the co-operative difference and represents members and governance. Criterion includes democratic participation, education, training, diversity, Board representation, dividends and satisfaction.
Development
Development focuses more upon international initiatives, support and collaboration with other co-operatives, from philanthropy, sharing expertise, work with NGOs/Governments, disaster relief and favourable access to products.
