We engage in regular exchanges with our suppliers and with organizations and initiatives in Switzerland, Europe and the production countries. This enables us to assess other people's expectations of our company at an early stage, build knowledge and pool resources.
We seek and promote active exchanges with all manner of organizations and stakeholders. Together, we develop new solutions and support each other with their implementation. Through exchanges with non-governmental organizations, offices and associations, we are able to identify socially relevant issues, build knowledge and continually improve.
We have had close strategic partnerships with a few organizations for many years. These include Bio Suisse, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Swiss Animal Protection (SAP), the Swiss Red Cross (SRC), the Swiss Society for Nutrition Research and the WWF.
Bio Suisse is the umbrella organization of Swiss organic farmers. We have been promoting organic farming with Bio Suisse since 1993. We offer the largest range of organically produced foods to a wide public.
Under the bioRe quality label, Rotkreuz-based Remei AG produces fashionable textiles for Coop Naturaline from Fairtrade organic cotton in a transparent process chain. The bioRe Foundation promotes organic and biodynamic agriculture, in particular cultivation of organic cotton as a sustainable livelihood.
The Max Havelaar Foundation awards its quality label to fairtrade products, thereby encouraging fair trade with producers and workers in disadvantaged regions of the southern hemisphere. Today, half the fairtrade products in Switzerland are sold by us.
The Coop Sustainability Fund supports lots of projects to promote organic agriculture. The FiBL is a key partner in this. It researches and develops methods relating to organic farming.
Working under the slogan «Food – Share it, don't bin it», the two food banks «Schweizer Tafel» and «Tischlein Deck Dich» collect food and distribute it to social institutions such as accommodation for the homeless, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other charitable organizations.
SAP is committed to humane living conditions for domestic pets, livestock and wild animals. For many products, we work closely with SAP to promote animal welfare in Switzerland and abroad. SAP inspectors audit aspects such as compliance with animal welfare standards on our behalf.
Working under the slogan «for more humanity», the SRC focuses on helping people in Switzerland and abroad whose lives, health or human dignity have been or are at risk of being harmed. We regularly donate money to the SRC and run joint projects, such as 2xChristmas.
The SGE's aim is to inform the public on all aspects of healthy nutrition and to promote cooperation between the scientific community and the commercial sphere.
The WWF is the best-known environmental organization in Switzerland. In 2006, we became the first retailer in Switzerland to enter into a comprehensive environmental partnership with the WWF. The primary aim is to further promote sustainable consumption and the protection of the environment.
Each year, we invite around 40 representatives of environmental, consumer and producer organizations as well as people from universities and administrative bodies to share and discuss with us their specific expectations of us. The small number of participants and the active involvement of executive committee members and senior management enable direct feedback and open dialogue. The results of the Coop Stakeholder Forum are incorporated in the target-setting process at the level of the Coop Group's Executive Committee.
We have long-term relationships with many business partners, through which we jointly form sustainable supply chains and ensure compliance with rigorous standards. The trusting working relationship enables them to make the necessary investments or develop products that pay off economically as well as benefiting people, animals and the environment.
Working with suppliers is particularly conducive to providing sustainable products and services and achieving our ambitious multi-year sustainability targets 2014-2021. That's why, in 2014, we organized the first Green Business Partner Conference with some 200 representatives of our business partners and Coop decision-makers.