Sustainability Report 2009 - The Co-operative

• 212 tonnes of tyres, oil and paints from The Co-operative
Motor Group.
• 286 tonnes of travel brochures (2008: 194 tonnes), paper,
cardboard and plastic from The Co-operative Travel.
• 218 tonnes of plastic sacks, containers, cardboard, tyres and oil
from The Co-operative Farms.
• 94 tonnes of cardboard, plastic and paper from The
Co-operative Electrical.
• 70 tonnes of cooking oil from The Co-operative Food and
918 tonnes from former Somerfield.
• 26 tonnes of cardboard from The Co-operative Pharmacy.
• 16 tonnes of cardboard from The Co-operative Clothing.
• Six tonnes of paper from The Co-operative Legal Services.
Performance benchmark
In 2009, former CFS reduced its overall waste arisings
and recycled 897 tonnes (2008: 1,440 tonnes) of its waste
(excluding general waste to landfill from the bank branches),
resulting in a stable CFS reuse/recycling rate above 70% 39 .
This recycling rate is considerably higher than that of the
average office, which stands at 7.5% 40 .
Recycled content in products and packaging
Recycled content in own-brand products and in the packaging
of own-brand products continues to be an area of focus. Two
products – own-brand 100% recycled toilet tissue and kitchen
towels – currently utilise waste paper from The Co-operative
Recycling Centre as part of a closed-loop scheme. Recycled
materials are also used in a number of own-brand packaging lines,
including: the majority of green glass wine bottles, washing powder
boxes and tissue boxes from one supplier 41 .
In addition, from March 2009, The Co-operative Food changed the
specification of its hand baskets to 100% recycled plastic.
The Co-operative Food, along with
other UK retailers, worked with WRAP
and the British Retail Consortium to
develop a packaging recycling logo.
Approximately 2,200, or two-thirds,
of own-brand products now carry the
logo on their packaging. Use of this logo is voluntary; however, it is
hoped that industry-wide standardisation of the multiple recycling
logos to a single, easily identifiable one will reduce confusion over
whether packaging can be recycled 42 .
Waste disposal
Waste landfilled
Business
Tonnes
The Co-operative Food 31,409 43
Former Somerfield 12,336 44
The Co-operative Pharmacy 2,851 45
The Co-operative Travel 1,158 46
The Co-operative Farms 1,118
The Co-operative Funeralcare 1,103 47
Former Britannia 499
The Co-operative Motor Group 367 48
Former CFS 278 49
The Co-operative Electrical 191
Manchester head office complex 161
Sunwin Cash in Transit 61 50
The Co-operative Clothing 16 51
The Co-operative Legal Services 15
In addition to waste disposed directly to landfill, The Co-operative
Funeralcare sent 269 tonnes of clinical waste and one tonne of
spray booth filters to be autoclaved/incinerated; The Co-operative
Food and former Somerfield sent 60 tonnes and 38 tonnes of
animal by-products respectively to be rendered/incinerated 52 ;
The Co-operative Motor Group sent 11 tonnes of hazardous waste,
including spray booth filters and cleaning rags to be reprocessed
and disposed; and The Co-operative Farms disposed of two tonnes
of asbestos. No data is available for clinical/pharmaceutical waste
from The Co-operative Pharmacy.
Ecological profile of packaging
The Co-operative Food has, for a number of years, worked to
render packaging more degradable through the use of additives.
The Co-operative Food introduced Britain’s first degradable
plastic carrier bag in 2002, and own-brand sliced bread bags and
self-select fresh produce bags were made degradable in 2004
and 2006 respectively. New research commissioned by Defra
in January 2010 53 found that the use of these additives to make
packaging degradable has no environmental benefit and, as a
result, The Co-operative has ceased to use them in its carrier bags.
Work is underway to remove them from other grocery packaging.
The Co-operative Food is committed to taking a wider sustainability
approach to packaging (ie, one that goes beyond light-weighting),
and considers issues such as toxicity, biodegradability and
recyclability in the choice of packaging of own-brand products.
Ecological sustainability Climate change Waste and packaging Biodiversity Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals
CFS and ethical finance
The Co-operative Asset Management overseas
shareholder resolution
In 2009, The Co-operative Asset Management (TCAM) was
presented with one overseas shareholder resolution relating to waste
and packaging, which called on Pepsico Inc. to publish targets to
increase beverage container recovery and recycling rates in the USA.
The resolution was supported.
The Co-operative Group Sustainability Report 2009 73