November 2017

Expert views: Meet some of the people behind the social
impact of co-operatives
Gemma Lacey Director sustainability
& communications, Southern Co-op
Mike Pickering Community and
sustainability manager, Midcounties
Hannah Gallimore Corporate
responsibility manager, Central England
Our proudest achievement ...
Mike Pickering: Our colleagues and members
having been working together all year, delivering
an outstanding 36,000 volunteering hours, which
have helped to build sustainable partnerships with
community groups and identify local opportunities.
This ongoing activity across the regions enabled
the society to achieve 5 stars in BITC’s CR Index
for the second year in succession, with a score
of 100%. This has been a highlight for us, and it
acknowledges the hard work and achievements
from all colleagues.
Hannah Gallimore: We have seen several instances
where the multiple strands of our community
involvement have come together to make a
combined impact. We are especially proud of our
commitment to supporting our communities and
colleagues by signing the Time to Change mental
health awareness pledge which aims to end mental
health discrimination. This year has also seen the
continued roll out of our defibrillator programme,
which has involved fitting the vital lifesaving
equipment to all our stores and homes where
there is a need. We have also looked to help people
further afield who need our support, resulting in
some of our used vehicles such as lorries being
shipped across the globe to be used by charities
providing vital support. The combined impact of
our MCCs, colleagues and grants has made a real
difference to those school communities.
Gemma Lacey: The launch of our Love Your
Neighbourhood community programme has been
an important milestone for us and has helped to
empower all our colleagues to engage more with
their local communities, putting ownership of
this programme and supporting budgets firmly
in their hands. It is all about local action, helping
to create greener, safer, healthier, more inclusive
neighbourhoods, so we are proud that our support
has helped hundreds of charities and community
groups across our region to tackle the issues that
matter most to the communities around our stores,
funeral homes and other sites.
How we demonstrate the co-op difference ...
Gemma Lacey: Our Southern Co-op brand values
set out what we believe in, which we feel captures
the essence of our society’s difference and the
value of a co-operative approach to business:
Being fair to our members, customers, colleagues,
suppliers and the community partners we work
with. Championing a fresh approach to business,
putting purpose before profit. Making it easy for all
to join us and share in our success.
Mike Pickering: Working with members to make
a positive difference to issues that really matter to
the local community, not just in the short term, but
creating long term sustainable communities. Each
region has a steering group made up of colleagues
and members who set the local strategy. To identify
the community focus areas, we surveyed 10,000
members to establish the issues that matter most
to those who work, live and learn in the local
community. Each community also has a local
charity partner that they work with to help build
strong communities. Through this we are able to
help the charities and community groups which
provide vital support for the more vulnerable
members of the community.
Hannah Gallimore: In June, we was the headline
sponsor of Kids Country’s Food and Farming Day at
the East of England Showground in Peterborough.
The event enabled us to demonstrate our
co-operative difference and unique community
approach. We were able to use our existing
educational content and deliver the co-operative
message to a new, young audience.
How do Gemma,
Mike and Hannah
measure social
impact? Download
your free guide for
more tips to kickstart
your social reporting:
thenews.coop/extra
NOVEMBER 2017 | 27