Central Co-op Celebrates Best of Retail at The Grocer Gold Awards
Posted by sam bishop | Published: 05/07/2023
Last night saw The Grocer Gold Awards celebrate the best of retail in the UK at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and Central Co-op was nominated both for Independent Retail Chain of the Year and Sustainability Initiative of the Year for Our Malawi Partnership.
Central Co-op was pleased to share a venue with eventual winners Tesco, who won Sustainable Initiative of the Year, and Tout’s, Independent Retail Chain of the Year. It was inspirational to see so many responsible retailers in one space, building towards a better future.
Our Malawi Partnership launched on 2nd July 2022 – the 100th International Day of Co-operatives - as an initiative created in collaboration with The Co-operative College, an educational charity dedicated to empowering individuals and communities to build a fairer world, and the Malawi Federation of Co-operatives (MAFECO).
This past year has been incredibly successful for the partnership, as over £196,000 worth of product has been sold from the range in the last year, including over 12,000 bags of macadamia nuts; nearly 57,000 cups of tea across the three blends sold; and over 10,000 cups of Malawi coffee.
Central Co-op will continue its work with Our Malawi Partnership, and as a part of its purpose of creating a sustainable Society for all, is continually working on ways to improve how it operates. This includes a key partnership with Sol PV Group to rollout solar panels across the trading estate, along with the introduction of electric hearses and limousines to the funeral business, and much more.
For further details, head to the Central Co-op website, Facebook, and Twitter. Details on becoming a Member can be found on the Membership site.
About Central Co-op
Central Co-op is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK, with a heritage stretching back over 175 years and interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its 7,700 colleagues serve customers across 440 plus trading sites in 21 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Its purpose is to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for food justice and works with FareShare Midlands and a network of local food banks. It also adds £1 to every Healthy Start Voucher redeemed in store and supports six schools in partnership with Magic Breakfasts.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter. The Society is also a member of Diversity in Retail and it is fully committed to addressing the impacts of climate change by reducing carbon and food waste, increasing recycling and investment in community Sustainable Spaces funded by the carrier bag levy. It recently launched its Malawi Partnership to support farmers and producers in the country through the Co-operative International Trading Development Fund.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £109,769.25 shared out between 121 good causes in 2022.
Press office contact: Sam Bishop, PR Specialist
Contact details:
sam.bishop@centralengland.coop
07385 048048