Central Co-op Celebrates Our Malawi Partnership at the Retail Week Awards
Posted by sam bishop | Published: 04/04/2023
The Retail Week Awards were held last week at Intercontinental O2 in London, and Central Co-op was proud to attend after being nominated for The Salesforce Responsible Retailer Award for its work with Our Malawi Partnership.
Central Co-op was pleased to share a venue with eventual winners Pets at Home, and it was inspirational to see so many responsible retailers in one space.
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).
Malawi is one of the world’s poorest counties, with over 70% of the population living below the national poverty line, and Our Malawi Partnership is funded through the sales of a carefully selected range of products in Central Co-op stores, including Macadamia nuts, nut butters, water, rice, tea, and coffee.
Central Co-op will continue its work with Our Malawi Partnership, with the ambition to expand the network to include a greater number of product ranges and additional Co-operative Societies selling from the range to support developments in Malawi. MidCounties Co-op has already joined the initiative this year.
Central Co-op has recently added Revolver Coffee Bags to the line-up to expand the offering of Our Malawi Partnership products for customers, and since 20th March the Society has been raising money for Malawi in the wake of Cyclone Freddy, which has devastated the country.
Since its launch in 1995, the Retail Week Awards have been a benchmark of excellence in the sector, and Central Co-op joined a plethora of retailers celebrated for their innovation, vision, resilience and drive.
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