The Co-op is extending its commitments to British fruit and vegetable sourcing, promising to buy more domestic products and offer longer-term contracts to growers.
The supermarket chain has pledged to source £2.5 billion worth of UK farm products over the coming three years, as well as extending its buying season for British fruit and vegetables and add new British flower varieties.
It will also offer growers long-term contracts, with customer planning manager Fiona Clayton telling delegates at FPJ Live that 15 three-year supply contracts had already been signed off.
At the Co-op's AGM in Manchester on Saturday (20 May), members also voted through a number of further motions, including recommitting to Fairtrade values - a move that will see its ingredients policy extended beyond cocoa so that whenever the retailer uses bananas, tea and coffee in its cakes, desserts and confectionery, it will be sourced on Fairtrade terms.
Members also voted to seek to raise awareness and campaign for greater support for victims of modern slavery in the UK and extend its 'Bright Future' partnership with support group City Hearts, as well as making 80 per cent of the Co-op's packaging easy to recycle by 2020. That will be as part of moving towards a goal of 100 per cent easy-to-recycle.
Elsewhere at the AGM group CEO Steve Murrells was elected as an executive director, Allan Leighton and Chris Kelly were re-elected as independent non-executive directors and Paul Chandler was re-elected as a member-nominated director (MND). Gareth Thomas was elected as an MND for the first time, with Ruth Spellman stepping down from the same position.
Co-op chair Leighton said: “The commitments we’ve made today to help fight modern slavery, cut packaging waste and back British suppliers are what theCo-op is all about. Working closely with our members, colleagues and communities I am confident that we can continue to champion a better way of doing business.”
No comments yet