Our Legacy. Ethical Strategy 2014 achievements

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1 Our Legacy Ethical Strategy 2014 achievements

2 Our Achievements As part of The Co-operative our reason for being is not just to make a profit, but also to make a difference. This is a concept that we at The Co-operative Funeralcare are committed to, and our achievements throughout 2014 certainly bear this out. Last year saw us working together to bring about real, positive change in all of the areas set out in our Ethical Strategy - from environmental concerns to global poverty. Our achievements include our ongoing commitment to supporting local charities and good causes. In 2014 our employees were involved in over 9,300 community events raising in excess of 400,000 for charities and good causes. As always, I am immensely proud of what The Co-operative has achieved, as we strive to be recognised as the UK s most socially responsible business. Richard Lancaster Managing Director Image: Hinton Park Woodland burial ground, Dorset. 2

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4 Our Future Tackling global poverty We continue to strive to make a difference globally, helping communities in developing countries through ethical trade and co-operative support. Offering fairly traded coffins In 2012, we unveiled the first ever Traidcraft endorsed fairly traded coffins. We worked in partnership with our existing suppliers and Traidcraft, the UK s leading independent fair trade organisation, to provide fairly traded bamboo and willow coffins Available in all of our funeral homes, the coffins are manufactured in one of the poorest regions of Bangladesh. During production, Traidcraft conducts a rigorous assessment of the whole operation to ensure the coffins are made in accordance with its fair trade principles so that local people, both those who work in the manufacturing facility, and those who farm the raw materials, benefit from decent working conditions, fair wages and improved access to markets. Building fair and sustainable relationships with our suppliers To help ensure that workers throughout our supply chain are treated ethically, we developed a Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct and continue to work with suppliers to secure decent working conditions. Using only Fairtrade tea and coffee The Co-operative was the first major retailer to champion Fairtrade, pioneering the sale of fairly traded goods before the FAIRTRADE mark was even introduced. As part of this effort, we offer only Fairtrade tea and coffee in every one of our funeral homes. Image: Rupa (name changed) in Nilphamari, Bangladesh hand-crafting fairly traded coffins from bamboo and willow. 4

5 We re proud to be the first to offer Traidcraft endorsed fairly traded bamboo and willow coffins in each of our 981 funeral homes.

6 Our Legacy Keeping communities thriving Supporting the communities we serve has always been important to us and in 2014 we continued our commitment to offer community support through a variety of initiatives. Supporting bereaved children The Co-operative Funeralcare s Amy and Tom project was developed in partnership with national charity Brake to help families facing the loss of a loved one. We have supported more than 25,000 teachers and professionals since the project began. As part of The Co-operative Funeralcare s community support for military families, 300 Amy & Tom books have also been distributed to Royal Air Force units across the UK. Getting children home from school safely As part of our Be Safe Be Seen campaign, another partnership with Brake, we are encouraging schools to help make children aware about road safety, particularly during winter. Since our Be Safe Be Seen campaign launched in 2009, over 1,500 schools and youth groups have been given 200,000 high visibility reflective badges. School lessons and assemblies on road safety have also been delivered to children aged between three and seven years old across the UK. In 2014, a special road safety video was developed, helping to reach even more children online. Creating valuable links with the communities we serve Last year alone, our Funeralcare colleagues were involved in over 9,300 voluntary community activities, from gardening projects to boat races. In total, our teams contributed more than 35,000 hours of their time to their communities. Supporting servicemen and women Funeralcare has historic links with The Royal British Legion and for many years has carried out various activities to help commemorate the remembrance period saw the First World War centenary commemorations and many colleagues got involved in fundraising through knitting poppies, organising tea dances and coffee morning. During 2014, we also offered our support to the Royal British Legion Scotland by sponsoring their annual conference and national school competition to raise awareness of the First World War. Raising money for charity As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting local communities, our employees raised in excess of 400,000 for charities and good causes. Charities that benefited included local hospices, children s charities and community projects. In 2015, our teams will continue to fundraise for a variety of charities including The Co-operative Charity of the Year, The British Red Cross. 6

7 Images: Jody Kelly, Funeral Arranger and Phil Whittingham, Funeral Director both from our Truro Funeral Home helping to clear up an overgrown local cemetery. Phil Barr, Leeds and North Yorkshire Regional Manager, skydiving to raise money for Simon on the Streets charity. Emma Wilkinson, Admin Arranger from our Brighouse Funeral Home, completing a colour run to raise money for a local Hospice. 9,300 community activities, 35,000 hours contributed, 400,000 raised. All in

8 The only employer to offer funeral operations apprenticeships.

9 Our People Creating valuable opportunities We are committed to creating opportunities that give a diverse range of people a first step into the world of professional work. The only employer to offer funeral apprenticeships We introduced the funeral industry s first national apprenticeship scheme in 2013, and in 2014 we welcomed 399 new apprentices on board. Our apprenticeship in Funeral Operations and Services is an accessible national qualification framework which every one of our new funeral home based employees work towards. This has allowed us to change the way we recruit people into our business (and the industry) as those without prior experience of the funeral profession but the right strengths to succeed will receive the knowledge and skills through our apprenticeship, helping to make our workforce more diverse. Working with Mencap Through our partnership with Mencap (our 2011 Charity of the Year) and their Employ Me initiative, The Co-operative is helping people with learning disabilities to develop new skills through permanent jobs. In 2014, we took part in the Learning Disabilities Work Experience Week, which aimed to provide opportunities for people with a learning disability to develop employment skills. This involved providing work experience for two individuals from Mencap, who were able to develop their administrative and IT skills. This lead to a 6 month work placement for one individual and Mencap also presented us with The Gold Employer Award for the Learning Disabilities week in Helping people gain national qualifications Every one of our new funeral home employees works towards a relevant nationally recognised qualification, which benefits the individual and helps to create a talented and skilled workforce. Image: 21 year old Annabel Davis, one of the country s first ever funeral apprentices. 9

10 Our Future Leading the way in funerals Offering choice when arranging a funeral can bring great comfort to the bereaved as it allows them to organise a fitting, personal tribute for their loved one. We continue to look for further opportunities to provide greater choice in funeral arrangements. Investing in a more energy efficient alternative to cremation We have put significant resources into the development of Resomation - an alternative to cremation. Resomation has a number of environmental benefits including a reduction in the amount of energy needed in comparison to cremation, and a carbon footprint which is 35% less than cremation. We have now successfully introduced Resomation in three locations in the US: Minnesota, Florida and Los Angeles. In the future, we hope to be able to offer Resomation here in the UK. Committed to increasing the number of woodland burial grounds Woodland burials offer a truly beautiful alternative to a traditional cemetery and are becoming increasingly popular. The Co-operative Funeralcare operates woodland burial grounds at Poole and Wimborne, Hinton Park in Dorset and Mayfields in the Wirral Merseyside. We are committed to acquiring more. Image: Mayfields Woodland burial park, The Wirral. 10

11 Our Legacy Protecting the environment To play our part at looking after future generations, The Co-operative Group aims to be among the world s most environmentally responsible businesses. We re already hugely proud of what we ve achieved so far. Being carbon neutral Funeralcare sourced 100% of its electricity from renewables in 2014 and also maintained its carbon neutral policy for the fourth consecutive year, by offsetting its operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (10,268 tonnes). It does this by supporting a rigorously selected portfolio of carbon reduction projects, which provide additional benefits for people and the environment. Using renewable energy We purchased 16.2 GWh of renewable electricity in 2014, which meant we avoided just over 8,000 tonnes of GHG emissions - enough to drive an average car around the world 807 times. Protecting the world s forests Of the 81,000 coffins and caskets manufactured by our Funeralcare business in 2014, 97% of the coffins manufactured by The Co-operative Funeralcare (FSC C008811) were made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council ) certified wood from certified forests and other controlled sources. We re committed to working with suppliers to push for further certification and sustainable sourcing in the future; Our key supplier has maintained our Traidcraft programme and standards throughout the supply chain in Bangladesh for willow and bamboo coffins. The Co-operative Walking Bus A Walking Bus is a group of children who walk to school together, accompanied by two adult volunteers. The Group supports schools wishing to set up a walking bus scheme by supplying free hi-visibility vests, reflective snap bands and marketing collateral, worth up to 1,000, to promote walking to school. Since the launch of the programme in 2007 there are currently over 600 walking buses set up by schools across the UK with support from The Co-operative. More than 11,000 children and their parents have benefited, saving an estimated 1,119,000 car journeys a year equivalent to tonnes carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Image: The Co-operative s Whitemill wind farm on our farmland at Coldham, Cambridgeshire. 11

12 Our Promise Our promise is to help you arrange or plan a funeral with care, respect, clarity and reassurance. Our team of professionals are here to listen, advise and guide you through all your options. We re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you ll always have someone to talk to. We re here, we understand how difficult this can be and we promise to help you at every step of the way. This document is printed using vegetable oil-based inks on paper which is part recycled. Forest Stewardship Council Certified and made in an elemental chlorine-free process Funeral Services Limited 2015 The Co-operative Funeralcare is a trading name of Funeral Services Limited. Funeral Services Limited, registered in England and Wales with number IP30808R at registered office 1 Angel Square, Manchester, M60 0AG. VAT registered Part of the Co-operative Group Limited. Part of Co-operative Group Limited. FSC-C Code: TCF_0198 September 2015