Ethical Strategy 2014 achievements - Co-op Funeralcare · socially responsible business. Image:...

Our Legacy Ethical Strategy 2014 achievements

392301_CFC_OUR_LEGACY_ETHICAL_STRATEGY_2014_ACHIEVEMENTS.indd 1 11/11/2015 09:14

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.

Image: Hinton Park Woodland burial ground, Dorset.

Richard Lancaster Managing Director

Our Achievements

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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 suppliersTo 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.

We continue to strive to make a difference globally, helping communities in developing countries through ethical trade and co-operative support.

Image: Rupa (name changed) in Nilphamari, Bangladesh hand-crafting fairly traded coffins from bamboo and willow.

Our Future Tackling global poverty

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


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 safelyAs 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 serveLast 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 womenFuneralcare has historic links with The Royal British Legion

and for many years has carried out various activities to help

commemorate the remembrance period. 2014 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 charityAs 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.

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Our Legacy Keeping communities thrivingSupporting 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.


9,300 community activities, 35,000 hours contributed, £400,000 raised. All in 2014.

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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.


The only employer to offer funeral operations apprenticeships.


The only employer to offer funeral apprenticeshipsWe 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.

Helping people gain national qualificationsEvery 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.

Working with MencapThrough 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 2014.

Image: 21 year old Annabel Davis, one of the country’s first ever funeral apprentices.

Our People Creating valuable opportunitiesWe are committed to creating opportunities that give a diverse range of people a first step into the world of professional work.

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Investing in a more energy efficient alternative to cremationWe 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.

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.

Image: Mayfields Woodland burial park, The Wirral.

Our Future Leading the way in funerals

Committed to increasing the number of woodland burial groundsWoodland 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.

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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.

Image: The Co-operative’s Whitemill wind farm on our farmland at Coldham, Cambridgeshire.

Being carbon neutralFuneralcare 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 184.1 tonnes

carbon dioxide (CO2).

Our Legacy Protecting the environment

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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

403 3146 04. Part of the Co-operative Group Limited.

Part of Co-operative Group Limited.

FSC-C008811

www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk

Our Promise


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