Danish retailer Coop Danmark has been named as the most sustainable company in Denmark, according to a new survey.
The Sustainable Brand Index 2018 ranked the retailer number one for its sustainability initiatives, following an independent study based on more than 40,000 consumer interviews.
Almost half of all Danes (46%) surveyed in the index thought that Coop does a good job with regards to environmental and climate issues. Some 43% said that they believed the retailer is good at social issues such as diversity and working conditions.
Retail Representation
The retailer’s banners SuperBrugsen, Irma and Kvickly also made it into the top ten, placing at number 7, 8 and 10, respectively. Coop Danmark’s suppliers Urtekram and Thise also ranked high in the list, at number 2 and 4.
Signe Frese of Coop Danmark's corporate social responsibility arm, said the retailer was proud of the result.
“It is a recognition of the long-standing work we have done in responsible retail," she said. "It’s an effort that’s not just about single popular issues, but includes everything from ecological breakthroughs to more ‘invisible’ areas such as the removal of hazardous substances in packaging.”
Erik Elvingsson Hedén, founder of Sustainable Brand Index added, “Coop has been working actively for a long time with several of the most important sustainability issues. Both at group level and through its chains, it has really yielded results.”
Sustainability Agenda
The retailer said that ecology, food waste and healthy products are at the forefront of its sustainability agenda. Last year, the retailer campaigned to change Denmark’s legislation around the use of chemicals, which has seen support and signatures from 21,000 people so far.
At the beginning of this year, the retailer opened a new organic Irma ØKO store in Copenhagen, which boasts the highest share of organic products in the country.
Prior to that, it partnered with two Danish environmental associations through its crowdfunding platform to increase the organic farming area and launch an organic agriculture fund in Denmark.
The retailer has also previously announced plans to remove 12 substances and chemicals from its private label range, which it has deemed to be detrimental to consumer health and the environment.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
