East of England Co-op keeps it local as it helps SMEs go green
Green business news - by Louise Bateman
14th December 2011
The East of England Co-operative Society has teamed up with a locally recognised carbon standard to help its suppliers in Suffolk, Norfolk and North Essex go green.
The Society, the biggest independent retailer in
East Anglia, has become a partner of the
Suffolk Carbon Charter, a unique local carbon accreditation scheme for small to medium-sized enterprises (SME). Through the partnership the
East of England Co-op will subsidise the accreditation assessments of its
local suppliers. The company said it would enable it to address the carbon footprint of its supply chain at the same time as helping its local suppliers reduce their emissions and cut the cost of doing business.
"We aim to help a number of our local suppliers to achieve the standard," Glyn Lee, energy manager of the East of England Co-operative Society, said. "This will help them control their carbon emissions and in doing so reduce the carbon emissions the Society is vicariously responsible for."
Suffolk Carbon Charter
The Suffolk Carbon Charter was launched last year by Suffolk County Council and is the first UK carbon standard aimed at regional SMEs. Developed by Groundwork East of England with funding from Europe, it is audited by the Environment Agency and has accredited around 55 SMEs to date.
Lee said the Co-op chose the Suffolk Carbon Charter because national carbon standards had "little or no local meaning" and the retailer was increasing its use of local suppliers through its 'Sourced Locally’ initiative.
"The Suffolk Carbon Charter appealed to us as we are a Co-operative operating in Norfolk, Suffolk and North Essex, therefore the Charter fits well with our trading area," he said.
The Society, which has 200 outlets in the East of England, recently put two of its stores in Ipswich through the Carbon Charter assessment process and said it would be rolling out accreditation to its local suppliers in the new year. The current full cost of accreditation is £550.
CRC League Table
The East of England Co-op was recently ranked among the top two per cent in the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Performance League Table, which ranks more than 2000 businesses on how well they are reducing their energy usage and carbon emissions. The Society was positioned joint 44th, above major grocers Morrisons (56th), Tesco (93rd) and Sainsbury’s (164th).
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