The Co-operative Group pledges to get even Greener Together

The Manchester-based Co-operative Group, one of the top two “greenest” supermarkets in the UK, has gone one step further in an effort to reduce its carbon emissions by signing up to a green initiative.

The group has joined Greener Together – the co-operative way, a major project run by Co-operatives UK, the national trade body for co operative enterprises, which encourages and supports individuals to overcome the barriers of lifestyle change and live in a more sustainable way.

Employees at The Co-operative Group have pledged to focus on making changes to their daily lives to reduce their carbon emissions, in areas such as transport, waste and energy.

So far, over 510 employees have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint. 30 people have pledged against jetting abroad, and taking their holiday in the UK instead.

To date, thanks to the Greener Together project, 19 tonnes of waste has been saved from being deposited at landfill and over 460 tonnes of CO2 has been reduced in energy and transport.

The Co-operative Group’s commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and living in a more sustainable way comes after Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) signed up to the Greener Together project in December.

In addition, over 2,000 people from 44 Co-operatives across the UK, including The Midlands Co-operative, Midcounties Co-operative, The Phone Co-op and The Southern Co-operative, have signed up to the project.

Both the Co-operative Group and CFS will be taking part in the first ever National Campaign to celebrate Greener Together, during Greener Together Week (21 to 27 March 2011), where Co-operatives across the country will host events to celebrate their participation in the project.

Greener Together – the co-operative way helps co-operatives make a significant impact on climate change, and reduce their environmental impact in the three key areas of energy, waste and personal transport.

Part of the Greener Living Fund, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the project aims to help people to live in a more sustainable way, by focusing on the small actions every individual can take in their daily lives and enables member organisations of Co-operatives UK, the Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH) and the Plunkett Foundation to work with their members and customers in achieving greener behaviour. To find out more about Greener Together, visit the website at www.greenertogether.coop