How Procurement is Supporting Co-op's Sustainability Efforts

The Co-op Group stands as one of the world's largest consumer co-operatives, with a diverse portfolio spanning food retail, funeral services, insurance and legal offerings.

With more than six million active member-owners, the organisation is driven by a commitment to serve their interests and support the causes that matter most to them.

The group's extensive network includes more than 2,300 food stores, 800 funeral homes and a wholesale operation that supplies approximately 6,000 additional retail outlets. It employs 54,000 people and generates annual revenues exceeding £11bn (US$14.7bn). 

Crucially, Co-op has established itself as a pioneer in ethical business practices and community-focused initiatives, consistently delivering lasting value to its members and communities across the UK. 

Relaunching Co-op Power for a greener future

In a bid to progress its sustainability efforts, Co-op has relaunched Co-op Power – the UK's largest co-operative energy buying group – with a renewed mission: to help like-minded businesses save money and source green, low-cost energy in an ethical and sustainable way.

As well as purchasing energy for its own operations, the Co-op is now using its buying power to support other businesses with their greener energy strategies.

It is offering expertise in a number of areas, including managing energy for major sites such as the Group's Biggleswade distribution depot, which demonstrates Co-op's commitment to efficiency and sustainability at scale.

Imran Rasul, Chief Procurement Officer at Co-op, says: "As the biggest Co-op in the UK, we buy power for our own business and we decided to use our buying power to help other like-minded businesses save money and source energy in an ethical and sustainable way.

"We're building on Co-op's experience as a major energy user to help businesses take control of their energy strategies. Our team brings deep expertise in sourcing, buying and managing energy and we're committed to using that knowledge to deliver real value – helping businesses cut costs while sourcing energy in a way that's sustainable and ethical."

Back in 2022, the Co-op Group paid particular attention to internal energy procurement, redesigning and strengthening its hedging strategy to prepare for a rapidly evolving energy market.

Ensuring close collaboration between its sustainability and property teams, the Co-op modelled a new green strategy to invest in corporate Power Purchase Agreements (cPPAs) and embedded generation.

With a solid base to work from, Co-op Power finds itself in a position to provide this expertise to others. The business was soft-launched to partner suppliers during its GNFR Conference in June 2025, before being showcased at the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) Conference in September.

What Co-op Power offers

Co-op Power's offer focuses on four key services:

1. Green Strategy Consultancy – helping businesses design their own sustainable energy plans.
2. Energy Procurement – leveraging Co-op's in-house expertise to support customers with flexible purchasing strategies.
3. Portfolio and Bill Management – expert bureau services to manage energy portfolios.
4. Account Management – dedicated support for ongoing energy needs.

"We've redesigned our approach to make Co-op Power stronger and more resilient than ever," adds Imran.

"This isn't just about buying energy; it's about co-operating to create value for businesses, communities and the planet."

Commitment to responsible sourcing

While supporting others in efforts to make their energy more sustainable, Co-op has always looked at its value chain as a way to become sustainable.

It plans to move to 100% of its standard own-brand fresh and frozen farmed seafood range to Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification by 2027, strengthening its commitment to responsible sourcing.

ASC is a globally-recognised standard for responsible aquaculture, ensuring transparency and traceability across the supply chain and promotes farming that respects fish welfare, the environment and the communities around farms.

The seabass it sells is the first offering to carry the ASC logo and is now in stores. Across the next 15 months, items such as fresh smoked salmon and whole prawns, along with the other 18 lines, will be completed.

This all makes up Co-op's continued efforts to enhance transparency, traceability and responsible sourcing across its seafood supply chain. It also continues to build on the long-standing support for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild seafood and RSPCA-Assured for its premium Scottish Salmon offer.

Sam Darley, Fisheries and Agriculture Compliance Manager at Co-op, says: "Offering high-quality, sustainably sourced seafood on our shelves is at the heart of our commitment as a responsible retailer and moving 100% of our farmed fish to ASC by 2027 reflects the rigorous standards we have upheld since 2008, ensuring all seafood is sourced from well-managed farms and fisheries whilst minimising our impact on the marine environment."