Throughout the major challenges of 2020, Central England Co-operative's customers, members, colleagues and communities had been inspiring.
The group did what it could to make life a little better, from fighting food poverty to making its stores more accessible. And it's ready to do even more in 2021.
Here are 12 ways the firm gave back during the past 12 months:
1. It debuted new concepts, such as first-of-their-kind community cafes
2. A rollout of exciting new services to offer customers more choice than ever when it comes to how they do their local co-op shop, from scan-and-go to home delivery
3. It invested millions in local communities, creating many new jobs, opening eight new stores and revamping 25 more
4. Pioneering work with FareShare Midlands helps create over one million meals a year for people in need
5. A total of 102 local good causes have shared out £155k from our Community Dividend Fund
6. The ongoing effort to minimise its environmental impact has seen carbon footprint reduce by 72%
7. It worked around the clock during uncertain times to make sure its stores were safe and remained open for people to access vital food and essentials
8. It rewarded its hard-working staff with extra pay and discounts as a ‘thank you’ for going above and beyond during 2020
9. The generosity of its members and customers saw over 350,000 items of food donated to food bank partners, creating over 100,000 meals
10. It rewarded members for their loyalty by paying out over £1m as part of our annual share of the profits
11. Joined forces with over 200 MPs to campaign for more to be one in terms of food justice and shopworker safety
12. Continued its ongoing efforts to improve opportunities for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues across the business by signing the Race at Work Charter.