As a cooperative, social commitment is particularly important to us. It is the reason why we get involved in fundraising campaigns, provide help in the event of natural disasters in Switzerland and abroad, actively promote the integration of persons with disabilities and work to avoid food waste.
We support better living and working conditions for the inhabitants of Swiss mountain regions, promote regional products and traditional production methods and enable projects related to sustainable, healthy consumption, community work and exercise.
We actively collaborate with social organizations to support people in need in Switzerland and abroad with financial and product donations.
We have been working closely with the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) for many years in order to provide people in need with fast and unbureaucratic assistance. We became an official partner of the SRC in 2015. This partnership enables us to target our emergency aid and reconstruction contributions even more effectively.
We provide spontaneous and unbureaucratic aid in the event of natural disasters at home and abroad. To ensure that the aid really does reach the people who are in urgent need of it, we usually work with the Swiss Red Cross and where relevant also with further partners such as Médecins Sans Frontières when providing international aid. These organizations handle local logistics.
Following the landslide in the valley of Misox, Coop is donating CHF 100 000 in the form of shopping vouchers to those affected. Coop Aid for Mountain Regions is donating a further CHF 100 000 for recovery projects related to agriculture in the region.
Following the floods in Valencia, Spain, Coop is providing CHF 350 000 in immediate aid.
CHF 250 000 in emergency relief for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
CHF 100 000 for emergency relief in Morocco following the devastating earthquake.
Emergency aid following the serious landslide in Schwanden, Canton Glarus. Coop is giving shopping vouchers worth a total of CHF 31 000 to the households that have been directly affected.
Toiletries and first aid items worth CHF 500 000 for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
CHF 150 000 for emergency aid in Ukraine.
CHF 50 000 of emergency aid for India in response to the devastating spread of the coronavirus.
CHF 100 000 of emergency aid for Malawi.
CHF 500 000 of emergency aid for Eastern Europe.
CHF 1 million for typhoon victims in the Philippines.
CHF 1 million for earthquake victims in Haiti for infrastructure and medicines.
80 000 family kits for Burkina Faso.
CHF 250 000 for tsunami victims in Batticaloa.
CHF 250 000 for the construction of new homes for tsunami victims.
CHF 150 000 for earthquake victims in Kashmir and Pakistan.
In Switzerland we support the SRC fundraising campaign "2 x Christmas", which has been running for many years. We have been the campaign's main donor of goods since 1998.
Find out more: Action no. 238
Thanks to our financial support the SRC has been able to create and launch a new online platform for families. For several years now we have also donated 10 cents to the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) for every Grittibänz bread roll sold between the end of October and the end of December. 100% of this money goes to help needy families in Switzerland.
Find out more: Action no. 293
We only have to dispose of around 0.2 percent of the food in our supermarkets.
Our principle for avoiding food waste is "Avoidance before recycling and disposal" and is based on the following three pillars:
Since 2005, we have been donating excellent-quality food that has passed its sell-by but not its best-before date to the organizations Tischlein deck dich, Schweizer Tafel and since 2017 to the regional organization Aufgetischt statt Weggeworfen free of charge.
Find out more: Action no. 105 and Action no. 164
In 2013, in partnership with the members of the Swiss retailers' organization IG DHS, we created the so-called Foodbridge, a joint industry solution based on this model. Together, all members support the organizations Schweizer Tafel and Tischlein deck dich with annual donations of CHF 665,000 as well as product donations. From 2019 to 2021, we were also a partner in the Pusch Foundation's nationwide “Save Food, Fight Waste” campaign.
In the event of seasonal over-production, we run targeted promotions to promote sales. We also offer fruit and vegetables that are unusual in shape, size or appearance as a tasty alternative under our own-label brand Ünique.
The majority of food that ends up being thrown away comes from private households. With our food waste poster and information leaflets, we aim to actively support our customers to avoid food waste at home.
We have brought together all our efforts to support people living with disabilities under our Solidarité commitment programme. On the one hand, we identify products and services created by persons working in social institutions with the Solidarité label; on the other hand, we are underlining our efforts as an employer to integrate people living with disabilities.
Find out more: Action no. 367
People with disabilities participate in everyday working life in around 30 sales outlets. The project involves several people sharing a regular position in one of our stores. They are supported in their interactions with customers and colleagues by specially trained mediators.
Find out more: Action no. 122
Since 2019, our nationwide “Day of good deeds” initiative has motivated the Swiss population to participate in charitable activities. The “Day of good deeds” is an opportunity to join forces for a good cause. The underlying idea is to achieve great things together by taking actions, both large and small, throughout Switzerland.
Coop Aid for Mountain Regions supports mountain farming families in Switzerland and is dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of the mountain population.
Find out more: Coop Aid for Mountain Regions
We promote regional value creation in Switzerland through our Miini Region quality label. The Miini Region quality label is attached to products that are produced regionally, thus securing jobs in all areas of Switzerland, and offer environmental added value due to short transport routes.
Find out more: Action no. 371
Our project partnerships with the Ökozentrum and the Umwelt Arena exhibition in Spreitenbach reflect our commitment to promoting education that leads to sustainable and healthy consumption. By partnering with the fit4future and Gorilla school projects, we inspire children and young people to live a healthy lifestyle. The eco-score provides our customers with information about the environmental impact of our products and increases transparency in the food market.
Through our sponsorship, we support projects in the areas of sport, culture, people and the environment, and children and families, offering people inspiring experiences that are a tangible expression of our corporate values of enthusiasm, family-friendliness and sustainability.
Find out more: Coop Sponsoring