We are aware of our responsibility towards society and the environment and are committed to continually improving the sustainability of our products.
We are aware of our responsibility towards society and the environment. As a company with a wide product range and global supply chains, the challenge lies in keeping track of actual and potential negative impacts of our business operations and employing our resources appropriately in order to prevent, mitigate, eliminate and remediate them. When undertaking due diligence, we are guided by the due diligence guidelines and process of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (see Policy Paper Due Diligence and the diagram it contains). Part of this process entails identifying and assessing potential negative impacts, and communicating about how they are addressed. To this end, we regularly conduct risk analyses of our product range with the help of the EiQ platform from LRQA.
Under our commitment with regard to risk products, we illustrate products which are most likely to result in negative impacts and about which we are most concerned. These are our initial focus and we are taking measures. As both the risk of negative impacts and our own exposure change from year to year due to changes in procurement, certain products are not reflected every year.
In addition to the priorities identified in the EiQ analysis, we also set out the critical raw materials we have defined and their key origins, as well as the measures we implement for these raw materials. (see our Policy Paper on Critical Raw Materials). All critical raw materials are shown, with the exception of soya (as animal feed), cane sugar and gold. The former, because it is a raw material used indirectly – as animal feed – in Coop’s supply chain. The product sold by Coop is not soya, but meat, milk or eggs. The latter two critical raw materials were only classified as such in 2025, which is why data on these still needs to be collected.
We show which potential negative impacts are most strongly associated with the product category and the country of production/origin, and which measures we are already implementing to prevent, mitigate or eliminate them.
Risk categories
Our risk categories describe potential negative impacts on people, animals and the environment caused by economic activities such as agriculture, industrial production and trade. The likelihood of negative impacts increases when people or companies do not abide by national laws or international agreements and recommendations.
Measures
The measures involve those of our activities through which we tackle potential negative effects, and help us avoid, mitigate or eliminate those effects. These are often standards or certifications which set specific social or environmental requirements for agriculture, industrial production, and trade. We are also involved in sustainability projects, collaborating with our business partners to come up with solutions to social and/or environmental challenges. We verify compliance with and implementation of the measures by collecting documentary evidence such as certificates, audit or lab reports or other information from our business partners.
Coop employs sustainability guidelines with its business partners to ensure responsibility for people, animals and the environment throughout the entire supply chain. The guidelines cover, among other things, compliance with laws, the implementation of sustainable procurement standards, the protection of human rights, the exclusion of child and forced labour and the promotion of fair working conditions, the responsible use of resources, as well as the promotion of environmental and climate protection measures. Through its policies, Coop ensures that business partners contribute to the implementation of the sustainability strategy and pass on and comply with the defined standards within their own supply chain. The sustainability guidelines are an integral part of Coop supplier contracts. (Link to guidelines)