Coop’s work on environmental issues and sustainable development has largely developed from its members’ commitment, not least in terms of demand for organic and eco-labelled goods.
“The basic prerequisite for sustainable development is sound finance. We must be profitable if we’re to succeed in our undertaking – to make it possible for members to contribute to sustainable development through their consumption,” says Per Rosengren, Director of Sustainable Development in the KF Group, which owns Coop. “It was, for example, pressure from members that led to our own Coop Änglamark product range.
“And when we organised our big members’ panel in 2009, we received more than 43,000 responses. Of those, 93 per cent stated that it is very or quite important that the fish sold in our stores is not threatened with extinction. We then developed a new strategy and consulted with experts to draw up a list defining which species of fish we will sell in our stores.”
• How does Coop differ from other food retail chains?
“The most important difference is that Coop is owned by its three million or so members, who are also customers. Listening to them and responding to their needs form the basis of our existence.”
Coop has three customer promises, which also define the company’s position in the Swedish market: economic value, ecological value, and joy in food and inspiration.
“This is seen in areas such as our membership cashback scheme, our range of organic and eco-labelled goods and our work in general on sustainability,” says Per Rosengren.
He is convinced that transparency and openness form the basis of committing in full to sustainable development.
“Nowadays it’s not possible to have any secrets as an organisation. Things come out into the open sooner or later. The consequence of this is that we must report everything we see, hear and do.”
Coop issues clear reports on any problems or errors that it finds at producers’ or subcontractors’ premises. These can be anything from non-permitted additives to environmental impact.
“We do all we can to fulfil our objectives, and what we can’t achieve appears on the error list. The easiest thing would be to stop buying from a producer who misbehaves, but that wouldn’t solve the problem. Instead we use our financial strength as a buyer to make changes,” says Per Rosengren.
He believes that everything has to be consistent - otherwise there will ultimately be too many question marks.
And that’s bad for business.
“Credibility and responsibility are the key to success. I’m convinced about that. If you don’t sort out your own responsibility as a company, you’ve got a problem,” says Per Rosengren.
Coop can help its members and customers by providing alternatives that make a sustainable lifestyle possible - through its product range, services and information.
“But ultimately it’s still the customer who’s responsible for the results,” he says, continuing:
“Coop itself also strives to achieve the least possible environmental and climate impact, both directly in its own operations and indirectly, via its suppliers.
“It means that everything’s important. From which light bulbs are installed in the stores to what kind of transport services we use. For example, since 2008 we’ve been transporting our goods from Southern Sweden to Stockholm by rail rather than road.”
By limiting the number of suppliers and instead identifying long-term business partners, Coop can better monitor factors such as its impact on the climate.
“Finance, the environment and measurability are important to us,” says Claes Stenfeldt, who is responsible for indirect products and services at Coop.
“That’s one of the reasons why we use Posten and Stralfors to supply printing and distribution services. We buy large volumes and have a greater opportunity to make demands, and at the same time it’s also easier for us to measure.
As a large company with a very high number of customer contacts, Coop has specific requirements of suppliers who can help them to communicate effectively with more than three million members.
“We communicate with our members via traditional marketing communication, but also using new digital channels. Yet at the same time, we’re still one of the companies that sends out the most unaddressed direct marketing (UDM) in Sweden,” says Claes Stenfeldt
• How does environmental work affect loyalty and market communication?
“We were one of the first companies in Sweden to start using the Swedish Post Office’s “Climate-friendly DM” label. Our direct marketing carries the Swan eco-label and is recyclable, and we consider where the printing facility is located and how printed matter is transported.
“Our customer magazine ‘Mersmak’, including enclosures, was also the first postal magazine to be a climate-friendly postal magazine.”
The use of digital channels is another way of rationalising communication, also from an environmental perspective.
“Many of our members make use of our special offers, check their account balance and look for recipes on our website Coop.se, using our iPhone app or at our digital member terminals in the store,” says Per Rosengren, continuing:
“In the field of marketing communication we’re facing the challenge of communicating with our members in a new media landscape, in which digital media take up more and more space, and where members and customers want to be treated in an increasingly personal way.”
• How did you come to the communication solution that you have at present?
“It’s always been self-evident to us that we must use broad-based communication channels.”
Over time this has meant UDM, print advertising, TV advertising and other mass communication channels. But now, with the digital channels, communication is changing.
“We have more than 13,000 members in our Facebook group. Many of our customer contacts now take place via e-mail, social media or other channels that didn’t exist a few decades ago.
“Our strength is that we’re owned by our members and that we communicate with our members - not with customers in the broadest sense of the word.”