The Co-operative Group
csrnetwork has provided independent assurance of The Co-operative Group's influential and highly regarded sustainability report for two years running.
Our assurance contributed to its most recent report, covering 2007/08, being described as "extraordinary" by Jonathon Porritt, the eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development.
Our assurance of The Co-operative's 2007/08 report was based on the AA1000 Assurance Standard. It involved extensive analysis of information in the report to check its accuracy and relevance. In addition, we used interviews with staff and a materiality review to ensure the right subjects were being reported.
In our assurance statement, we commented on the extent to which the report had adhered to the principles of completeness, materiality and responsiveness. We also verified that it was consistent with a 'B+' application level under the Global Reporting Initiative's sustainability reporting guidelines.
csrnetwork provided a similar assurance service on The Co-operative Group's 2006/07 report. Prior to that, we provided report assurance to The Co-operative Financial Services, a subsidiary of The Co-operative Group.
View The Co-operative Group's 2007/08 sustainability report, including our assurance statement
More about our assurance work for The Co-operative Group
On top of this assurance work, we have twice been asked by The Co-operative Group to benchmark its accountability to help it maintain its leading position in the CSR field. We have used our Accountability Rating methodology to assess its strategy, policies and management systems, and compared its performance with that achieved by other leaders in accountability (as identified in our annual Accountability Rating benchmarking of the world's largest companies). We have also recommended ways the Group could improve its accountability.
