Co-operative Group bags award

Manchester's Co-operative Group has pulled off another green coup.

The company, which prides itself on its ethical approach to trading , has been named Green Retailer of the Year by the Grocer magazine. The award recognises the retailer that has made the biggest effort to reduce its impact on the environment.

The Co-op saw of Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and home shopping business Ocado to win the award.  Judges lauded the Co-op for a number of reasons, including the fact that 98 per cent of its electricity comes from renewable sources, and that it made great strides to reduce packaging, such as launching the world's lightest whiskey bottle and removing shrink wrap from cucumbers.

Co-operative Financial Services, part of the Co-operative Group, is Business in the Community's Company of the Year 2008, having been recognised for making sustainable development a top priority.