Shoppers name group ?most ethical?
Co-op has been voted the most ethical organisation in the UK by shoppers, according to independent market researchers Gfk NOP.

The Co-operative Group has taken a leading role on climate change, promoting fairtrade and ethically led financial services throughout its business.

Co-op director of marketing Zoe Morgan said: 'The days of paying lip service are over. Consumers are increasingly demanding that companies take major issues like climate change and fairtrade seriously and go one step further by reflecting these concerns in their product and service offerings'.

The company has been at the forefront of ethical consumerism and last year became the first major retailer in the UK to switch all its outlets to green electricity.

The group's landmark CIS building headquarters in Manchester have been clad with solar panels, producing 180,000 units of renewable electricity each year - the largest project in Europe. Its eco-portfolio also features a£17 million wind-turbine farm in Cambridgeshire that returns energy back to the national grid.

The ethical stance extends as far as the group's travel and banking services: Travelcare enables holidaymakers to offset their carbon emissions and the Co-operative Bank offers green mortgages and eco-insurance.