The Natural Step Canada would like to congratulate our close partner and client, The Co-operators Group Ltd., on being named the most sustainable co-op in the world by Corporate Knights Magazine. This is a well-earned and well-deserved accolade. The Natural Step Canada has provided our Sustainable Business services to The Co-operators since 2006, we co-produced a national Sustainability at Home Toolkit, and we are partners in delivering the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training program for young leaders across Canada. Learn more about our work with The Co-operators and their sustainability journey here.

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Today Corporate Knights, the company for clean capitalism, unveiled the preeminent list on sustainability performance at large co-operative businesses, the 2013 Most Sustainable Co-ops Ranking. The research team analyzed data on environmental, social and governance factors for the 35 largest co-operatives throughout the G7, which span a range of industry groups from insurance to food and staples retailing.

The top performing company in the ranking is Canada’s The Co-operators Group, the Guelph-based insurance provider owned by 45 members that include credit union centrals and co-ops.

Some of the factors that helped The Co-operators earn the top spot are employee turnover remaining quite low, along with a portion of executive compensation being tied to improvements in sustainability performance. The organization continues to maintain significant percentages of women in executive management and in the boardroom.

For a complete list of the top 10 most sustainable co-ops including information on the ranking system used please visit www.corporateknights.com.

Source: Corporate Knights