Co-op and Nisa have collectively raised over £20 million to support clean water and sanitation projects, through charity partners.
The convenience retailer donates 3p of every litre sold of its own-brand water to The One Foundation, a UK charity funding grants of systems-change implementation into humanitarian water, sanitation, and hygiene programmes.
As a result, sales of the water, which is available at almost 7,500 Co-op convenience stores, including at independent Nisa retailers, has helped over 2.9 million people across the world.
Also as a pioneer partner to Water Unite, which contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals initiative to end water poverty by 2030, Co-op donates 1p of every litre of branded water to support clean water projects with its branded suppliers.
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“Water is a precious resource, sustaining all life on earth. Yet access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is taken for granted by many and remains elusive for poorer nations. The climate crisis is only widening this gap,” Co-op chief executive, Shirine Khoury-Haq said.
“The £20 million raised through our commitments is an incredible achievement, made possible through choices made by our members and customers to buy Co-op brand water, and is a fantastic example of how shopping at Co-op can really make a difference.”
The One Foundation programming and partnerships manager, Nikki Armstrong added: “We are so grateful for the leadership and commitment that Co-op has shown in ensuring clean water and sanitation for communities across Africa. The issues of water security, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all, and water pollution are all acute.
“It’s an astonishing, and sad, fact that almost a third of people on earth still don’t have running water at home, and over 750 million people rely on unsafe water sources. In fact, only 54% of the world’s population are using safely managed sanitation services and every two minutes diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor toilets kills a child under the age of five.”
