The Co-operative Bank Partnership Report

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Local Communities

Every business has some impact on the community in which it's based. And we believe that the bigger the business, the greater the responsibility to be a goodneighbour. Of course, creating jobs is crucially important. But for the Bank, providing good quality employment for local people is only one aspect of fulfilling that obligation. Wherever we have Branches or Business Centres, we do our best to involve ourselves at a grass roots level in all kinds of community activities - from fund-raising for local charities to providing long-term support for voluntary organisations.

A significant portion of the Bank's community support was channelled into urban regeneration, ecological projects and educational initiatives.

Building trust - supporting urban regeneration projects is just one example of the Bank's commitment to developing good relationships in our local communities.

[ Finding out what matters to the community ]
A MORI survey carried out in 1997 confirmed our belief that the majority of the British public feels warm towards businesses that recognise their responsibilities to the community. (Even more encouraging it seems that people increasingly expect companies to conduct themselves in a way that shows real social concern.)

Interestingly, simply donating cash was felt to be the least beneficial form of community involvement. Long-term support was considered much more effective; and it was also agreed by nearly 90% of those surveyed that companies should devote resources to communicating their community involvement.

The way we chose to mark the Bank's 125th anniversarylast year provides an excellent example of our commitment to working with community groups for the long-term benefit of local people.

With our Head Office in Manchester, and our Telephone Banking Centres in Skelmersdale, Stockport and Salford, The Co-operative Bank is very much in the heartland of Greater Manchester and the North West region. So we decided the best "birthday present" we could give our neighbours would be four new community woodlands - green and wooded spaces for recreation, sports and education, as well as new habitats for wildlife.

Covering a total of 250 hectares, the four sites are a joint venture between the Bank, the Countryside Commission, Groundwork, Red Rose Forest Partnership, The Forestry Authority and the Greater Manchester Waste DisposalAuthority. The woodlands will open to the public in the year 2000, a permanent reminder not just of an important milestone in the Bank's history, but also of how much can be achieved through partnership.

In this year's report, we aim to provide clear and substantial evidence that the support we provide delivers value to those communities receiving aid.

Central to the Bank's Partnership Approach is an appreciation of the manner in which the Bank's future is linked to a whole variety of Partners.

When we launched our Ecological Mission Statement we recognised the important part that local communities can play in the shift to a more ecologically-sound society.