The award for “Outstanding Contribution to FSC” was presented by Charles Thwaites, Executive Director of FSC UK, and is given to organisations or businesses who, through a particular project or activity, promote responsible forestry within the UK. Previous winners have included M&S and the Royal Mail.
The Co-operative received the award for its “Ethical Logos” educational resource which was rolled out to over 6,000 primary and secondary schools through its Green Schools Revolution programme.
The new resource enables schools to teach 7 – 14 year-olds about the organisations behind ethical logos. Pupils can take a closer look at supply chains and understand the ethical impact of decisions made by consumers. Judges described the module as “helping to spread awareness to a wider audience in a fun and engaging manner”.
Sarah Klueter, Senior Community Investment Manager at The Co-operative, said: “The choices that consumers make can contribute to both a healthier lifestyle and environment and, we are delighted that our work to raise awareness of ethical logos has been recognised in this way.”
Charles Thwaites, Executive Director of FSC UK, said: “We have long believed that educating the young people of Britain about FSC is essential if we are to increase awareness of the tick-tree logo and drive demand for products from well-managed forests. Not only do children have the power to influence their family and friends when it comes to purchasing wood and paper products, they are also the consumers of tomorrow. To this end, we have developed a range of educational resources of our own but we have limited capacity to engage directly with schools. Our work with The Co-operative has enabled the FSC message to reach thousands of children across the country and, we applaud The Co-operative for taking such a lead in educating young people on ethical and environmental labelling.”
The Co-operative’s Green Schools Revolution programme is freely available to all UK primary and secondary schools. It provides a wide range of cross-curricular classroom resources and interactive activities for pupils to learn about sustainability and protecting the environment. Giving young people and teachers the tools to inspire change in their schools, homes and local communities.
The “Ethical Logos” resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 and 3 students and enables pupils to learn about the ethical and environmental messages associated with logos found on common household products and foods, such as Fairtrade, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Cruelty Free International.
The resource contains an ideas bank of interactive resources for teachers to add to planned activities including “Supermarket Quest”, a computer game where students can go on an ethical shopping spree to support their learning about which products might use ethical logos.
More than 6,000 schools have now joined The Co-operative’s Green Schools Revolution programme, for more information visit www.greenschools.coop