GUELPH, ON, May 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Satisfying unmet needs, building resilience and addressing societal issues in an open and transparent way are some of the main themes that emerge in The Co-operators 2015 Sustainability Report, which was released today.

The report provides details of the sustainability efforts the organization undertook during 2015, which was the first year of its new four-year strategy. This new strategy period is significant in that the organization no longer has a separate sustainability strategy, having instead opted to integrate and embed co-operative and sustainability principles in all areas of its decisions and operations. The financial services co-operative has earned a number of accolades, including recognition among Maclean's magazine's Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada and placing in the top ten on Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.

"While we are proud of our position as a sustainability leader, we look forward to a time when sustainability is not a mark of differentiation but rather the norm," said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators. "All businesses have a responsibility to their communities and to our increasingly interconnected world."

Many co-operatives, including The Co-operators, seek to identify and address unmet needs. For the Canadian insurance industry, one glaring gap was the lack of insurance for overland flooding available to homeowners. In 2015, The Co-operators became the first Canadian insurance company to offer overland flood protection for residential property owners when it launched its new Comprehensive Water coverage. The product provides easy-to-understand, broad coverage and is offered even in the most high-risk areas. Introduced initially in Alberta, the coverage will be made available throughout Canada.

In 2015, The Co-operators publicly disclosed the carbon footprint of its equity investments, fulfilling one of the commitments it made in signing the Montreal Carbon Pledge. Its investment company, Addenda Capital, did likewise with its equity funds, making it the first Canadian asset manager to do so. Disclosing the carbon footprint of invested assets encourages a better understanding of the investment implications of climate change.

To view The Co-operators 2015 Sustainability Report in its entirety, please visit cooperators.ca.

About The Co-operators:
The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian co-operative with more than $40 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. The Co-operators is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Aon; Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada; and the Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada by Sustainalytics and Maclean's magazine. For more information visit www.cooperators.ca.

SOURCE The Co-operators