Social Commitment

Coren is a responsible cooperative committed to the society in which it is integrated, reason why, the cooperative wishes to contribute to its development with initiatives for the benefit of the community. Since its inception, Coren works for the progress and generation of wealth in the Galician countryside, that is why the cooperative keeps all its activity – both production and industries - in Galicia. For that reason, it promotes quality employment in rural areas, offering a decent future to new generations and avoiding a rural exodus. As part of its social commitment, Coren collaborates with more than 30 social organisations, such as NGOs, soup kitchens, parishes, halfway houses … with an annual contribution of over 80 tonnes of food distributed among the beneficiaries of its social action programmes. It also supports animal shelters, providing 150,000 kilos of food products every year. The cooperative likewise collaborates with entities or institutions such as universities to further research projects and facilitating training and employment, as well as supporting cultural and sports projects.

Responsibility and honesty guide our relationship with everyone involved in the Coren Group's activity, including customers and suppliers.

COOPERATIVE MEMBERS

As a cooperative, each of our members are given a significant role, under the premise that people prevail over capital. Promoting the concept of union and integration, in which members and employees are part of the “large Coren family”.

WORKERS

Ensuring the health and safety of all our workers, fostering a stable work environment and promoting equality and the reconciliation of work and personal life. Likewise facilitating continuous training programmes and maintain fluid communication with the entire personnel of the cooperative.

CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS

Committed to our customers and consumers in response to the trust placed in us. To that end, a permanent market orientation to meet customer demands, even anticipating those requirements are maintained. And we do so on the sacrosanct premise of offering food of the highest quality and food safety.

Offering products of the highest quality has always been our main objective: to satisfy consumers by bringing only the best to their table. For this reason, strict quality controls at all stages of the process, to attain excellence are applied. In addition, fostering differentiated quality products such as our free-range chicken or free-range eggs, , with which the traditional breeding with free-range and corn-based feed; the Selecta range of chestnut-fed pork, or the organic productions endorsed by the Consello Regulador de Agricultura Ecolóxica de Galicia (Galician Regulatory Council of Organic Farming) has been revived..

TRACEABILITY AND FOOD SAFETY

As part of our commitment to food safety, we were pioneers in implementing traceability systems which ensure perfect safety throughout the food chain, from origin until reaching the consumer.

INNOVATION

Furthering continuous innovation, which adds value to our products and enables Coren to stay at the forefront of the sector. To this end, having a team of over 60 persons who participate in R&D&I projects in all our areas of activity. SEE OUR QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS HERE

True to the commitment of making compatible the agricultural and livestock activity with the utmost care of the environment, our members are occupied with a responsible working model that operates with utmost respect for the environment, fostering sustainable practices.

COMMITTED TO THE GALICIAN COUNTRYSIDE

Fostering the Galician countryside with initiatives such as free-range and organic production, breed with free access to the countryside, recovering land and avoiding its rural exodus; and the development of communal woodlands for extensive cattle breeding or the cultivation of organic cereals.

Contributing to the recovery of the Contributing to the recovery of the soutos - the Galician chestnut forests -, both thanks to the demand for Galician chestnuts for our Selecta range and with our own plantations in farms.

We actively participate in the protection of the region of A Limia (Ourense), with which Coren's members are closely tied, participating in the “Mesa da Limia”, a social platform that works for the environmental improvement of the area.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Optimising resources in farms and industries, being energetically responsible and minimising environmental impacts.

The cooperative's farms have photovoltaic and biomassenergy systems, in addition to promoting the use of geothermal energy.

Likewise, all industries have replaced fossil fuels with natural gas and other renewable sources, in addition to implementing the most efficient energy systems.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Promoting the maximum use, reuse and optimisation of resources.

To that end, our farms are equipped with the latest waste management systems (injectors, portable ultracentrifugation …).

Fostering research into new waste treatment and recovery systems, which has already led us to start up three innovative plants:

• The Environmental Technology Centre of A Limia
• The Renewable Energy Plant for the treatment of livestock biomass (currently being expanded in a second stage)
• The Biomethanization Plant for the generation of biogas

Reducing the consumption of natural resources such aswater and having the latest purification technologies, to return water to the environment with even better quality parameters than it was received.

Likewise promoting recycling, reducing the use of plastic in our packaging and using recycled materials.

RESPONSIBILITY IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Years ago, the transition to clean energy sources by modernising our energy systems and promoting renewable energies (biomass, geothermal, photovoltaic) in order to undertake an entirely sustainable activity and reduce our carbon footprint was commenced.

We are strongly committed to implementing the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Climate Pact.In fact, in the last five years CO2 emissions have been reduced by 45% and we are working every day to obtain emission neutrality by 2040. .

At Coren we work with unconditional respect for animals. Their welfare is our priority, which is why we simply devote ourselves to their care, investing in continuous improvement and in the implementation of good practices that allow us to ensure the utmost comfort in their breeding. Coren’s Animal Welfare Plan is approached from a holistic perspective, in order to rear our animals under conditions that allow their optimal development in feeding, health and biosecurity, comfort of their environment and emotional state, surpassing even the requirements demanded by the current regulations. And always under the utmost care and attention from our farmers Examples of this are:

• Our free-range, Selecta and organic productions are free range breed.
• Only free-range eggs are produced: Coren only sells free range eggs from cage-free hens.
• Facilitating that the space enjoyed by the animals is superior to that required by European regulations.

• The farms are equipped with the latest technologies which allow a comprehensive feed, ventilation or temperature control to adjust to the ideal state of each animal.
• Our pigs are provided with straw bedding, toys or classical music, so that these animals breed in a happy and stress-free way.
• Feeding our animals only with selected cereals, based on traditional, Galician raw materials such as corn for our free-range chickens and free-range hens, or chestnuts of our Selecta pigs.

The enormous effort and major investment of the cooperative in its Animal Welfare Plan has been recognised with the main certifications of the sector, which are granted only to those companies that work following strict ethical and sustainability principles.