Logistics with a human face

The employees of KOSS social cooperative are responsible, among others, for labelling products and their co-packing. Persons employed by the cooperative are intellectually challenged and they would have minimum opportunities for employment on the open job market. "Corporate Social Responsibility of Raben Group influences its innovativeness. We are constantly searching for new areas of activity which can help us to achieve our CSR vision, i.e. striving to be a trendsetter in the sector. Thanks to the cooperation with the KOSS cooperative we are creating new solutions not only in the TFL sector, but also among companies from other industries, by showing them that the cooperation with entities of the social economy brings measurable results" - comments Marta Szymborska, CSR Leader in Raben Group.Legal entities which operate in the Polish social economy are, among others, foundations, associations, cooperatives and occupational therapy workshops. However not all organisations of that type are automatically classified as entities of the social economy. It depends, above all, on the profile of their activity and other features, such as if the employees or customers of such organisations include persons from groups with the risk of social exclusion, e.g. the long-term unemployed or the disabled.Raben Group started cooperation with social companies already in 2012 in collaboration with the Otwarci Social Cooperative from Konin. The cooperative makes elements of work clothes for drivers and administrative employees. This type of cooperation is an example on the inclusive business model which involves engaging groups excluded on the open job market in the social and professional life. Closer cooperation between the business and social economy is actively promoted by the Association for Social Cooperatives from Poznań, which strongly supported the partnership between the cooperative and Raben Group. "We are glad that the cooperatives we support are a part of the chain of tasks and values of such a large enterprise. Yesterday it was making clothes, today it is co-packing, and in the future - let's hope - other areas of cooperation" - says Przemysław Piechocki, Chairperson of the Association for Social Cooperatives.