Central England Co-op Chief Executive Debbie Robinson awarded honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University
Posted by james brindle | Published: 20/07/2022
The Chief Executive of one of the largest retail co-operative societies has been presented with an honorary doctorate by Birmingham City University (BCU) for her contribution to business.
Each year, the University makes a number of honorary awards that recognise outstanding service to the University, to the City of Birmingham and the West Midlands, or to public or professional life nationally and internationally.
This year, Debbie Robinson, who has been Chief Executive at Central England Co-op since 2019, was given the honour in recognition of her outstanding business contributions.
She said: “It’s an absolute honour to accept this doctorate from BCU. It was a wonderful occasion joining the young graduates picking up their diplomas at the start of their journeys and really humbling to be recognised in such a way.
“We’re delighted to have such close ties with BCU which have helped many of our colleagues to grow and develop into inspiring leaders and help people access higher education who may otherwise have not had the opportunity.”
Notes to editors
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.
Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.
Press office contact: James Brindle, Public Relations Lead
Contact details: email james.brindle@centralengland.coop and telephone 07392 080028.