The Midcounties Co-operative has announced a major new partnership with Big Solar Co-op as it continues to make significant steps towards a more sustainable future.

The partnership will see the installation of solar panels across 29 Midcounties Co-operative food, travel, Childcare and head office sites, providing sufficient renewable electricity to meet around 5% of the society's electricity needs.

The generation of renewable electricity will also prevent 290 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere each year, supporting the society's aims to cut direct greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by January 2026.

The partnership with Big Solar Co-op - which is a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organisation - will reduce energy costs for the society, cutting electricity bills by circa £180,000 per year by generating over 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

The idea for the partnership originally came from a Midcounties Co-operative colleague as part of an initiative to identify opportunities to join forces with other UK co-operatives to create a more circular future.

Sam Webb, store manager of the Your Co-op store in Lydney, proposed working with the Big Solar Co-op to support the society's efforts to generate more green energy and subsequently represented The Midcounties Co-operative at the Global Innovation Co-op Summit to speak about his idea.

The Midcounties Co-operative has long been a leading supporter of community energy in the UK, having now established partnerships with more than 270 renewable community energy projects across the country through Younity, the society's joint venture with Octopus energy.

Big Solar Co-op aims to install 100MW of renewable community solar projects by 2030 and the agreement with The Midcounties Co-operative, will allow both co-operatives to go even further in deepening their commitment to community energy generation.

Mike Pickering, head of sustainability for The Midcounties Co-operative, said: "The partnership between Midcounties and Big Solar Co-op demonstrates the power of co-operation in driving positive change.

"By integrating solar power generation into our operations, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint, but we are also furthering our commitment to building a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future.

"Together, we look forward to this collaboration and the impact it will have on our communities and the planet."

Noel Lambert, community & content lead for Big Solar Co-op, said: "We can't wait to get solar on roofs for Midcounties', combating climate change with clean, community energy and putting our Big Solar co-operative values into practice with this partnership feels especially powerful and fitting."

The partnership complements Midcounties' work to increase energy efficiency across its business, which has seen it reduce energy usage by 11% in the past year and prevent more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The society remains committed to making further progress by prioritizing energy efficiencies and investments in renewable energy sources. A further £800,000 will be invested in energy efficiency projects over the next 12 months as innovations are implemented across more stores.

The Midcounties Co-op is fully owned by its 700,000 members and operates the Your Co-op family of businesses, including more than 230 Your Co-op Food stores across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and the West Midlands. They also trade nationally through its Your Co-op Travel, Your Co-op Childcare, Your Co-op Energy and Your Co-op Broadband and Mobile businesses.

Every time a member shops or chooses a service, the society also gives back to the community - from buying a pint of milk to booking a holiday, doing good together.

The Big Solar Co-op funds its installations through a rolling community share offer.

Big Solar Co-op will be attending The Midcounties Co-operative's Fairer Living Festival at Walsall Football Club on Saturday, May 11.