Co-op News (August 2019)
What is co-operative culture - and why does it matter? This issue looks at how co-op values intersect with the values in organisations, across movements and between countries. Plus 100 years of the Channel Islands Co-operative – and how the new Coop Exchange app is tackling the capital conundrum.
What is co-operative culture - and why does it matter? This issue looks at how co-op values intersect with the values in organisations, across movements and between countries. Plus 100 years of the Channel Islands Co-operative – and how the new Coop Exchange app is tackling the capital conundrum.
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AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />
CO-OP CULTURE<br />
What is it –<br />
and why does<br />
it matter?<br />
Plus … 100 years<br />
of the Channel Islands<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative ... <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Exchange: addressing<br />
the issue of capital<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 770009 982010<br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong>
Together we will reach new heights<br />
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mission is to help the independent co-<strong>op</strong> movement thrive. We do this by reducing your<br />
society’s costs and helping your co-<strong>op</strong> be as efficient as possible through technology. We<br />
are truly co-<strong>op</strong>erative – with lower prices for all consumer societies as more co-<strong>op</strong>s use<br />
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CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND<br />
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP<br />
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871<br />
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DIGITAL EDITOR<br />
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WRITER<br />
Jen Banks<br />
DESIGN<br />
Keir Mucklestone-Barnett<br />
ART & DESIGN PLACEMENT<br />
Owais Qazi<br />
INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH OFFICER<br />
Elaine Dean<br />
DIRECTORS<br />
Barbara Rainford (chair), David Paterson<br />
(vice-chair), Gavin Ewing, Tim Hartley,<br />
Beverley Perkins and Ray Henderson.<br />
Secretary: Richard Bickle<br />
Established in 1871, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
<strong>News</strong> is published by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
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is to connect, champion and challenge<br />
the global co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement,<br />
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@co<strong>op</strong>news<br />
co<strong>op</strong>erativenews<br />
Whether it manifests itself through shared values, attitudes or assumptions, culture<br />
can play a key role in determining an organisation’s behaviour. In this issue we look<br />
at co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture – what it is and how the values and principles of co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
are reflected in diff erent sectors. How is it reflected in approaches to leadership,<br />
education or personal lives?<br />
Ed Mayo explains how there is no one identity across diff e rent organisations,<br />
since organisational culture is strongly influenced by factors such as environment,<br />
colleagues and the nature of a co-<strong>op</strong>’s work (p28). And in our feature on Cec<strong>op</strong>’s<br />
40th anniversary, we hear about some of the challenges its founding members<br />
faced when bringing together diff erent co-<strong>op</strong>erative cultures under one Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
umbrella organisation (p36-37).<br />
Organisational culture is also influenced by the sector in which co-<strong>op</strong>s <strong>op</strong>erate and<br />
the size of the business. A new report argues that Canadian federation of credit<br />
unions Desjardins Group has moved away from its original mission and co-<strong>op</strong><br />
culture due to increased competition from other banks and new consumer trends<br />
(p38-39).<br />
Why does culture matter? As Ed Mayo writes, when values are reflected in<br />
genuine behaviour, co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture can bring authenticity. Employees<br />
who work for organisations whose values they share are also more engaged<br />
and tend to accomplish more, which means that culture can help co-<strong>op</strong>s thrive.<br />
This issue we also look at the cross over in values between co-<strong>op</strong> culture and diff<br />
erent religions, hear about a university course looking specifi cally at co-<strong>op</strong><br />
culture, and how their unique way of organising helped co-<strong>op</strong>s to survive the<br />
fascist regime of Mussolini’s Italy.<br />
ANCA VOINEA - INTERNATIONAL EDITOR<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong> is printed using vegetable oil-based<br />
inks on 80% recycled paper (with 60% from post-consumer<br />
waste) with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC<br />
certified sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 3
of the Channel Islands<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative ... <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Exchange: addressing<br />
the issue of capital<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 770009 982010<br />
THIS ISSUE<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT<br />
Interview with Claire McCarthy (p24-25);<br />
we speak to Andy Burnham about the Greater<br />
Manchester <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>mmission (p26-<br />
27); Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has turned 100<br />
(p46-47); has Desjardins compromised in its<br />
push for growth? (p38-39); leadership lessons<br />
from Suma (p40-41); George Jacob Holyoake,<br />
secularist and co-<strong>op</strong>erator (p29-31)<br />
news Issue #7310 AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, challenging<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />
CO-OP CULTURE<br />
What is it –<br />
and why does<br />
it matter?<br />
Plus … 100 years<br />
COVER: The co-<strong>op</strong> movement has a<br />
complex culture which is crucial to its<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment and to the effectiveness of<br />
its organisations. We take a look<br />
at different aspects, from religion<br />
and education to leadership and<br />
international unity Features: p28-43<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
22-23 MEET... OLLY YOUNG<br />
Director at Chelmsford Star <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
24-25 CLAIRE MCCARTHY<br />
Interview with the outgoing general<br />
secretary of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party<br />
26-27 ANDY BURNHAM<br />
We speak to the Greater Manchester<br />
mayor about his plans to include<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s in the new regional economy<br />
28-43 CO-OPERATIVE CULTURE<br />
28 WHAT IS CO-OP CULTURE?<br />
There are crucial characteristics<br />
which shape a successful co-<strong>op</strong><br />
29-31 CO-OPS AND RELIGION<br />
From Mondragon to Leeds’ Daily<br />
Bread, faith has been a driving<br />
factor in co-<strong>op</strong>eration – but for<br />
other co-<strong>op</strong>erators like Holyoake,<br />
secularism was just as important<br />
32 MARKETING CO-OP CULTURE<br />
Midcounties and Openfield share their<br />
perspectives at <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
33 CO-OPS AND YOUTH<br />
How can the movement bring young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le to co-<strong>op</strong> culture?<br />
34-35 LESSONS OF THE PAST<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> culture and the Victorians<br />
36-37 CECOP AT 40<br />
How the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean body for industrial<br />
and service co-<strong>op</strong>s found a single voice<br />
for a range of national cultures<br />
38-39 PERILS OF GROWTH<br />
As Canadian finance giant Desjardins<br />
goes for growth, does it risk<br />
compromising its co-<strong>op</strong>erative nature?<br />
40-41 LEADERSHIP<br />
How can effective leadership stay in<br />
line with co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture? Suma<br />
and Lincolnshire co-<strong>op</strong>s share their<br />
perspectives at <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
42-43 MUSSOLINI’S ITALY<br />
The fascist dictatorship tried to wipe out<br />
he country’s co-<strong>op</strong>s – but this<br />
<strong>op</strong>pression prompted survivors to<br />
devel<strong>op</strong> of a strong postwar movement<br />
44-45 COOP EXCHANGE<br />
A new app is being devel<strong>op</strong>ed to help<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le invest in co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
46-47 CHANNEL ISLANDS 100 YEARS<br />
Celebrating the retail society’s centenary<br />
REGULARS<br />
5-13 UK updates<br />
14-20 Global updates<br />
21 Letters<br />
48-49 Reviews<br />
4 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
NEWS<br />
RETAIL<br />
Campaign urges UK government to set the target<br />
of one million worker-owners by 2030<br />
A new campaign by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK<br />
and the Employee Ownership Association<br />
(EOA) is calling on the UK government<br />
to invest £2m in its upcoming spending<br />
review to support a voluntary expansion<br />
of the employee and worker-owned<br />
business sectors.<br />
Due to be published this autumn, the<br />
spending review will cover the 2020-2021<br />
period, setting detailed departmental<br />
allocations. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK and<br />
EOA believe that increasing employee<br />
and worker-ownership can help the<br />
government achieve its objectives for a<br />
more productive, inclusive and balanced<br />
economy, supporting its own aims in the<br />
Good Work Plan and playing a key role in<br />
the Industrial Strategy.<br />
The #1MillionOwners campaign calls<br />
for £2.17m to be allocated over the next<br />
three years, with an ambition to create<br />
one million worker and employee-owners<br />
by 2030. Through the scheme, five local<br />
enterprise partnerships (LEPs) would work<br />
to address the biggest barriers to employee<br />
and worker ownership, such as raising<br />
awareness, practical understanding and<br />
advice among entrepreneurs, business<br />
owners, workers and advisers.<br />
In Scotland, the government is investing<br />
£500,000 through Scottish Enterprise to<br />
support employee ownership and tackle<br />
these barriers. The campaign highlights<br />
how an independent evaluation for<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Scotland<br />
found a tenfold return on investment<br />
in gross value is added for every pound<br />
invested in on-the-ground support to grow<br />
employee and worker-ownership.<br />
The Scottish government aims to<br />
increase the number of employee and<br />
worker-owned businesses from 100 to 500<br />
by 2030. The campaign suggests the UK<br />
government set a similar target.<br />
Ed Mayo, secretary general of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, said: “When it comes<br />
to reducing wealth inequality, driving<br />
employee engagement and tackling<br />
regional resilience, employee and worker<br />
ownership offers a proven solution.<br />
“The UK’s best employee-owned<br />
businesses and leading worker co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
can be the answer to a more inclusive<br />
economy at a time of great economic<br />
uncertainty. We’re urging Westminster<br />
to match the Scottish government’s<br />
ambition for a fivefold increase in the<br />
number of employee and worker owned<br />
businesses by 2030.”<br />
Deb Oxley, chief executive of the<br />
EOA, said: “Now is the time for UK<br />
government to invest in creating more<br />
businesses that have a proven record<br />
of accomplishing and sustaining higher<br />
productivity, greater economic resilience<br />
and having a wider impact on the regions<br />
they <strong>op</strong>erate in.”<br />
She added: “Not one dissenting voice<br />
has followed recent high-profile employee<br />
ownership transitions such as Riverford<br />
Organic, Aardman Animations and Richer<br />
Sounds. In fact, there was unilateral<br />
political support as well as a positive<br />
endorsement by commentators in tabloids<br />
and broadsheets.<br />
“We have great examples from across<br />
the UK of employee and worker-owned<br />
businesses of doing well while doing good<br />
– it is very clear the UK would benefit from<br />
having more of them.”<br />
Also backing the campaign is Julian<br />
Richer, founder of Richer Sounds, who<br />
recently handed control of the business<br />
to its staff by placing 60% of the company<br />
into an employee ownership trust (EOT).<br />
He said: “To me, the decision to sell the<br />
company to my colleagues was an obvious<br />
one. Nobody knew my business better<br />
than the pe<strong>op</strong>le in it and we’d created a<br />
culture together.<br />
“To sell to the highest bidder would<br />
have created wealth for one or two<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le. Instead, using the EOT model, we<br />
will sustain the value we create for the<br />
individual, the business and the economy<br />
for the longer term.”<br />
One of the largest worker co-<strong>op</strong>s in<br />
the UK, Suma, is also supporting the<br />
campaign. Ross Hodgson, Suma member<br />
said: “Worker ownership has been the key<br />
to our success over the last 40 years.<br />
“All our members are paid the same<br />
and are given an equal say in how the<br />
business is run, with each carrying out<br />
a range of jobs across our co-<strong>op</strong>. We<br />
support the campaign to create and<br />
support more worker-owners and urge the<br />
government to commit funding to grow<br />
the sector.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 5
RETAIL<br />
Sheffield <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group<br />
store brings back milk<br />
in glass bottles<br />
A <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group store in Sheffield is bringing<br />
back the glass milk bottle in response<br />
to demand from customers and the war<br />
on plastic.<br />
The Ecclesall Road store is selling glass<br />
pint bottles from local farm Our <strong>Co</strong>w<br />
Molly, four miles away. Customers can<br />
return the bottles to the sh<strong>op</strong> to be re-used<br />
by the dairy.<br />
Store manager Pete <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>er says the<br />
glass bottles are proving to be a hit – and<br />
he’s planning on increasing his order to<br />
meet demand.<br />
Mr <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>er said: “We’re the first <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
store in the country to sell milk in glass<br />
bottles and we believe we’re the first<br />
supermarket in the country to do so too.<br />
“It fits in with the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s ethos as an<br />
environmentally friendly company keen<br />
to do what it can to reduce plastic waste.<br />
And the response shows just how close<br />
the issue is to pe<strong>op</strong>le’s hearts. It’s also<br />
great to be supporting a local farm only<br />
a few miles away.”<br />
Our <strong>Co</strong>w Molly already supplies a local<br />
convenience store with milk in glass<br />
bottles – where customers get a discount<br />
on their next pint when returning their<br />
used bottles. Other stores in the city are<br />
now planning to follow suit.<br />
Director of Our <strong>Co</strong>w Molly, Eddie<br />
Andrew, said: “It’s great that the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
has become the first major supermarket<br />
in the UK to listen to environmentally<br />
conscious consumers asking for milk in<br />
glass bottles, and to give them what they<br />
want. We’re really proud we’ve been able<br />
to get our milk on the shelves there and<br />
help reduce plastic waste.”<br />
According to recent research, a glass<br />
bottle needs to used at least 13 times before<br />
becoming better for the environment<br />
than a plastic one. Mr Andrew said this<br />
was easily the case with the bottles it<br />
p Ecclesall Road <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> store manager Pete<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>er (left) with Our <strong>Co</strong>w Molly’s Eddie<br />
Andrew (Image: Our <strong>Co</strong>w Molly)<br />
delivers, some of which he claimed have<br />
been in circulation for 20 years.<br />
ECONOMY<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity-owned assets contribute £220m a year to England’s economy<br />
New research shows that England’s 6,300<br />
community-owned assets contribute<br />
nearly £220m to the economy every year.<br />
The Our Assets, Our Future report is<br />
written by researchers from the Centre for<br />
Regional Economic and Social Research<br />
(CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University<br />
and the Institute for Voluntary Action<br />
Research (IVAR).<br />
The team interviewed eight funders<br />
and support organisations, conducted<br />
an online and postal survey of potential<br />
community asset organisations, and made<br />
case studies of 27 assets in community<br />
ownership in five local authority areas.<br />
p The Kings Head, a community owned pub<br />
in Pebmarsh (Photo: the Plunkett Foundation)<br />
They found that, despite limited<br />
resources, three quarters of communityowned<br />
assets say they are in good<br />
financial health. The majority of provided<br />
a ‘micro’ (32%) or ‘small’ (48%) revenue of<br />
less than £100,000.<br />
And the sector is growing, with nearly a<br />
third of its assets coming into community<br />
ownership in the last decade. <strong>Co</strong>mmunityowned<br />
assets are also pumping nearly<br />
£150m a year of spending directly into the<br />
local communities where they are based.<br />
But one in five community assets made an<br />
<strong>op</strong>erating loss of 10% or more of revenue<br />
in the last financial year.<br />
Poorer areas are less likely to have<br />
community-owned assets, with the<br />
most deprived 30% of neighbourhoods<br />
containing just 18% of assets. Rural<br />
areas tend to have higher numbers of<br />
assets in community ownership – with<br />
the exception of some urban areas,<br />
particularly Liverpool, Manchester,<br />
Birmingham and Southwark. The authors<br />
of the report believe the trend shows the<br />
importance of a supportive environment.<br />
The cost of maintenance was the most<br />
common factor cited for the financial<br />
health of community assets in the last<br />
three years, at 46%, with other barriers<br />
including the scale of expenses, poor<br />
revenue, lack of a full volunteer base and<br />
limited access to grant funding.<br />
Ian Wilson, lead author and principal<br />
research fellow from the CRESR, said:<br />
“Although 31% of these assets are in<br />
excellent financial health, the sector<br />
needs more financial support in order to<br />
fulfil its economic potential.”<br />
The report says it should be easier to<br />
transfer assets into community ownership,<br />
calls for more business planning and<br />
general support for the sector, and wants<br />
more reliable access to cheap finance.<br />
The research was commissioned<br />
by Power to Change and the Ministry<br />
for Housing, <strong>Co</strong>mmunities and Local<br />
Government.<br />
Vidhya Alakeson, chief executive<br />
of Power to Change, said: “When<br />
communities directly own land and<br />
buildings, they can start to meet the<br />
real needs of pe<strong>op</strong>le in their area. That’s<br />
why we need concerted action from<br />
policymakers at all levels to support<br />
community ownership.”<br />
6 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
RETAIL<br />
GMB union slams John Lewis transfer<br />
of maintenance staff to US outsourcer<br />
Employee-owned John Lewis Partnership<br />
has restructured its maintenance<br />
functions, transferring nearly 300 staff<br />
members to US-based outsourcer CBRE.<br />
The decision, put into action on 1<br />
July, affected around 360 maintenance<br />
employees across the organisation’s<br />
two brands, John Lewis & Partners and<br />
Waitrose & Partners. Some retired, took<br />
redundancy or resigned while others have<br />
been redeployed to work in other areas<br />
of the Partnership.<br />
The 278 staff who moved to the new<br />
provider did so under Tupe regulations –<br />
but GMB, the trade union that represents<br />
the staff, warned the move would result in<br />
wage cuts for employees.<br />
The union says staff are “deeply<br />
unhappy” about the move and estimates<br />
employees could be thousands of pounds<br />
a year worse off through the loss of their<br />
benefits as employee-owners.<br />
Nikki Dancey, GMB regional organiser<br />
in Berkshire, said: “CBRE are currently<br />
refusing to honour the defined benefit<br />
pension scheme, the store discounts,<br />
bonuses and other employee benefits that<br />
workers have received from John Lewis.”<br />
She said staff have to either take<br />
redundancy or do the same work for lower<br />
overall pay, terms and conditions.<br />
“Many members tell us how John Lewis<br />
used to be a great company to work for, but<br />
that now their pay, terms and conditions,<br />
health and safety, and respect for the<br />
workforce is being steadily degraded,”<br />
said Ms Dancey. “Staff no longer feel<br />
valued by John Lewis and Waitrose,<br />
and the company branding of being<br />
a ‘co-<strong>op</strong>’ and workers being ‘partners’ are<br />
fast becoming a bad joke for many.”<br />
She confirmed the GMB would support<br />
the staff through the transition and<br />
represent them as future CBRE employees.<br />
She h<strong>op</strong>es that in the long term the<br />
Partnership bring them back in house.<br />
The GMB added that the trade union<br />
had “reason to believe that the transport,<br />
drivers and logistics employees may be<br />
the next ‘partners’ that the directors wish<br />
to ‘divorce’” – a move which has been<br />
denied by the Partnership.<br />
A John Lewis Partnership spokeswoman<br />
said the move to single maintenance<br />
provider would “create a Partnershipwide<br />
maintenance function leading to<br />
improved service levels while maintaining<br />
our high standards of health and safety<br />
[...] We have been working hard with<br />
CBRE to ensure Partners receive beneficial<br />
transfer terms”.<br />
ENERGY<br />
BEIS allocates £10m<br />
to green community<br />
energy projects<br />
The Department for Business, Energy and<br />
Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced<br />
changes to the Rural <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Energy<br />
Fund, which will provide £10m to support<br />
green community energy in the UK.<br />
The funding is aimed at rural<br />
sports clubs, schools and churches<br />
looking to power their buildings with<br />
clean electricity, cut their bills and<br />
reduce emissions.<br />
New community projects – including<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s – can apply for feasibility grants<br />
of up to £40,000 for green initiatives,<br />
including solar battery storage,<br />
wind, hydro and geothermal heat<br />
projects. Viable pr<strong>op</strong>osals will also be<br />
considered for further grants of up to<br />
£100,000 for business devel<strong>op</strong>ment and<br />
planning applications.<br />
Mark Billsborough, head of trading<br />
and renewables for <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Energy, which<br />
purchases energy from 79 community<br />
energy sites across the country, said:<br />
“We welcome any additional funding in<br />
this area – but there is much more that<br />
government can do to support successful<br />
community energy projects.”<br />
He said the sector had been hit by the<br />
closure of the Feed-in-Tariff, prohibitive<br />
planning rules and weak obligations on<br />
suppliers to pay fair prices for electricity.<br />
“We would call for the government to<br />
go further still,” he added, “and take a<br />
more strategic approach to supporting<br />
this sector, starting with reinstating social<br />
investment tax relief for community<br />
energy schemes as soon as possible.”<br />
Emma Bridge, chief executive of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity Energy England, welcomed<br />
the announcement but said: “the<br />
government has yet to demonstrate how<br />
it will ensure community groups receive a<br />
fair market rate when it sells energy back<br />
to the grid, and this scheme does nothing<br />
to support groups in more urban areas.<br />
“We call on the government to reinstate<br />
Social Investment Tax Relief for those who<br />
are willing to invest in community energy<br />
– helping local groups generate their own<br />
green energy, supporting the transition to<br />
a decentralised smart energy system and<br />
lowering energy bills.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 7
POLITICS<br />
MPs praise co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
mutuals in session for<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Fortnight<br />
MPs praised the contribution of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s and mutuals to the UK economy<br />
in a recent <strong>Co</strong>mmons session to mark<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Fortnight.<br />
And they passed a motion brought by<br />
Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Gareth Thomas: “That<br />
this House welcomes the contribution of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual businesses to<br />
the UK economy; notes that they provide<br />
substantial jobs in Britain, generate<br />
significant tax revenues and involve<br />
consumers and employees in decision<br />
making; and calls on the government to<br />
review what further steps it can take to<br />
help grow that sector.”<br />
This included a call for a more<br />
favourable financial and regulatory<br />
climate for credit unions and start-ups,<br />
and support for community land trusts to<br />
address the housing crisis.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, Labour, <strong>Co</strong>nservative, SNP and<br />
DUP MPs made supportive remarks about<br />
various sectors of the movement, and<br />
there was a salute to its radicalism from<br />
Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Barry Sheerman who<br />
said: “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s are, in fact, dangerous.<br />
They undermine the existing order, and<br />
empower pe<strong>op</strong>le to take charge of their<br />
own lives. They are dangerous, and they<br />
should be.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nservative Steve Baker noted a global<br />
“lack of faith” in institutions and said<br />
there was a need to recapture some of the<br />
radicalism of the co-<strong>op</strong> movement: “It is<br />
about free individuals in society standing<br />
up not only for themselves but against<br />
entrenched interests and entrenched<br />
power better to serve their families and<br />
their communities.” He added that, as a<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nservative, he had “something to learn<br />
from the traditions of the left”.<br />
MPs also highlighted efforts to deliver<br />
support for co-<strong>op</strong>s in Wales, with Labour/<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Stephen Doughty pointing<br />
to the new £3m round of funding for<br />
Social Business Wales; and in various<br />
cities, with Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Gareth<br />
Snell praising the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>uncils<br />
Innovation Network, and his colleague<br />
Luke Pollard detailing community wealth<br />
building efforts in Plymouth, including<br />
the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of a regional bank.<br />
And Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Jim McMahon<br />
highlighted last month’s launch of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Party manifesto for Northern Ireland.<br />
In response to the debate, economic<br />
secretary to the Treasury John Glen said<br />
the government is committed to ensuring<br />
capital requirements do not unfairly<br />
impact on smaller lenders like building<br />
societies, and said 15 credit unions have<br />
been selected for a two-year pilot of a new<br />
prize-linked savings scheme.<br />
The government is also conducting<br />
a comprehensive review of social<br />
investment tax relief. And in July Treasury<br />
officials hosted a mutuals worksh<strong>op</strong><br />
with <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK to investigate the<br />
barriers faced by mutuals.<br />
POLITICS<br />
Joe Fortune takes helm of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party<br />
Joe Fortune, the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party’s national<br />
political and policy manager, has been<br />
promoted to the role of general secretary.<br />
He takes over from Claire McCarthy, who is<br />
leaving the organisation after four years to<br />
work in local government.<br />
Mr Fortune has been with the Party<br />
since 2010. From 2014-15, he served<br />
as a political advisor to the shadow<br />
secretary of state for transport. He has<br />
been an executive member of the Socialist<br />
Environment and Resources Association<br />
(Sera), the only environmental group<br />
affiliated to the Labour Party, since 2008.<br />
He has a degree in politics and<br />
parliamentary studies from the University<br />
of Leeds. After graduating he joined the<br />
secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary<br />
Rail Group. As the party’s transport<br />
expert, he has played a key role in<br />
campaigning and devel<strong>op</strong>ing the party’s<br />
policy pr<strong>op</strong>osals for mutual models for<br />
rail and bus services.<br />
Mr Fortune said he was “greatly looking<br />
forward” to the role, which he will be<br />
taking up this month.<br />
“Claire McCarthy has been a fantastic<br />
general secretary and a great colleague to<br />
the whole team at the Party – we<br />
all wish her well,” he said. “It’s an<br />
exciting time for the Party and for the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement, we have huge<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities ahead of us. I look forward<br />
to working with our new chair, NEC,<br />
staff, the entire Party and movement<br />
in the new role.”<br />
In June the Party’s executive committee<br />
elected Anna Turley as chair. She replaces<br />
MP Gareth Thomas, who stood down after<br />
nearly 20 years.<br />
p <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party secretary general Joe Fortune<br />
Ed Mayo, secretary general of sector<br />
body <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, said: “Joe is<br />
a wonderful appointment. He knows<br />
parliamentary politics backwards and<br />
has a long and deep commitment to<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative action. The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party is in<br />
very good hands.”<br />
u Interview, Claire McCarthy, p23-24<br />
8 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
CO-OP GROUP<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food is a t<strong>op</strong> supermarket for customer satisfaction<br />
The latest UK Customer Satisfaction<br />
Index (UKCSI) reveals <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food as the<br />
t<strong>op</strong> bricks and mortar food retailer for<br />
customer service.<br />
Only online supermarket Ocado was<br />
ranked above the Group in the index,<br />
which rates customer satisfaction across<br />
13 sectors, incorporating the views of<br />
10,000 consumers and over 240 brands.<br />
Published by the Institute of Customer<br />
Service (ICS), the index takes into<br />
account five factors: experience with<br />
organisations; complaint handling;<br />
perceptions of customer ethos; emotional<br />
connection; and ethical behaviour.<br />
The index praised the Group for making<br />
improvements in customer satisfaction<br />
and convenience sales growth, where it<br />
has enjoyed five years of consecutive likefor-like<br />
growth. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food achieved sales<br />
growth of 4.5% in <strong>2019</strong>, outperforming<br />
the sector average of 2.0%.<br />
According to the index, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food is<br />
the most improved supermarket in the<br />
food retail sector, despite the average food<br />
retail sector customer satisfaction falling<br />
year on year by 1.1 points, to 80.1.<br />
The report adds that in January <strong>2019</strong>,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food exceeded the sector average<br />
customer satisfaction for the first time.<br />
A total of 11 companies in food retail<br />
received a UKCSI score but only <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Food improved its score (by 2.5 points)<br />
compared to a year ago.<br />
Chris Whitfield, chief <strong>op</strong>erating officer,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food, said: “Our ambition is for all<br />
of our stores to be at the heart of local life,<br />
connecting communities, creating value<br />
locally and bringing pe<strong>op</strong>le together.<br />
Our members and customers expect us<br />
to deliver what they want, need and care<br />
about – and we are dedicated to doing just<br />
that. We are delighted with the findings,<br />
and while there is always more that needs<br />
to be done, they illustrate outcomes of<br />
continued investment in our pe<strong>op</strong>le,<br />
product devel<strong>op</strong>ment, store improvement,<br />
supplier relationships and communities.”<br />
Joanna Causon, CEO of the ICS, said<br />
that in a highly competitive sector where<br />
service levels are on the whole declining,<br />
focusing on delivering a brilliant end-toend<br />
experience is increasingly important.<br />
She added: “Our previous research<br />
shows a correlation between sustained<br />
levels of high customer satisfaction<br />
and increased sales, market share and<br />
repeat custom. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Food is showing<br />
the benefits of getting service right for<br />
customers – with a strong performance in<br />
the UK Customer Service Index also being<br />
reflected in its financial performance.”<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group was also one of the t<strong>op</strong><br />
rated organisations for ethics, along with<br />
employee-owned John Lewis.<br />
The index looked at the reputation,<br />
<strong>op</strong>enness and transparency and the<br />
extent to which an organisation is deemed<br />
to “do the right thing”.<br />
The way we look is changing.<br />
But what we stand for is staying the same.<br />
We deliver vegetarian, natural and<br />
responsibly-sourced products to businesses<br />
and communities across the UK, and worldwide.<br />
And as a worker-owned, equal pay co-<strong>op</strong>, we’ve<br />
been doing it differently for more than 40 years.<br />
We are Suma.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 9
FINANCE<br />
Mutuals among the most-trusted financial firms for customer service<br />
Mutuals and building societies were<br />
among the winners at the <strong>2019</strong> Moneywise<br />
Most Trusted Customer Service Awards.<br />
Mutual society Benenden Health was<br />
named most trusted provider in the health<br />
insurance via employer category, and was<br />
a highly commended in the individual<br />
health insurance category.<br />
Based in York, the non-profit mutual<br />
provides healthcare services for over<br />
810,000 members across the UK, including<br />
employees of 545 businesses.<br />
Chief commercial officer Helen<br />
Smith said: “We’re so proud that our<br />
members have taken the time to vote<br />
for us as their most trusted employerprovided<br />
healthcare product. Members<br />
are at the heart of our decision-making<br />
as an organisation and it’s great to<br />
be recognised by them. It was also<br />
amazing to be highly commended in<br />
the poll of those who have a personal<br />
healthcare product.”<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Bank won in the most trusted<br />
mainstream bank award category, and<br />
was highly commended in the best branch<br />
service, best contact centre service and<br />
most trusted current account categories.<br />
While no longer owned by the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Group, over the last four years the Bank<br />
has invested of £1.3m in the Hive, a co-<strong>op</strong><br />
business support programme provided by<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK.<br />
Nationwide Building Society won<br />
the best current account provider for<br />
branch service and best provider for<br />
children’s savings categories. It was<br />
highly commended in the most trusted<br />
financial provider, most trusted mortgage<br />
provider and best provider for regular<br />
savers categories.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>ventry Building Society won most<br />
trusted savings and cash Isa provider.<br />
NFU mutual won most trusted insurer<br />
and was highly commended in the most<br />
trusted car insurance provider.<br />
Employee owned John Lewis won best<br />
credit card provider for rewards and was<br />
highly commended in most trusted credit<br />
card provider.<br />
Around 32,000 members of the public<br />
voted in the awards.<br />
Rachel Rickard Straus, editor<br />
of Moneywise, said: “Customer service<br />
matters. So much so that 32,000 readers<br />
took the time to share their views with us.<br />
“Great customer service and trust<br />
remains as important now as ever. You<br />
can have the whizziest apps, websites and<br />
products in the world, but if a customer<br />
can’t easily get a complaint resolved, or<br />
speak to a human if they need to, that’s<br />
what will stick in minds.”<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
Stir to Action grants<br />
will fund study of<br />
community business<br />
leadership<br />
“While mental health and wellbeing<br />
are rightly becoming a priority, there<br />
is still pressure for communities to put<br />
their best face forward,” said Stir to<br />
Action’s director Jonny Gordon-Farleigh.<br />
“This fellowship will initially build more<br />
awareness and also support individuals<br />
and communities to more effectively share<br />
new and inspiring approaches across<br />
the UK.”<br />
Worker-owned magazine Stir to Action is<br />
funding research into the pressures faced<br />
by community business leaders.<br />
Supported by independent trust Power<br />
to Change, the Beyond Here fellowship<br />
will explore wellbeing in community<br />
leadership.<br />
“Recognising yourself as a community<br />
leader can have profound positive effects,<br />
but the experience can be challenging<br />
and isolating,” said Fergus Arkley,<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment manager at Power to Change.<br />
Fellows will work with community<br />
leaders across the UK to explore, and<br />
find solutions to, these challenges. Stir to<br />
Action’s coordinator Stephanie Gamauf<br />
will help them find community business<br />
partners, undertake place-based research,<br />
and share their findings through Stir to<br />
Action’s magazine and events.<br />
u Stir to Action is offering four fellowship grants of £2,000 through the scheme, which<br />
will fund a week-long fellowship and cover loss of earnings, accommodation, and a host<br />
contribution. Applications close on 1 September. For more details visit s.co<strong>op</strong>/23f9w<br />
10 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
DEVELOPMENT<br />
EU puts £3m into Welsh<br />
social business sector<br />
p Heather Powell of Denbighshire Music<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, a leading light of the sector<br />
EU funds totalling £3m will support a new<br />
project to create 200 social businesses<br />
over the next three years.<br />
The Social Business Wales New Start<br />
initiative, which will be led by Wales<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre, was announced by<br />
Welsh deputy minister for economy and<br />
transport, Lee Waters.<br />
“<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and mutuals add real<br />
value to the Welsh economy and labour<br />
market,” he said, “by creating jobs,<br />
improving educational attainment,<br />
providing social care in pe<strong>op</strong>le’s houses<br />
and reducing inequality, particularly in<br />
our most deprived communities.<br />
“We see growing the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
sector as part of our broader ambition to<br />
tackle the ‘missing middle’ in Wales –<br />
and increasing the number of grounded<br />
indigenous firms in our communities –<br />
helping the Welsh government achieve its<br />
goal of prosperity for all.”<br />
Glenn Bowen, enterprise programme<br />
director at Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Centre, added: “The social business sector<br />
is an important and growing part of the<br />
Welsh economy.<br />
“Social Business Wales New Start will<br />
help pe<strong>op</strong>le come together to set up new<br />
social businesses across west Wales and<br />
the valleys, providing important services<br />
and creating much needed jobs.<br />
“Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre will deliver<br />
the new start service alongside its existing<br />
Social Business Wales growth programme<br />
and will be delivered as part of the<br />
Business Wales family of support.”<br />
Social Business Wales is funded by the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Regional Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Fund<br />
and Welsh government.<br />
According to the Welsh government,<br />
EU-funded projects in Wales have created<br />
more than 48,000 jobs and 13,000 new<br />
businesses, while helping 86,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
back into work.<br />
T<strong>op</strong> ABTA role for Midcounties’ specialist business chief<br />
The Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative’s Alistair<br />
Rowland has been elected chair of the<br />
Association of British Travel Agents<br />
(ABTA). Mr Rowland, who is currently<br />
chief retail officer for specialist business,<br />
has been with the society for more than<br />
seven years. Prior to this role, he was<br />
group general manager for specialist<br />
retail and group general manager for<br />
travel services.<br />
Energy4All co-<strong>op</strong> makes Fair Tax Mark commitment<br />
Renewable energy co-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
organisation, Energy4All, has been<br />
certified as a Fair Tax Mark business.<br />
The Fair Tax Mark certification scheme<br />
was launched in February 2014 to allow<br />
businesses that are paying tax in a<br />
responsible way to demonstrate this<br />
commitment to their customers, suppliers,<br />
investors and employees.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llege brings it back home to Rochdale for centenary<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>llege will continue<br />
to mark its 100th anniversary with<br />
a centenary conference in Rochdale,<br />
the birthplace of the modern-day<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement. The three-day<br />
event will take place on 26-28 November<br />
<strong>2019</strong> at Rochdale Town Hall, featuring<br />
five plenary sessions, seven keynote<br />
addresses and 12 worksh<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
Housing co-<strong>op</strong>s <strong>op</strong>en their doors to spread the message<br />
Housing co-<strong>op</strong> and tenant management<br />
organisations (TMO) across Greater<br />
Manchester <strong>op</strong>ened their doors to the<br />
public in July for the first ever county-wide<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity Led Housing Open Homes<br />
Weekend. Members of the public were<br />
given tours and information on how to set<br />
up a community led housing.<br />
Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> trials new plastic-free initiative<br />
Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is trialling the sale<br />
of a number of local fruit and vegetable<br />
products unwrapped, in response to<br />
concerns about plastic packaging. The<br />
trial is taking place at the society’s Grand<br />
Marché stores in Jersey and Guernsey.<br />
Products in the pilot include baking<br />
potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes and leeks.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 11
CO-OP GROUP<br />
Results announced<br />
for National Members’<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil elections<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s National Members’<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil held its annual elections on<br />
6 July, with Nick Crofts re-elected president<br />
for another two-year term.<br />
Lesley Reznicek was elected as vicepresident<br />
for democratic processes, co-<strong>op</strong><br />
performance and member voice.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil members can also stand for the<br />
senate, which is made up of 15 pe<strong>op</strong>le who<br />
co-ordinate activity for council and act as<br />
p Nick Crofts and Lesley Reznicek were re-elected to their posts<br />
a link between council and the board.<br />
In the senate elections, five new council<br />
members secured one and two year terms.<br />
An elected member of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group<br />
since 2009, Mr Crofts also represents<br />
the Knotty Ash ward on Liverpool City<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil and is office manager for Stephen<br />
Twigg MP.<br />
He said: “<strong>Co</strong>uncil elections hustings is<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s internal festival of democracy<br />
and always an exciting time. I’m delighted<br />
to have been re-elected as council<br />
president and am proud to play such a role<br />
in the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> – a member-owned business<br />
that strives to change the world and<br />
show that there’s a better way of doing<br />
things. <strong>Co</strong>ngratulations to my fellow<br />
successful candidates, I look forward<br />
to working with you all and achieving<br />
change together.”<br />
The 100 council representatives serve<br />
up to three years before facing re-election.<br />
Their role is to represent the membership,<br />
safeguard the values and principles and<br />
hold the Group board to account.<br />
PRESIDENT ELECTIONS<br />
Nick Crofts, Elected for a two-year term<br />
VICE-PRESIDENT ELECTIONS<br />
Lesley Reznicek, Elected for a two-year term<br />
SENATE ELECTIONS<br />
Sue Smith<br />
Elected for a two-year term<br />
David Stanbury<br />
Elected for a two-year term<br />
Debbie Williams<br />
Elected for a two-year term<br />
Ruth Barrow<br />
Elected for a two-year term<br />
Danny Douglas<br />
Elected for a two-year term<br />
Jeevan Jones<br />
Elected for a one-year term<br />
New commitment to curbing<br />
greenhouse gas emissions<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group has committed to<br />
further reductions in its direct greenhouse<br />
emissions, with a 50% reduction by 2025.<br />
The retailer said it has halved its emissions<br />
in the 10 years from 2006, with a 20% cut<br />
last year. It says short-term targets are<br />
crucial elements to longer-term strategies<br />
for tackling climate change. The Group<br />
plans to achieve the target by using natural<br />
refrigerants and responsible sourcing, such<br />
as its commitments to sustainable soy.<br />
All its stores, offices and funeral homes<br />
already use 100% renewable electricity.<br />
Retail chief commercial officer Michael<br />
Fletcher said: “The world is experiencing a<br />
climate crisis and we need to work together<br />
to avoid it. Accelerating action is the only<br />
way to mitigate and reduce impacts on our<br />
natural world, and to ensure stable food<br />
supply chains in the future.<br />
“A rolling set of publicly available and<br />
reviewed stretching, short term targets,<br />
are imperative if we are to hold ourselves<br />
to account. Making sure we have a natural<br />
environment we are proud to pass on to<br />
future generations needs action now.”<br />
Slavery survivors need benefits<br />
reform, says Bright Future review<br />
An independent review of the Group’s<br />
Bright Future programme, which supports<br />
victims of modern slavery, has called for<br />
greater flexibility in the benefits system to<br />
help survivors gain work experience.<br />
Bright Future provides job <strong>op</strong>portunities<br />
for pe<strong>op</strong>le rescued from slavery. Candidates<br />
are offered a four-week paid placement<br />
before a non-competitive interview, but this<br />
risks them losing benefits. This can lead to<br />
financial hardship, especially if it does not<br />
lead to a permanent job.<br />
The review by the University of Liverpool<br />
and makes several recommendations,<br />
including a clarified position on benefits.<br />
Speaking at a summit of charity and<br />
business leaders in Manchester – attended<br />
by anti-slavery commissioner Sara Thornton<br />
– the Group’s director of campaigns, Paul<br />
Gerrard, said: “The benefits system remains<br />
a challenging area but there have to be<br />
ways to mitigate some of the disadvantages<br />
... <strong>Co</strong>uld a Bright Future placement be<br />
considered ‘therapeutic work’? If so, it<br />
would be exempted from affecting benefits<br />
until the candidate is in a stable position.”<br />
12 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
OBITUARY<br />
Radical Routes loses two of its leading lights<br />
Two wonderful West Yorkshire co-<strong>op</strong>erators<br />
from the Radical Routes network of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
died in the last few months – Sean Moran of<br />
Catfish Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> and Dave Brooks of<br />
LED Fantastic Workers <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, both in their<br />
early 50s, writes Cath Muller.<br />
Dave, who died on 14 June, was a founder<br />
member of Zion Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> (now<br />
Nutclough Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>), acquiring the<br />
Nutclough Tavern, Hebden Bridge, in 2001.<br />
Sean, who died on 21 March, lived at<br />
Townhead Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> near Holmfirth<br />
with partner Cath, their four sons and a<br />
circle of friends; they fought for years to<br />
get a house for Catfish and in late 2018<br />
they succeeded. The co-<strong>op</strong> now houses the<br />
younger members in Marsh, Huddersfield.<br />
Dave’s partner in crime, Em, moved into<br />
Nutclough and they set up Weirdigans Cafe,<br />
before leaving Nutclough to run Mama<br />
Weirdigans (Hebden Hostel) and help<br />
produce the Green Gathering festival.<br />
Sean and Cath were a regular fixture<br />
in the Permaculture Area at Green<br />
Gathering, extolling the virtues of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
and communal living. Meanwhile, Em and<br />
Dave catalysed the festival’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Camp, a<br />
space to promote radical co-<strong>op</strong>s. Sean was<br />
the secret source of 12V phone and lapt<strong>op</strong><br />
charging, keeping the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Camp online,<br />
while Dave’s workers co-<strong>op</strong>, LED Fantastic,<br />
provided twinkly night-time illumination.<br />
Dave loved cricket, beer and music, so he<br />
joined the committee of the Hebden Cricket<br />
Club, the Fox & Goose co-<strong>op</strong> pub and the<br />
Trades Club <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society – and put<br />
on ‘Crickstock Festival’ to celebrate his loves.<br />
He believed that if a thing is worth doing,<br />
it’s worth getting other pe<strong>op</strong>le to do it too.<br />
He was committed to devel<strong>op</strong>ing Hebden’s<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> identity and was an organiser of the<br />
Calderdale Bootstrap initiative. I remember<br />
one midnight walk into the cemetery to<br />
check out the grave of Joseph Greenwood, a<br />
founder of Nutclough Fustian Society.<br />
Sean was larger than life, curious and<br />
caring. His affinity with those excluded<br />
from society led him to drug and alcohol<br />
support work. And his enthusiasm for<br />
Radical Routes and for making the set-up<br />
p Dave Brooks (left) and Sean Moran<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s accessible to all was infectious.<br />
He had an unst<strong>op</strong>pable desire to learn and<br />
to communicate that learning to others. He<br />
joined the RR Legal Group and Rootstock<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmittee, challenging himself with legal<br />
documents and spreadsheets. At one RR day,<br />
he insisted we explain things in intelligible<br />
language – then he and Cath produced the<br />
Jargon Busting Guide to RR Meetings to help<br />
folks new to co-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
At Extinction Rebellion’s Spring Uprising<br />
in April, he took a mic for the first time, to<br />
talk about radical co-<strong>op</strong>s as solutions for<br />
housing, inequality and social change.<br />
Two big-hearted, inspiring men, who<br />
lived with integrity, commitment and fun.<br />
Philip Jones, stalwart of the retail co-<strong>op</strong> movement<br />
Philip Jones was best known in co-<strong>op</strong><br />
circles as secretary of United Norwest and<br />
then United <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives, having started<br />
his career as a management trainee,<br />
writes Cliff Mills. He served under Martin<br />
Beaumont from 1994, and subsequently<br />
under Peter Marks following the Yorkshire<br />
merger until his retirement in 2008.<br />
Less well known was his nine-year<br />
stint as a director of Progress Housing<br />
Group, latterly as chair; his 10-year spell<br />
as a trustee of St Catherine’s Hospice in<br />
Preston, ending as vice-chair; and setting<br />
up and chairing community foundation at<br />
his Wigan Warriors Rugby League, where<br />
he was a lifelong supporter.<br />
He also played tenor horn, starting up<br />
Wigan and District Brass before joining the<br />
Royal Doulton Band, which took him to<br />
Nashville, the Royal Albert Hall, the Silver<br />
Jubilee and Charles and Diana’s wedding,<br />
as well as recording 14 albums.<br />
Phil carried out a remarkable number<br />
of senior roles out with enormous energy,<br />
commitment and competence. Former<br />
president of United, Bill Hoult recalled:<br />
“He took us through three mergers, with<br />
Sheffield, Leeds and Yorkshire, introduced<br />
a pioneering employee share scheme,<br />
and oversaw the establishment of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Charitable Foundation.”<br />
Stephen Greenhalgh from St Catherine’s<br />
Hospice added: “Philip had a laser-like<br />
ability to get to the heart of what mattered.”<br />
Jacqui de Rose at New Progress Housing<br />
said: “There was never any doubt who was<br />
in charge. Phil did it in such a nice way,<br />
bringing just the right mix of support and<br />
challenge to make sure we were grounded<br />
and pr<strong>op</strong>erly focused on our practical<br />
purpose – he is one of the most generous<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le I have ever met.”<br />
And Ian Lanegan, chair of Wigan<br />
Warriors, said: “He had a real selflessness<br />
and passion for helping pe<strong>op</strong>le, as his<br />
charitable work throughout his life proves.<br />
His work and efforts have enabled Wigan<br />
Warriors to enact a positive and lasting<br />
change by ... motivating, educating and<br />
inspiring our local community.”<br />
Phil was warm-hearted, generous, caring<br />
and fun, but outspoken when needed.<br />
He knew when to stand up to a CEO, and<br />
when diplomacy was the way forward. He<br />
was hard-working,<br />
courageous, and<br />
committed to doing<br />
the right thing.<br />
He died on 21<br />
April from the<br />
same cancer as his<br />
beloved wife Lois<br />
15 years earlier.<br />
With their two<br />
boys, Chris and<br />
Rob, he nursed Lois p Philip Jones<br />
at home until the<br />
end, and this played a part in his<br />
subsequent commitment to the hospice<br />
movement. He was a devoted family<br />
man to all generations, especially to his<br />
granddaughter Kaci. In his later years, he<br />
found great happiness with Barbara, with<br />
whom he travelled extensively.<br />
Two days before he died, Philip received<br />
a letter telling him he had been awarded<br />
the Order of Mercy. This prestigious<br />
national award from the League of Mercy<br />
has just a handful of recipients a year.<br />
Barbara read the citation to Philip and he<br />
understood it.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 13
GLOBAL UPDATES<br />
USA<br />
Give credit unions a role in international<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment, sector leaders tell Usaid funders<br />
Credit unions should be included when<br />
international devel<strong>op</strong>ment money is<br />
allocated, say sector leaders.<br />
The call came from the Credit Union<br />
National Association (Cuna) and World<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit Unions (Woccu) at a<br />
meeting with Mark Green, administrator<br />
of the US Agency for Devel<strong>op</strong>ment (Usaid).<br />
Among those present were Woccu<br />
president/chief executive Brian Branch,<br />
Cuna president/chief executive Jim Nussle<br />
and House Foreign Relations <strong>Co</strong>mmittee<br />
chair Ed Royce.<br />
Mr Branch said Woccu’s network<br />
reaches more than 260 million members<br />
in 117 countries. The organisation<br />
provides training and support to credit<br />
union members, he added, helping them<br />
to face challenges and make a difference<br />
in their local communities.<br />
After the meeting, Mr Nussle<br />
said: “Woccu has a long history of<br />
using the financial co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
model to foster international devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
and increase access to financial services.<br />
With continued engagement with<br />
Usaid and other policymakers, credit<br />
unions can do even more.”<br />
Mr Branch said: “This year, Woccu<br />
is successfully leveraging Usaid funds<br />
to allow more small farmers to secure<br />
loans and grow their yields in Africa and<br />
Eastern Eur<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
“In Haiti, we’re helping to finance<br />
affordable green-housing initiatives and<br />
boost financial literacy programmes.<br />
“None of that would be possible<br />
without the assistance and buy-in from<br />
p <strong>Co</strong>mmunity members in <strong>Co</strong>lombia at a Woccu training event<br />
‘Support co-<strong>op</strong>s’, NCBA-Clusa urges US presidential candidates<br />
our partner credit unions on the ground.<br />
Administrator Green seemed very <strong>op</strong>en to<br />
the idea that this type of model could be<br />
replicated across the world.”<br />
Over recent months, Cuna and Woccu<br />
have also asked Usaid to ensure a level<br />
playing field for smaller devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
contractors, such as credit unions, when<br />
prioritising its procurement reforms.<br />
In April, Cuna and Woccu wrote to<br />
the House Appr<strong>op</strong>riations <strong>Co</strong>mmittee<br />
asking for increased funding for the<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Program,<br />
a Usaid-funded initiative that<br />
focuses on building the capacity<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
The National <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Business<br />
Association (NCBA-Clusa) has launched<br />
a campaign to encourage US presidential<br />
candidates to back the sector.<br />
With the 2020 presidential election<br />
approaching, the apex body published<br />
an <strong>op</strong>en letter asking those running to<br />
recognise the co-<strong>op</strong>erative business model<br />
as a tool for the economic success and<br />
self-determination of their constituents.<br />
Arguing that “co-<strong>op</strong>s should be on<br />
the policy platform of every presidential<br />
candidate,” the letter says the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model empowers pe<strong>op</strong>le to champion<br />
their own successes by working together.<br />
“And while the member-owners of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives are the drivers of this<br />
success, a policy framework that supports<br />
the robust devel<strong>op</strong>ment of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
is imperative.”<br />
The letter, signed by NCBA-Clusa<br />
president and CEO Doug O’Brien, suggests<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s should be an essential part of<br />
the solution to growing challenges for<br />
workers in the gig economy. And they<br />
play important roles in sectors such as<br />
homecare, rural broadband, finance,<br />
energy, housing, food and childcare.<br />
It also calls on presidential candidates to<br />
engage the co-<strong>op</strong> community and discuss<br />
ways to incorporate policy solutions into<br />
their platforms.<br />
NCBA-Clusa says policy solutions<br />
should encourage co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
businesses through increasing access to<br />
capital for start-ups, and for expansion<br />
and innovation. There is also need for<br />
technical assistance, interagency<br />
coordination at the federal and state<br />
levels, and increased investment in<br />
research and devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
As part of the #<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>sFor2020 campaign,<br />
NCBA is encouraging co-<strong>op</strong>erators to write<br />
to their local newspapers, asking them to<br />
publish its <strong>op</strong>en letter. Those wishing to<br />
take part can use the sample letter and<br />
social media posts available on NCBA-<br />
Clusa’s website, ncbaclusa.co<strong>op</strong><br />
14 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
REI enters the newspaper trade to shout its eco message<br />
Seattle-based outdoor gear retailer REI<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is launching an environmental and<br />
outdoor magazine – and a new partnership<br />
to fund local non-profit newsrooms covering<br />
environmental issues.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> will retire its mail-order<br />
catalogue in favour of print magazine,<br />
Uncommon Path, published by Hearst<br />
Magazines in collaboration with an<br />
in-house team of journalists and editors<br />
at REI.<br />
The first issue will be available in the<br />
autumn at all 155 REI stores and selected<br />
news stands across the USA. It will feature<br />
articles on the outdoors in Atlanta, the<br />
US/Mexico border and northern Florida.<br />
There will also be stories about outdoor life<br />
and culture, product recommendations,<br />
gear reviews and more.<br />
“Uncommon Path tells the stories of<br />
the experiences, the events, issues and<br />
ideas that shape the relationship between<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le and life outside,” said Ben Steele,<br />
REI’s executive vice president and chief<br />
customer officer.<br />
REI is also launching a new partnership<br />
with <strong>News</strong>Match, a nationwide campaign<br />
to strengthen local journalism, which<br />
will see the co-<strong>op</strong> invest in 10 local<br />
news organisations to support local<br />
environmental and outdoor coverage.<br />
The move comes as research has found<br />
that coverage of climate change on major<br />
broadcast networks declined by 45% from<br />
2017 to 2018. It also revealed that nearly<br />
1,800 local newspapers in the US have<br />
closed since 2004 – and corporations<br />
pollute more when there aren’t local<br />
newspapers to hold them accountable.<br />
“Today, the average American spends<br />
more than 70 years of their life indoors.<br />
We have to reverse that trend,” said Alex<br />
Thompson, REI’s vice president of brand<br />
stewardship and impact.<br />
“But how do you get someone outside<br />
who has never set foot on a hiking trail? Or<br />
inspire them to try a new activity they’ve<br />
never done before? Often, getting someone<br />
to take that first step outside is as simple<br />
as offering a tiny spark of inspiration. We<br />
believe that spark can be powerful enough<br />
to change someone’s worldview – and<br />
that’s what we’re trying to do through our<br />
own stories, films and podcasts.”<br />
p ‘Today, the average American spends more than 70 years of their life indoors’ (Photo: REI)<br />
Ethical kitemark<br />
expands Stateside to<br />
boost social business<br />
Social Enterprise Mark CIC, the<br />
international social enterprise<br />
accreditation authority, has expanded its<br />
reach by introducing the Social Enterprise<br />
Mark in the USA.<br />
The organisation awards accreditations<br />
based on a robust assessment process –<br />
to ensure the social enterprise business<br />
model remains ethical, credible and<br />
commercial. Its goal is to build the<br />
capabilities of social enterprises as<br />
competitive, sustainable businesses,<br />
dedicated to maximising social impact<br />
above shareholder profit.<br />
The expansion sees Social Enterprise<br />
Mark agree its first franchise by granting<br />
Society Profits an exclusive licence to<br />
award the mark in the USA. Society Profits<br />
is a social enterprise with a mission to<br />
scale other social enterprises and create<br />
social impact across the country.<br />
The agreement means social enterprises<br />
in the USA can gain international<br />
recognition for their <strong>op</strong>eration as a<br />
genuine social enterprise, with a core<br />
motivation of creating social impact.<br />
Lucy Findlay, managing director of<br />
Social Enterprise Mark CIC, said: “We<br />
are delighted to work with Society Profits<br />
and its CEO Rebecca Dray on this new<br />
adventure for Social Enterprise Mark.<br />
“We h<strong>op</strong>e we can test and refine how our<br />
mark works overseas, to provide a model<br />
for the future. Rebecca really understands<br />
the benefits that accreditation can bring<br />
to social enterprises and we look forward<br />
to a fruitful partnership.”<br />
Ms Dray said: “I have admired the<br />
work of Social Enterprise Mark for many<br />
years and I am excited to be bringing<br />
such a trusted name to the US social<br />
enterprise sector.<br />
“We need transparent and trusted social<br />
enterprise sellers that can have greater<br />
impact in our communities to support<br />
those most in need.<br />
“The Social Enterprise Mark will give<br />
us this strong foundation on which we<br />
can build supply chains for social minded<br />
corporations and individuals to buy<br />
with confidence.”<br />
p Rebecca Dray and Lucy Findlay<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 15
RWANDA<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment global conference <strong>op</strong>ens for registration<br />
Registration is <strong>op</strong>en for the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
for Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Global <strong>Co</strong>nference in<br />
Kigali, Rwanda (14-17 October).<br />
The global event is organised by the<br />
International <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Alliance (ICA)<br />
under the auspices of the government of<br />
the Republic of Rwanda, with the support<br />
of the Rwandan’ co-<strong>op</strong> movement.<br />
It will see co-<strong>op</strong>s share their experiences<br />
in sustainable devel<strong>op</strong>ment, and celebrate<br />
their vital contribution to the United<br />
Nations’ 17 Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Goals (SDGs).<br />
Alongside co-<strong>op</strong>erators from around<br />
the world, the four-day event will bring<br />
together civil society actors, devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
agencies, policy makers, institutional<br />
partners, government officials,<br />
representatives from international<br />
and regional organisations, researchers,<br />
and others concerned with devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
Themes explored over the four<br />
days include female empowerment,<br />
preservation of the environment,<br />
eradication of hunger and poverty, decent<br />
work, ethical value chains, affordable<br />
housing, and equality and peace.<br />
Delegates will be welcomed to the<br />
conference by Ariel Guarco, president of<br />
the ICA, and Hon Soraya Hakuziyaremeye,<br />
Rwanda’s minister of trade and Industry.<br />
Among the keynote speakers is<br />
environmental activist Dr Vandana<br />
Shiva, who will talk about how co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
can help to achieve a more solidaritybased<br />
and participatory society.<br />
Delegates will also hear from president<br />
Paul Kagame, Japheth Magomere<br />
(ICA-Africa president) and <strong>August</strong>in<br />
Katabarwa, (president of the National<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>nfederation of Rwanda),<br />
among others.<br />
The ICA General Assembly (for ICA<br />
members only) takes place on Thursday<br />
afternoon, with the conference ending<br />
that evening with a gala dinner where<br />
the Rochdale Pioneer Awards winners<br />
will be announced. This recognises,<br />
in the spirit of the contribution of the<br />
Rochdale Pioneers, an individual or<br />
p Dr Vandana Shiva<br />
organisation who has contributed to<br />
innovative and financially sustainable<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative activities that have<br />
significantly benefited co-<strong>op</strong> members.<br />
u More information and the provisional<br />
programme is available at kigali<strong>2019</strong>.<br />
co<strong>op</strong>. Registration for the event is <strong>op</strong>en at<br />
register.kigali<strong>2019</strong>.co<strong>op</strong><br />
EUROPE<br />
Agri-co-<strong>op</strong>s take their sustainability<br />
story to MEPs to win support for the sector<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean agri co-<strong>op</strong>s have launched<br />
a campaign to showcase the sector’s<br />
role in meeting the United Nations’ 17<br />
Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goals (SDGs).<br />
The campaign, launched on the<br />
International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives (6<br />
July), will see sector body <strong>Co</strong>pa-<strong>Co</strong>geca<br />
showcase 100 success stories on its new<br />
online platform, and use the hashtag<br />
#17Reasons2<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> on social media to<br />
highlight the work of co-<strong>op</strong>s, as a new<br />
political cycle starts in Brussels.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>geca president Thomas Magnusson<br />
said: “I have noticed in exchanges with EU<br />
stakeholders that examples are better than<br />
long speeches. In a time of permanent<br />
agri-bashing, it is time to show that our<br />
rural areas are creative and resilient and<br />
this is thanks to agri co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. We<br />
benefit our farmer owners, we champion<br />
our employees, we work to understand<br />
and satisfy our customers, consumers and<br />
society. We innovate, invest and work on<br />
long-term sustainable projects.”<br />
Welcoming the move, EU agriculture<br />
commissioner Phil Hogan said agri-co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are “successful businesses that unite<br />
farmers around common economic, social<br />
and environmental goals”.<br />
Mr Hogan sent a video message to <strong>Co</strong>pa-<br />
<strong>Co</strong>geca to congratulate the sector on the<br />
International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
He said: “This wonderful occasion is an<br />
important <strong>op</strong>portunity to highlight how<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean agri co-<strong>op</strong>s benefit farmers, our<br />
rural economies and our consumers.<br />
The commissioner said he believes<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s are the backbone of rural areas,<br />
helping to create and sustain quality<br />
employment and viable communities.<br />
He added: “They support our farmers in<br />
improving their production and position<br />
in the food supply chain, ensuring fair<br />
incomes and long-term investments.”<br />
MEP Paolo De Castro, who was recently<br />
re-elected to the Agriculture <strong>Co</strong>mmittee,<br />
also praised agri co-<strong>op</strong>s. “It is essential<br />
to recognise the role of agri co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
that guarantee incomes to our farmers<br />
while being protagonists in supporting<br />
the achievement of the UN Sustainable<br />
Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goals,” he said.<br />
u Visit www.17reasons2co<strong>op</strong>.eu to see the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>pa-<strong>Co</strong>geca campaign<br />
16 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
SWEDEN<br />
New governance code for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in Sweden<br />
Sweden’s apex body for co-<strong>op</strong>s has<br />
published a governance code for<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual enterprises.<br />
Ad<strong>op</strong>tion of the code is voluntary<br />
but once ad<strong>op</strong>ted, it becomes binding.<br />
It provides guidelines for the governance<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual enterprises<br />
based on ethical values and principles.<br />
The code aims to promote member<br />
dialogue and democratic decision-making<br />
in modern co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual<br />
enterprises, and to increase transparency<br />
and <strong>op</strong>enness at board level.<br />
The code is based on the principle<br />
of comply and explain, which means those<br />
ad<strong>op</strong>ting it must explain how they comply<br />
with its principles and report on their<br />
implementation. It is particularly aimed<br />
at large co-<strong>op</strong>s and mutuals. However,<br />
according to <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Sweden, smaller<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s should also be able to comply with<br />
some parts of the code.<br />
Tommy Ohlström, chair of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
Sweden, says the code helps to explain<br />
the specificity of the co-<strong>op</strong> enterprise<br />
model, which places members at the heart<br />
of the business.<br />
“We’re proud that we’re now increasing<br />
transparency even further and making<br />
it even clearer to our members and the<br />
world around us how co-<strong>op</strong>erative and<br />
mutual enterprises actually function.<br />
The new code is a consolidating<br />
document that explains and clarifies<br />
the special features and business logic<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong> and mutual enterprises,” said<br />
Mr Ohlström.<br />
The governance code is based on the<br />
following principles:<br />
• business objectives benefit members<br />
and follow their wishes<br />
• <strong>op</strong>enness, transparency, democracy<br />
• members participate in the business<br />
• general meetings where members can<br />
exercise rights and be informed<br />
• election committee to ensure<br />
transparency and safeguard interests<br />
of enterprise and members<br />
• competent, independent board of<br />
directors to establish framework and<br />
processes for risk management and<br />
internal control<br />
• guidelines for remuneration, terms<br />
and conditions for senior executives<br />
• framework and processes for risk<br />
management and internal control<br />
“This form of enterprise is now being<br />
framed even more clearly through<br />
the newly established code, which<br />
is designed to ensure transparency,”<br />
said Mr Ohlström, adding that he<br />
h<strong>op</strong>ed the code would contribute to<br />
global efforts to raise awareness about<br />
the model.<br />
With a turnover of more than SEK 400bn<br />
(£34.08bn) and 100,000 employees, the<br />
100 largest co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual<br />
enterprises account for a significant share<br />
of the labour market and social economy<br />
in Sweden.<br />
GLOBAL<br />
Woccu credit card scheme will fund global financial inclusion<br />
The Worldwide Foundation for Credit<br />
Unions has launched a credit card<br />
programme to fund its financial inclusion<br />
projects across the world.<br />
The foundation – the international<br />
charitable arm of World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of<br />
Credit Union (Woccu) – launched the<br />
Global Good Card in 2017 in partnership<br />
with Summit Credit Union in Madison,<br />
Wisconsin. Other credit unions can now<br />
offer the card, and are sharing success<br />
stories from various Woccu projects<br />
around the world.<br />
“A percentage of each purchase made<br />
with the card benefits Woccu devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
projects,” said the foundation’s executive<br />
director Mike Reuter. “Our mantra is ‘Do<br />
Good. Do Global Good.’<br />
“Credit union members who use a<br />
Global Good Card will be a part of that<br />
by contributing to pe<strong>op</strong>le’s financial<br />
empowerment through the movement.”<br />
Mr Reuter added that any credit union<br />
is able to join the scheme. “A credit union<br />
can integrate it as it would any new card<br />
programme, or one that replaces an<br />
existing card,” he said.<br />
Since 2017, Summit Credit Union has<br />
issued 2,000 Do Global Good cards,<br />
helping to generate more than US $51,000<br />
(£40,568) in support of the Worldwide<br />
Foundation. It donates $10 (£7.95) for each<br />
Global Good Card <strong>op</strong>ened and 15% of all<br />
interchange fees on purchases made with<br />
the card. Members can make additional<br />
cash donations to the foundation via their<br />
reward points. Summit charges no annual<br />
fee for the card and offers members the<br />
same benefits as with its existing Visa<br />
Platinum Rewards card.<br />
The foundation has also partnered<br />
with Ser Tech, which will help credit<br />
unions to market the Global Good Card<br />
to members. It expects the card to be<br />
particularly p<strong>op</strong>ular among socially<br />
minded millennials.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 17
CANADA<br />
Housing co-<strong>op</strong>s hail federal plan<br />
to tackle affordability and homelessness<br />
The Canadian government has announced<br />
the second phase of its federal plan to<br />
protect housing affordability for 20,000<br />
low-income co-<strong>op</strong> households.<br />
The Federal <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Housing<br />
Initiative is part of the National Housing<br />
Strategy, launched in 2017. The two-phase<br />
CA$55bn (£33.16bn) programme aims to<br />
remove 530,000 families from housing<br />
need and cut chronic homelessness by<br />
50% over the next decade.<br />
Phase one extended rental assistance<br />
for federally administered community<br />
housing to 31 March 2020, while phase<br />
two extends this assistance to 31 March<br />
2028. A total of $462m (£278.56m) will be<br />
allocated over the eight years.<br />
The government will also fund<br />
other forms of community housing,<br />
providing similar security of tenure for<br />
55,000 households.<br />
Adam Vaughan, parliamentary<br />
secretary to the minister of families,<br />
children and social devel<strong>op</strong>ment, said:<br />
“For decades the co-<strong>op</strong> housing sector has<br />
been an important partner in the delivery<br />
of federal housing investments.<br />
“Sustaining this relationship is critical<br />
to the success of the National Housing<br />
Strategy ... Phase two aims to strengthen<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> housing sector, help providers<br />
achieve greater efficiencies and better<br />
respond to residents’ needs. Both<br />
phases are intended to work together to<br />
strengthen the co-<strong>op</strong> housing sector over<br />
the long term.”<br />
Frank Wheeler, president of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Housing Federation of<br />
Canada, said: “Today’s announcement<br />
will provide these vulnerable households<br />
the comfort of knowing that their housing<br />
is secure for many years to come.”<br />
p Athletes Village Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> in Vancouver<br />
(Photo: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Housing International)<br />
CHF Canada executive director Tim<br />
Ross added: “We commend the federal<br />
government for confirming this important<br />
step, and we look forward to further<br />
strengthening our partnerships to<br />
tackle the housing crisis. We know that<br />
1.7 million Canadians are still in core<br />
housing need, and they want the<br />
affordability, security and communities<br />
that co-<strong>op</strong>s provide.”<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
Setback for movement as leading dairy co-<strong>op</strong> demutualises<br />
Dairy co-<strong>op</strong> Westland – which last<br />
year won the national movement’s t<strong>op</strong><br />
accolade – is to demutualise.<br />
On 4 July, Westland Milk Products’<br />
shareholders approved by 2,494 to 165<br />
the sale to Hongkong Jingang, a wholly<br />
owned subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Yili<br />
Industrial Group. The Chinese company<br />
will pay NZ $3.41 (£1.80) per share.<br />
Under the sale, shareholder farmers<br />
who are also existing suppliers will have<br />
their contracts guaranteed by Yili, at a<br />
price comparable to the minimum rate of<br />
NZ dairy co-<strong>op</strong> Fonterra, for 10 seasons.<br />
Westland chair Pete Morrison said<br />
Yili “provides a very strong route to<br />
market as one of the world’s leading<br />
dairy producers”. He added: “When the<br />
board initiated the strategic review, we<br />
did so with the full understanding that<br />
all Westland farming families needed<br />
a competitive milk payout.”<br />
Westland, formed in 1937, processes<br />
around 3% of NZ’s milk, but fell into<br />
serious debt and was unable to pay a<br />
competitive rate to farmers in recent years.<br />
In 2002 Fonterra made a merger offer to<br />
Westland, which was rejected. It held talks<br />
with Westland more recently to explore<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> solutions but no deal was reached.<br />
Craig Presland, CEO of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Business New Zealand, said co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
continue to play a key role in the economy.<br />
In 2o18 the apex body named Westland its<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> of the Year.<br />
In a blog post, he said: “The challenge<br />
here is to balance capital retentions with<br />
annual payouts appr<strong>op</strong>riately, while<br />
prudently investing in capital projects<br />
such as new or upgraded plants.<br />
“Placing too high a portion of earnings<br />
into annual milk payouts, and not<br />
retaining enough for future capital<br />
projects and/or investments, can only<br />
lead to increased bank borrowing, which<br />
can prove to be disastrous.”<br />
This is the latest bad news to hit the<br />
dairy co-<strong>op</strong> sector, following the sale last<br />
year of Australia’s Murray Goulburn.<br />
18 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
USA<br />
A Green New<br />
Deal ‘can help electric<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s kick fossil fuels’<br />
p A coal-fired power plant in the USA<br />
Researchers in the US want a government<br />
programme to help rural economies<br />
through the move to renewable energy.<br />
In their report, Rural Electrification 2.0,<br />
they say: “The US public is increasingly<br />
demanding clean energy to pursue energy<br />
independence and reduce greenhouse<br />
gas emissions.”<br />
Written by Erik Hatlestad, from Clean<br />
Up the River Environment Minnesota;<br />
Katie Rock, of the Center for Rural Affairs;<br />
and Liz Veazey, of Omaha non-profit We<br />
Own It, the report says electric co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
source 67% of their energy from fossil<br />
fuels – despite the fact that the falling cost<br />
of renewables could save them hundreds<br />
of millions of dollars by 2030.<br />
This is partly because the sector is stuck<br />
with financial commitments to the coal<br />
power stations which supply them.<br />
“Rural communities could better<br />
pursue a clean energy future if current<br />
debt on existing coal plant infrastructure<br />
could be eliminated in exchange for a<br />
requirement to invest in clean energy and<br />
energy efficiency,” said the report.<br />
“Incoming cash from ratepayers is<br />
being used to pay off debts from old,<br />
uneconomic coal plant infrastructure.<br />
By being relieved of these debt-laden<br />
assets, co-<strong>op</strong>eratives would have more<br />
resources to invest in clean energy,<br />
although there is a need to ensure that<br />
member-owners see economic benefits<br />
of these policies.”<br />
It argues that this goal can be met<br />
through federal regulatory action, debt<br />
bailouts, credit asset swaps, securitisation<br />
or Rural Utility Service refinancing.<br />
Such mechanisms would form part of<br />
a Green New Deal, which could also find<br />
ways to help coal-producing communities<br />
hit by the transition, the report added.<br />
New chair at the helm of NCBA-Clusa<br />
US apex body NCBA-Clusa has elected<br />
Erbin Crowell as chair of its board. Also<br />
executive director of the Neighboring<br />
Food <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Association, he takes over<br />
from Andrew Jacob, who served two terms<br />
in the role. Mr Crowell initially joined the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement through Equal<br />
Exchange, a worker co-<strong>op</strong> pioneering<br />
Fairtrade products.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Bank of Kenya rescues struggling credit union<br />
Kenya’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Bank has agreed<br />
to bail out one of the country’s largest<br />
credit unions, which is having liquidity<br />
issues. The savings and credit co-<strong>op</strong><br />
Metr<strong>op</strong>olitan Sacco was facing difficulties<br />
due to non-performing loans amounting<br />
to KES1.2bn (£9.3m). The credit union<br />
has 100,00 members and assets<br />
of KES13.6bn (£105m).<br />
Woccu charity launches monthly donation scheme<br />
The charitable arm of the World <strong>Co</strong>uncil<br />
of Credit Unions (Woccu) has launched a<br />
monthly donation scheme to a choice of<br />
credit union related causes: the Priority<br />
Fund, Project Storm Break, the Global<br />
Women’s Leadership Network, the Global<br />
Classroom, and World <strong>Co</strong>uncil Young<br />
Credit Union Professionals. Regular<br />
donations can be set up online at:<br />
doglobalgood.org/give<br />
Joint China venture for Land O’Lakes and Agrifirm<br />
Two agri co-<strong>op</strong>s are starting a joint<br />
animal feed venture in China to leverage<br />
existing market knowledge, insights,<br />
technologies and research capability. USbased<br />
Land O’Lakes and the Netherlands’<br />
Agrifirm have more than 20 years’ market<br />
experience in China. The new business –<br />
Agrilakes – will be based in Tianjin.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s contribute 3.4% to Canadian economy<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> sector represents 3.4% of<br />
Canada’s economy and 3.6% of its jobs,<br />
according to a new study quantifying the<br />
direct, indirect and induced economic<br />
impacts of co-<strong>op</strong>s and credit unions.<br />
Research shows the value-added GDP<br />
impact of the co-<strong>op</strong> sector in Canada is<br />
CA $61.2bn. (£36.98bn) a year.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 19
EUROPE<br />
In an uncertain future of work, co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are the answer, Cec<strong>op</strong> tells the EU<br />
• 15 member states have improved the<br />
quality of their measures encouraging<br />
registration of those unemployed;<br />
• 12 have enhanced the quality<br />
of measures for individual<br />
assessments;<br />
• long-term unemployment within<br />
the EU fell from 5.2% in 2013 to 3.5%<br />
in 2017;<br />
• in more than half of public<br />
employment services, the long-term<br />
unemployed receive more tailored<br />
assessments and guidance than<br />
other groups;<br />
• 17 member states have improved<br />
the quality of their employment<br />
measures;<br />
• 14 member states have improved the<br />
quality of their measures to increase<br />
employer involvement.<br />
The Eur<strong>op</strong>ean confederation of industrial<br />
and service co-<strong>op</strong>s (Cec<strong>op</strong>) has published<br />
a paper highlighting the sector’s work to<br />
tackle long-term unemployment.<br />
Cec<strong>op</strong> said many of its member co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
work to integrate disadvantaged<br />
groups – and not just by providing jobs.<br />
Social co-<strong>op</strong>s in its network, such as<br />
those in Italy, invest in training and<br />
provide tailored jobs for pe<strong>op</strong>le with<br />
specific needs, including those with<br />
disabilities or facing social exclusion.<br />
Italy alone has around 4,000 social<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s that facilitate labour integration,<br />
employing 60,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le – 30% of them<br />
disadvantaged workers.<br />
And by joining a co-<strong>op</strong>, Cec<strong>op</strong> added,<br />
employees can become worker owners<br />
and have a stake in the business. Such<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>s are often set up by workers<br />
who have been made redundant.<br />
The paper is a reaction to an evaluation<br />
published by the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission<br />
(EC) in April. In 2015, the EC pr<strong>op</strong>osed<br />
a consultation to the <strong>Co</strong>uncil of the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Union, which included<br />
government ministers from each EU<br />
country, focusing on the provision of<br />
services to the long-term unemployed. At<br />
the time, Cec<strong>op</strong> responded with a reaction<br />
paper detailing the work of co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The EC’s suggestions were later reflected<br />
in a council recommendation on the<br />
integration of the long-term unemployed,<br />
published in February 2016.<br />
This called on member states to<br />
encourage registration of the longterm<br />
unemployed with an employment<br />
service, increase individualised support<br />
and ensure delivery of a job-integration<br />
agreement within 18 months. It also<br />
suggests coordinating services through a<br />
single point of contact and encouraging<br />
the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of partnerships between<br />
employers, social partners and services,<br />
authorities and training providers.<br />
In April <strong>2019</strong>, the EC reported to the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil on the state of play at member<br />
state level. Since the ad<strong>op</strong>tion of the<br />
recommendation, it said:<br />
The evaluation also suggests ways to<br />
strengthen implementation, including<br />
intensifying employer involvement and<br />
supporting the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of social<br />
enterprises offering job <strong>op</strong>portunities.<br />
In response, Cec<strong>op</strong> argued that while<br />
the general trend was positive, figures<br />
did not take into account the type and<br />
duration of contracts of those formerly<br />
unemployed who manage to secure jobs.<br />
It welcomed the EC’s recommendation<br />
to intensify the involvement of employers,<br />
particularly by supporting social<br />
enterprises, but added that the role of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s and social economy enterprises<br />
had not been specifically taken into<br />
account in the evaluation framework.<br />
Meanwhile, at Cec<strong>op</strong>’s 40th anniversary<br />
conference in Manchester in June,<br />
Liina Carr from Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Trade Union<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nfederation (Etuc) urged co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
trade unions to work together to protect<br />
workers in the gig economy.<br />
Some studies predict 45%-60% of all<br />
workers in Eur<strong>op</strong>e could see themselves<br />
replaced by automation before 2030.<br />
Etuc is campaigning to ensure that the<br />
protections built in to traditional forms<br />
of work are maintained in new ones.<br />
With a new Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament and<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission, Etuc will work with Cec<strong>op</strong> to<br />
ensure the social dimension is taken into<br />
account when the economy undergoes<br />
the green transition. They are also<br />
collaborating to make sure the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
Pillar of Social Rights is implemented.<br />
u Cec<strong>op</strong>’s 40th anniversary: page 36-37<br />
20 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
YOUR VIEWS<br />
DEFENCE OF CLAIRE MCCARTHY – AND THE<br />
NEED TO BRING EXPERIENCED PEOPLE TO<br />
THE CO-OP MOVEMENT<br />
We write on behalf of Central England<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative and wish to take part<br />
issue with Vic Parks’ views concerning<br />
the position of general secretary of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party (letters, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong>, July).<br />
While it might be ideal to have someone<br />
from within the movement in the role,<br />
it limits the field as the successful leader<br />
needs to have experience both in lobbying<br />
and with parliamentarians in order to put<br />
the interests of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative business<br />
model on the Westminster agenda.<br />
We do not feel that electing someone<br />
probably on the strength of a written<br />
address, a video and a photo would<br />
be appr<strong>op</strong>riate.<br />
We elect a National Executive <strong>Co</strong>mmittee<br />
from within the movement and have<br />
trust in them to select someone worthy<br />
of this office through interviews and<br />
rigorous questioning.<br />
We also feel there’s some unfairness<br />
by Vic towards previous holders and<br />
would wish to pay tribute particularly to<br />
the departing Claire McCarthy. At Central<br />
England Society we have worked very<br />
closely with Claire and she has done a<br />
sterling job of liaising with the funding<br />
societies and setting a strategy into<br />
which we can all buy. She has listened<br />
and she’s visited, she has presented<br />
and she’s socialised and she has taken<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le along with her and created<br />
credibility and common sense along<br />
the way.<br />
We at Central England wish her well in<br />
her new role actually delivering services to<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le – Claire is a ‘pe<strong>op</strong>le person’ – but<br />
we are also extremely sorry to see her go<br />
and she leaves very big shoes to fill.<br />
Claire leaves the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party<br />
in excellent shape and we should all<br />
of us thank her for her commitment and<br />
dedication over the last few years. Far from<br />
being a stepping stone on a career path,<br />
we believe Claire has left a legacy<br />
of organised systems and p<strong>op</strong>ular policies<br />
which will set the foundations for her<br />
successor to take even further forward.<br />
Good luck Claire for the future – and<br />
thank you !<br />
Elaine Dean and Jane Avery<br />
President and vice president<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
WE NEED SOME REALISM IN OUR PLANS TO<br />
GROW THE CO-OP MOVEMENT<br />
Sometimes it seems that the co-<strong>op</strong> sector<br />
is very good at talking to and praising<br />
itself. This is only helpful as long as it does<br />
not believe its own hype, as it were.<br />
An example relates to the goal of<br />
doubling the size of the UK co-<strong>op</strong> economy,<br />
as laid out by the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party.<br />
Taking the number of co-<strong>op</strong>s as<br />
but one metric, a figure of 7,000<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative businesses in the UK (<strong>News</strong>,<br />
July 2010, page 3) may seem in isolation<br />
to be impressive. Yet according to the UK<br />
government’s Department of Business,<br />
Energy & Industrial Strategy there were<br />
some 5.7 million private sector businesses<br />
in the nation in 2018.<br />
At around one thousandth of the<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>ortion of all such enterprises, clearly<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector has a very long way<br />
to go on that basis.<br />
This is not to decry the aim. Merely to<br />
suggest a degree of realism as to the scale<br />
of the task. Which consideration may turn<br />
out to be helpful on the way to success.<br />
Geraint Day<br />
Swindon<br />
NEW FUND IS WELCOME, BUT THERE’S<br />
MORE TO DO<br />
The Relaunch of Rural <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Energy<br />
Fund is very welcome and a huge help for<br />
#communityenergy, but more needs to<br />
be done to support urban devel<strong>op</strong>ment,<br />
innovation and investment.<br />
Thanks to @co<strong>op</strong>news for covering<br />
this issue.<br />
Emma Bridge<br />
(@emmabridge_1)<br />
via Twitter<br />
WILL THE #1MILLIONOWNERS CAMPAIGN<br />
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?<br />
[The problem with employee-ownership<br />
is that] the worker-members have no<br />
right of ownership, individually, on the<br />
equity of their co-<strong>op</strong>erative – equity which<br />
was financed and established by the<br />
members’ economic participation in their<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative activities.<br />
Rik Riklar<br />
(@RRiklar)<br />
via Twitter<br />
Have your say<br />
Add your comments to our stories<br />
online at thenews.co<strong>op</strong>, get in touch<br />
via social media, or send us a letter.<br />
If sending a letter, please include<br />
your address and contact number.<br />
Letters may be edited and no longer<br />
than 350 words.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong>, Holyoake<br />
House, Hanover Street,<br />
Manchester M60 0AS<br />
letters@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
@co<strong>op</strong>news<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong><br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 21
MEET...<br />
Meet … Olly Young,<br />
director at Chelsmford<br />
Star <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Olly Young was elected to the board of directors at<br />
Chelmsford Star <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative in May – and, at 26,<br />
he is the youngest person to ever take up such a<br />
role at the society. Here he talks about his journey<br />
with Chelmsford Star, his work in the third sector<br />
and the crossover of co-<strong>op</strong>erative values.<br />
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE<br />
CO-OP MOVEMENT?<br />
My initial involvement in the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement was aged 16, working for Chelmsford<br />
Star as a part-time general assistant while<br />
I was studying at college. I was then fortunate to<br />
be part of the society for a further seven years,<br />
working across various business streams in<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative.<br />
Very early on I was committed to a greater<br />
understanding of the co-<strong>op</strong> movement, particularly<br />
the sense of shared ownership and strong values<br />
underpinning the movement. I was one of the<br />
founding members of Chelmsford Star’s Youth<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil, which allowed younger members of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> to have a voice and learn more about the key<br />
elements of the movement.<br />
HOW DO CO-OPERATIVE VALUES FIT IN WITH<br />
YOUR OTHER ROLES?<br />
I am currently a regional manager for the Royal<br />
Voluntary Service, where I oversee all of the<br />
charity’s retail activity across the south of England<br />
(from <strong>Co</strong>rnwall to Kent).<br />
Within this role I manage a team of staff and<br />
volunteers, with the overarching aim to inspire<br />
and enable pe<strong>op</strong>le within communities to<br />
give their time and talents to support society’s<br />
greatest challenges.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong>erative values almost mirror the values<br />
underpinning my role in the third sector – from<br />
both an ethical perspective in terms of how we<br />
<strong>op</strong>erate, and a sense of a ‘shared purpose’ where<br />
we put community and members first in all of our<br />
business decisions.<br />
ONE OF THE WAYS CO-OPS CAN IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT<br />
WITH YOUNGER PEOPLE IS TO FIND SOMETHING THEY<br />
REALLY CARE FOR AND ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT – AND<br />
BRING IN THE CO-OPERATIVE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES<br />
BEHIND IT TO SUPPORT THEIR MISSION.<br />
22 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
01<br />
Issue #7288 OCT<br />
WHAT<br />
WHAT<br />
WILL<br />
CAN<br />
THE<br />
THE<br />
ROLE<br />
CO-OP<br />
INVOLVE?<br />
MOVEMENT AND THIRD<br />
SECTORS LEARN FROM EACH OTHER?<br />
There are three main strands to the role. Ensuring<br />
There are massive similarities and crossover,<br />
that: values, principles, our culture and ethos<br />
particularly from an ethical and communityare<br />
embedded and communicated in a consistent<br />
minded perspective. I believe one of the largest<br />
way; Midcounties’ DOES (democracy, <strong>op</strong>enness,<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities in society is the need for more<br />
equality and social responsibility) values are<br />
individuals of all ages to volunteer their time,<br />
integrated; and commercial decisions are made in<br />
talents and life experience to support their<br />
accordance with these values.<br />
local communities.<br />
We have a good track record of actively listening<br />
There are some fantastic examples of this<br />
to members. For example, 94% of members wanted<br />
happening within the co-<strong>op</strong> movement already,<br />
action on plastics, so in March we launched our<br />
with co-<strong>op</strong>s actively encouraging communities<br />
1Change<br />
to support<br />
campaign<br />
litter<br />
which<br />
picks, fundraising<br />
will see our<br />
for<br />
businesses<br />
local good<br />
reduce<br />
causes<br />
single-use<br />
and supporting<br />
plastic<br />
vulnerable<br />
consumption<br />
groups.<br />
while<br />
encouraging members, colleagues and the next<br />
generation WHAT WILL to do YOUR the same ROLE (see AT CHELMSFORD more on p36). STAR<br />
Members INVOLVE wanted AND WHAT more ARE products YOU HOPING sourced TO locally<br />
and ACHIEVE transparently, THERE? so we launched the Happerley<br />
App, which lets consumers scan QR codes to view a<br />
products My role validated as an ingredient elected director supply involves network. regular And<br />
we meetings have around with 20 the regional board communities, and the society’s where<br />
local management member select executive the local team, causes discussing they want us the<br />
to support. business performance as well as representing<br />
We’re the members good at what in all we strategic do. We decision are rated making. five Stars<br />
by BitC This and also were includes voted Leading serving on <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative a further of two<br />
the sub-committees Year in 2018, but which we can’t include stay still audit or rest and on the<br />
our employees’ laurels. superannuation trust fund. As part<br />
We of my have role, different I have businesses also been elected with members to serve in as a<br />
different trustee geographies of a local co-<strong>op</strong>erative and of different school, ages to provide and<br />
we a need valuable to represent link and them promote and enable co-<strong>op</strong>eration them to and<br />
influence values us. to students. Midcounties’ co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference<br />
is that I we am consciously h<strong>op</strong>ing to represent prioritise the member younger concerns members<br />
as a of basis the society of devel<strong>op</strong>ing and support what greater we do. involvement This role is and<br />
a part interest of that. with youth in the movement.<br />
Social Saturday<br />
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OCTOBER 2017<br />
PLANNING<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> buildings<br />
past, present and<br />
futuristic...<br />
Plus ... The Alliance’s<br />
2017 Global <strong>Co</strong>nference...<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment in<br />
Malawi... Celebrating<br />
news Issue #7291 JANUARY 2018<br />
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news<br />
JANUARY 2018<br />
LEADERSHIP<br />
Finding the route<br />
to collective<br />
decision-making<br />
Plus ... Helping<br />
Looking ahead to 2018<br />
... Working for gender<br />
equality ... <strong>Co</strong>-housing<br />
for homeless veterans<br />
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news Issue #7290 DECEMBER 2017<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
DECEMBER 2017<br />
TOGETHER<br />
Diversity hailed<br />
at Global ICA<br />
conference<br />
Plus ... How co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
help refugees ... A short<br />
history of co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
... Why Quakers didn’t<br />
go co-<strong>op</strong> in business<br />
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news Issue #7293 MARCH 2018<br />
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£4.20<br />
news<br />
MARCH 2018<br />
CREDIT<br />
UNIONS<br />
Are credit unions<br />
ready to embrace<br />
new technology?<br />
Plus ... Helping<br />
Updates from the 6th Ways<br />
Forward conference ...<br />
Financial inclusion... The<br />
Fairtrade Sh<strong>op</strong>per Report ...<br />
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International credit union<br />
updates .<br />
news Issue #7289 NOVEMBER 2017<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
NOVEMBER 2017<br />
IMPACT<br />
How much do<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s give back<br />
to communities?<br />
Plus ... Helping<br />
tea farmers to unite<br />
... Jeremy <strong>Co</strong>rbyn on<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s ... Get set<br />
for Christmas<br />
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news<br />
Plus ... 150 years<br />
of East of England ...<br />
and updates from the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Retail and Abcul<br />
conferences<br />
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ED<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Principle<br />
in action<br />
£4.20<br />
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news<br />
MAY 2018<br />
GOVERNANCE<br />
A spotlight on<br />
w co-<strong>op</strong>s do<br />
fferently<br />
tainability<br />
ps s<br />
news Issue #7299 SEPTEMBER 2018<br />
<strong>Co</strong>n<br />
WHAT HOW THE WELL BIGGEST ARE CO-OPS CHALLENGES CONNECTING AND WITH<br />
OPPORTUNITIES YOUNGER PEOPLE, OF THE AND ROLE? HOW CAN THEY IMPROVE<br />
THIS ENGAGEMENT?<br />
The main challenge is also the key <strong>op</strong>portunity<br />
and I is believe one faced co-<strong>op</strong>s by all are consumer doing a very co-<strong>op</strong>s: good ensuring job with<br />
the connecting views of our and engaging members with are younger reflected pe<strong>op</strong>le in the and<br />
way I have we do seen business; first-hand and how ensuring this can we benefit showcase, younger<br />
celebrate pe<strong>op</strong>le and through continually their education devel<strong>op</strong> our and co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
careers.<br />
difference I believe throughout one of the all ways our businesses co-<strong>op</strong>s can – improve from<br />
Childcare engagement to Phone with <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>. younger We have pe<strong>op</strong>le grown is to to over find<br />
700,000 something members they now, really so care ensuring for and they are are passionate at the<br />
heart<br />
about<br />
of our<br />
– and<br />
society,<br />
bring<br />
are<br />
in<br />
engaged<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
and rewarded<br />
values<br />
for<br />
and<br />
trading<br />
principles<br />
with us<br />
behind<br />
is of obvious<br />
it to<br />
importance<br />
support their mission.<br />
We’re<br />
I believe<br />
not<br />
the<br />
aware<br />
voice<br />
of<br />
of youth<br />
any other<br />
currently<br />
role<br />
is<br />
like<br />
very strong,<br />
this,<br />
particularly with the power of social media.<br />
but the world is changing and this seems like a<br />
There are lots of younger individuals in society<br />
natural progression. We’ve got customers and<br />
who are extremely passionate about key issues and<br />
members who are more empowered, and a younger<br />
causes. I believe embedding a co-<strong>op</strong>erative way<br />
generation seeking ethical leadership looking<br />
of thinking to support younger pe<strong>op</strong>le will ensure<br />
towards co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. It makes sense for a role like<br />
massive success in society.<br />
this to be created.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s Julian <strong>Co</strong>les ...<br />
Updates from OPEN 2018<br />
... Social Business Wales<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference: a preview<br />
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SEPTEMBER 2018<br />
VALUES<br />
Are co-<strong>op</strong> values<br />
losing ground as<br />
businesses grow?<br />
Plus ... Meet Tamworth<br />
£4.20<br />
news Issue #7292 FEBRUARY 2018<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
Meet new global co-<strong>op</strong><br />
chief ... Get promoting<br />
Fairtrade ... History of<br />
community business<br />
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OF WORK<br />
The challenges<br />
facing workers<br />
and co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
Plus ... Helping<br />
£4.20<br />
FEBRUARY 2018<br />
news Issue #7298 AUGUST 2018<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
What politicians<br />
are offering and<br />
what co-<strong>op</strong>s want<br />
Plus... ... A governance guide<br />
... Mixing co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
and tech for strength<br />
AUGUST 2018<br />
GOING FOR<br />
GROWTH<br />
How to help the<br />
movement thrive<br />
Plus ... 150 years of<br />
Radstock ... Using spoken<br />
word to tell the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
story ... Lessons from US<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
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Plus ... Sustainability<br />
reporting ... <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s in<br />
Westminster ... and<br />
society results updates<br />
news<br />
MAY 2018<br />
GOVERNANCE<br />
A spotlight on<br />
how co-<strong>op</strong>s do<br />
it differently<br />
JUNE 2018 <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
fi<br />
Turn<br />
ahead<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erat<br />
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www.th
Looking Back<br />
Interview by<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
Claire McCarthy looks back on her years at the helm of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party<br />
After almost four years as general secretary of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party, Claire McCarthy left the organisation<br />
in July. She initially joined the Party in 2013 as<br />
head of external and political affairs before being<br />
appointed to the t<strong>op</strong> role in October 2015. Here,<br />
she tells <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> why she has chosen to move<br />
to a local government team – and gives her view<br />
on what the future might bring for the Party...<br />
What comes next for you?<br />
You look at national politics and the nation seems<br />
very divided – politics in Westminster seems to be<br />
almost in gridlock but at local level there is a lot going<br />
on. At this level of government, you can make a big<br />
difference – so I have been inspired to go and take up<br />
a role in a local authority.<br />
I’ve been inspired by some of the exciting innovations<br />
taking place at local government level. We talk about<br />
the Preston model and the work being done there to<br />
drive forward community wealth building. The model<br />
has now spread far beyond Preston and there are local<br />
authorities all over the country using it. Some of the<br />
work on modern slavery has been really successful<br />
at this level, too, as have projects such as the Greater<br />
Manchester <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative commission launched by<br />
Andy Burnham (see interview, page 26). It shows that,<br />
actually, we can face up to these huge challenges.<br />
Would you welcome more devolution?<br />
Absolutely. The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party has always been an<br />
advocate of what we call subsidiarity – we believe<br />
that power should be at the lowest possible level.<br />
We are very supportive of devolution in Wales,<br />
Scotland and Northern Ireland. Pe<strong>op</strong>le have different<br />
views on metro mayors but, in general terms, we<br />
think that power should be much less centralised<br />
in Westminster and Whitehall than it is. When we<br />
think about Brexit, and some of the drivers behind<br />
it, some pe<strong>op</strong>le who voted leave felt that Brussels<br />
was very remote from their everyday life; but<br />
actually, for lots of communities, Westminster and<br />
Whitehall feel very remote as well. We know that<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le have a sense of powerlessness about lots of<br />
things that go on in their lives – powerlessness in<br />
their communities, in their workplace, in the face<br />
of globalisation and huge multinational companies<br />
that don’t pay taxes – and they feel that these are<br />
not accountable to anyone. In part, we can challenge<br />
all of those issues through more devolution of all<br />
different kinds from Whitehall and Westminster,<br />
all the way down to communities and groups<br />
of individuals.<br />
24 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
What would you say have been the Party’s main<br />
achievements under your leadership?<br />
I think we have had three good years. We have grown<br />
in size, we’ve got more individual members than ever<br />
before, and we have grown our visibility. More pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
know about the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party and more pe<strong>op</strong>le are<br />
engaging with us. I think we’ve grown our influence.<br />
We secured a commitment from the Labour Party<br />
in the 2017 general election manifesto that a future<br />
Labour government would work to double the<br />
size of the co-<strong>op</strong> economy. It’s the most ambitious<br />
commitment the Labour Party has ever given to<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> movement. The centenary year has been<br />
a fantastic celebration of the Party.<br />
All this is at a time when some movement<br />
organisations that are about the same age have been<br />
lost. We lost Naco as an independent trade union for<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators, and the women’s guild and national<br />
guild closed down as well. And yet the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party, in<br />
its 100th year, was able to say actually, we’re stronger<br />
than we’ve ever been. We got a real sense of purpose,<br />
of momentum and ambition.<br />
I think if you are the leader of an organisation as<br />
old as the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party, your job is to steward this<br />
organisation, to leave it stronger than you found it.<br />
I h<strong>op</strong>e that pe<strong>op</strong>le feel I’ve done that.<br />
Clearly, it wasn’t just me. The staff team is amazing,<br />
they’ve done a brilliant job and they work so hard.<br />
We’re a small organisation with around 13 pe<strong>op</strong>le but<br />
it is one that punches above its weight. And also there<br />
is the NEC, our members, our volunteer officers – so<br />
many pe<strong>op</strong>le are contributing to the Party.<br />
What are the main challenges for the Party?<br />
The nation is divided and Brexit is taking up a lot<br />
of pe<strong>op</strong>le’s time and attention. When we’re so<br />
uncertain about so many of the fundamentals about<br />
our economy and society, it’s hard for an organisation<br />
to plan and to drive its work forward. But that also<br />
presents a lot of <strong>op</strong>portunities as well.<br />
As Ed Mayo and some others said at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
UK’s AGM, we’ve got to re-double our efforts because<br />
the need for our co-<strong>op</strong>erative values has never been<br />
more urgent. Pe<strong>op</strong>le who are internationalist, who<br />
believe in an inclusive nation and an inclusive<br />
economy, who believe in solidarity and tolerance,<br />
we’ve got to fight for those values, maybe more than<br />
we’ve ever had to before because we see the rise of<br />
the far right and p<strong>op</strong>ulism, not just in Britain, but in<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>e and around the world.<br />
But while there are challenges ahead, there are<br />
also massive <strong>op</strong>portunities and a real need for<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative values. That’s going to mean the Party<br />
working with other movement organisations to put<br />
our best foot forward.<br />
You’re only the second woman to lead the<br />
Party. Has this <strong>op</strong>ened the door for others?<br />
I h<strong>op</strong>e so. We are seeing some positive trends around<br />
women’s representation in the co-<strong>op</strong> movement.<br />
In terms of some retail society boards, there has<br />
been some really good progress. The appointment<br />
of Debbie Robinson means Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
has a female CEO alongside Ursula Lidbetter at<br />
Lincolnshire. But there is still more to do in the Party<br />
and in the wider movement. When I look around<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> movement events, including <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party ones,<br />
they are not as representative as they should be, both<br />
in terms of gender and other ways like age and ethnic<br />
background. We’re not necessarily representative of<br />
society in the way we should be and that’s something<br />
the Party is committed to doing more about. We’ve<br />
re-launched our women’s network. We’ve got our<br />
first BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic pe<strong>op</strong>le)<br />
conference coming up and we are doing more work<br />
with LGBT co-<strong>op</strong>erators as well. But it is a challenge.<br />
What is your favourite memory of the Party?<br />
There are a lot. The centenary conference was<br />
really exciting. We held our AGM in the Methodist<br />
Hall, where the Party had been created 100 years<br />
earlier. After our AGM we marched our centenary<br />
banner, which we had specially commissioned, into<br />
Parliament Square and held a rally.<br />
I think that whole afternoon was quite special.<br />
It was celebrating the past while thinking about<br />
the future. It was the Party’s biggest conference in<br />
a number of years, with more than 500 delegates.<br />
There have been many other special events,<br />
which means you meet so many pe<strong>op</strong>le in the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movement. In many ways, it’s like a family – when<br />
you go to things like <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress, you get to<br />
meet and know so many special pe<strong>op</strong>le. It’s these<br />
relationships that I’ll miss the most.<br />
Claire McCarthy speaking at<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
in 2016<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 25
Andy Burnham:<br />
‘It’s time for co-<strong>op</strong>s to get ready – because the carbon transition and devolution<br />
will bring <strong>op</strong>portunities’<br />
After his keynote speech to <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress in June,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> caught up with Greater Manchester<br />
mayor Andy Burnham to discuss the role of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
in his plans for the devolved region, and the work of<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>mmission he has set up. With a<br />
new industrial strategy and an ambition to make<br />
the city region carbon-neutral by 2038, Mr Burnham<br />
wants co-<strong>op</strong>s to help drive the economic transition…<br />
Interview by<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
& Miles Hadfield<br />
There have been issues of UK local<br />
authorities selling off valued public land<br />
and assets. Will the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>mmission<br />
consider common ownership of such assets<br />
to protect them and use them in a way<br />
that adds social value?<br />
Certainly. That’s a logical thing to do rather than<br />
having a public body sell straight to the private<br />
sector. To protect the future use of the land you might<br />
consider a community co-<strong>op</strong>. That would be an idea<br />
I would be keen to hear from the <strong>Co</strong>mmission on,<br />
because there is work on the way to identify land<br />
across Greater Manchester that is publicly owned that<br />
might be released for housing devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
But I think it’s important not to make the mistakes<br />
of the past, like with the right to buy – when you<br />
are trying to have a big effort to build, to have new<br />
policies, but then you find you are having the same<br />
problem 10 years down the line where you’ve not got<br />
the control over the new pr<strong>op</strong>erties that you build.<br />
And you’ve not got that social ethos. So certainly,<br />
that’s an idea we can look at.<br />
We’re also exploring <strong>op</strong>tions for town centre<br />
regeneration, particularly through the Town Centre<br />
Challenge, where we are working with our 10 councils<br />
to identify towns where we can come in and h<strong>op</strong>efully<br />
stimulate a different town centre economy – perhaps<br />
more residential with more cafés, bars or restaurants.<br />
As part of that, we could create co-<strong>op</strong> and community<br />
spaces. Prestwich has a co-<strong>op</strong> there [Village Greens<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity sh<strong>op</strong>]. You see this more and more –<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s using redundant retail space – but it’s whether<br />
or not we can factor that into some of our thinking<br />
around our Town Centre Challenge. We launched<br />
the first Mayoral Devel<strong>op</strong>ment <strong>Co</strong>rporation (MDC)<br />
in Stockport to lead the regeneration of the Town<br />
Centre West. It will be interesting to see how we<br />
might ensure that the co-<strong>op</strong> sector is represented in<br />
terms of the decision making and the thinking about<br />
the regeneration of the town centre, because it’s<br />
important in terms of building in that sustainability<br />
and that sense of new community – which might not<br />
be there if you simply leave it to the private sector.<br />
Lewisham and Bromley councils supported<br />
Lewisham Credit Union with grants to give<br />
interest-free loans to pe<strong>op</strong>le facing eviction.<br />
Would you consider a similar homelessness<br />
prevention scheme?<br />
We’ve looked at that with regards to universal credit,<br />
recognising there is this gap of four to six weeks before<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le receive their money. We haven’t yet come up<br />
with any viable pr<strong>op</strong>osal but I’m still interested to<br />
see whether we could have a small-scale scheme of<br />
that kind. Of course, the Homelessness Reduction<br />
Act is now a law and it requires public bodies to take<br />
actions to mitigate risks of homelessness, and I think<br />
st<strong>op</strong>-gap funding, to help pe<strong>op</strong>le between the point<br />
where they are eligible for universal credit and the<br />
moment when they get the money, is something we<br />
need to continue to look at. It could prevent the spiral<br />
into debt that can happen if pe<strong>op</strong>le are left waiting<br />
three or four weeks for their money.<br />
26 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
Is there a need to redefine affordability?<br />
Yes. Paul Dennet, the city mayor of Salford, was very<br />
keen that we devel<strong>op</strong> our own Greater Manchester<br />
definition of affordability linked to the real labour<br />
market here, as <strong>op</strong>posed to the national or London<br />
market. We have set the set the target of delivering<br />
50,000 truly affordable homes – according to the<br />
Greater Manchester definition on affordability. Work<br />
is ongoing on that but we want to link it to real wages<br />
and the regional economy, so that’s our commitment.<br />
Can planning processes leave room for<br />
heat and energy efficiency co-<strong>op</strong>s to help<br />
you meet the 2038 low-carbon target?<br />
This is a big deal, because you need a plan that<br />
accelerates progress in the next five years, and it’s<br />
going to require the whole society to change, not just<br />
councils. It has to involve everybody thinking about<br />
different ways of working and doing things.<br />
There is an <strong>op</strong>portunity for co-<strong>op</strong> renewable energy<br />
schemes, possibly solar and ground pumps. But what<br />
2038 means is that all ideas have to be on the table<br />
and all parts of society have to think how they could<br />
help. The key question for me is: can you do that<br />
while helping pe<strong>op</strong>le bring down their energy bills?<br />
And how can you create new ways of financing that<br />
will allow pe<strong>op</strong>le to borrow and to invest in these<br />
projects that then can be repaid back?<br />
We want these ideas brought to us and we’re h<strong>op</strong>ing<br />
to get funding from the government. And my message<br />
for co-<strong>op</strong>s is to get ready – there is an <strong>op</strong>portunity and<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> sector might be better placed than others.<br />
I also think there are <strong>op</strong>portunities in transport.<br />
We’re looking at clean air zones. We would want to<br />
create incentives for electric vehicles. You’ve got taxi<br />
companies that are going to have to acquire new<br />
vehicles because we want to move to much cleaner<br />
taxis that <strong>op</strong>erate at consistent standards. And it<br />
might be that we encourage co-<strong>op</strong>s of taxi drivers to<br />
help pe<strong>op</strong>le to borrow to buy these vehicles.<br />
There’s change coming through the climate<br />
imperative that might break things up and allow<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities for new ownership models to emerge.<br />
We all love what the co-<strong>op</strong> movement stands for.<br />
It’s specifics that are right for that moment in time –<br />
finding that right spot that is going to be the key.<br />
More broadly, I would make an appeal through for<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> movement to become quite full-throated in<br />
support for more devolution across the country, both<br />
in terms of more powers for a city like ours, but also<br />
to fill in the gaps around the country. What we are<br />
beginning to feel is that when you have power held at<br />
this regional level, bottom-up change becomes much<br />
more doable. Whitehall is too far from the ground to<br />
stimulate co-<strong>op</strong> ownership and devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
If everywhere starts getting devolution, you create<br />
the conditions for much more bottom-up change –<br />
more capability at our level to borrow, to support<br />
new forms and new sectors of the economy. The 21st<br />
century is going to be driven more bottom-up, is going<br />
to be led by cities and that can be hand in hand with<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement.<br />
“There is an <strong>op</strong>portunity and<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> sector might be<br />
better placed than others”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 27
BY ANCA VOINEA<br />
When a business’s culture is pr<strong>op</strong>erly<br />
aligned with personal values, drives, and<br />
needs, it can help to unleash energy and<br />
help the organisation thrive. With co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
driven by specific values and principles,<br />
it can be argued that their approach<br />
leads to the emergence of a specific<br />
organisational culture.<br />
Yet while organisational culture has<br />
been studied extensively around the<br />
world, that of co-<strong>op</strong>s has been overlooked.<br />
In February 2018, Harvard Law Review<br />
defined corporate culture as the tacit<br />
social order of an organisation, which<br />
shapes attitudes and behaviours.<br />
So what is co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture? Ed<br />
Mayo, secretary general of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
UK, says: “If you ask pe<strong>op</strong>le to think of a<br />
time when their co-<strong>op</strong> was at its very best,<br />
the answers are typically about co-<strong>op</strong><br />
culture – how pe<strong>op</strong>le pulled together,<br />
achieved something ambitious, took<br />
care of those in need. All of these reflect<br />
behaviour, attitudes and beliefs – and<br />
this is what we mean by co-<strong>op</strong> culture.”<br />
Mr Mayo thinks there is no one identity<br />
across organisations, but multiple<br />
personalities influenced by factors<br />
such as environment, colleagues and<br />
the nature of a co-<strong>op</strong>’s work. “What<br />
ties us all together are the underlying<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> values and principles,” he adds.<br />
The t<strong>op</strong>ic was explored in a<br />
2004 article in the Journal of Rural<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration, which looks at agricultural<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s in the USA. It is based on 30<br />
interviews with regional and local co-<strong>op</strong><br />
managers by author Julie A. Hogeland in<br />
the years 2000/2002.<br />
Examining the unified aspect of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> culture, the research suggests<br />
these include altruism, not exploiting<br />
the business for a profit; emphasising<br />
service over making money; preferring to<br />
subordinate individual goals to the good<br />
of the whole; and valuing equality.<br />
The study found that this is stronger<br />
in older, multi-commodity co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
“SO MUCH OF<br />
BUSINESS IS<br />
HARDWARE …<br />
CO-OP CULTURE<br />
IS THE SOFTWARE.<br />
JUST TRY RUNNING<br />
A COMPUTER - OR<br />
A BUSINESS -<br />
WITHOUT IT”<br />
that were created in an era when altruism,<br />
a core co-<strong>op</strong> value, mattered greatly<br />
to producers; but it is of relatively less<br />
importance to members of contemporary<br />
new-generation co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
“Culture represents shared systems<br />
of meaning, including values, priorities,<br />
and beliefs. A focused organisational<br />
culture gives a co-<strong>op</strong>erative a sense<br />
of mission that makes it a formidable<br />
competitor,” reads the paper.<br />
Mr Mayo says co-<strong>op</strong> culture is also<br />
important for authenticity. “There are<br />
huge potential gains when pe<strong>op</strong>le come<br />
together around shared values, but for<br />
so many companies, the gap between<br />
their values and reality is a gulf. This can<br />
create cynicism and disengagement.<br />
“It’s important values are not just<br />
a poster on a wall; they must be reflected<br />
in genuine behaviour. It’s the large and<br />
small actions taken every day that create<br />
a truly co-<strong>op</strong> culture – which becomes an<br />
asset and a point of difference.”<br />
While there has been a sea change in<br />
mainstream business towards culture<br />
and purpose, Mr Mayo thinks the most<br />
common mistake is to believe that<br />
executive leaders lead action on culture.<br />
He adds: “At their best, they facilitate.<br />
They help make it possible for pe<strong>op</strong>le to<br />
act in line with their own values. What<br />
executive leaders can do, because they<br />
are so visible, is to mess things up, as<br />
we know from countless examples in the<br />
corporate world – so integrity matters.<br />
How can co-<strong>op</strong>s revive their culture?<br />
Mr Mayo says: “Think about which<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s’ brand values and culture you<br />
respect and would like to emulate –<br />
many I’m sure would be pleased to help<br />
others learn and devel<strong>op</strong>. We are always<br />
happy to make introductions. So much<br />
of business is hardware. Money, sales<br />
inventory, buildings…. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> culture is<br />
the software. Just try running a computer<br />
– or a business – without it.”<br />
28 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
CO-OP CULTURE &<br />
RELIGION<br />
BY ANCa VOINEA<br />
GEORGE JACOB<br />
HOLYOAKE<br />
Around the world, religious groups<br />
are setting up co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to provide<br />
services for their local communities –<br />
which is fitting, because the co-<strong>op</strong> values<br />
of equality, social responsibility and<br />
caring for others resonate with the values<br />
of different faiths.<br />
In his 1996 Background Paper to the<br />
1995 Statement of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Identity,<br />
Ian MacPherson noted that co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
around the world “have devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
within a rich array of belief systems,<br />
including all the world’s great religions<br />
and ideologies”.<br />
And while Christian or Muslim<br />
communities are setting up credit unions<br />
as ethical alternatives to traditional<br />
banking institutions or payday lenders,<br />
secularists are ad<strong>op</strong>ting co-<strong>op</strong>eration as<br />
a substitute for religion.<br />
A 2016 report by the University of Bristol<br />
found that faith values are important to<br />
how and why faith organisations engage<br />
in providing assistance, activism or<br />
advocating alternative forms of finance,<br />
and these tend to drive holistic and<br />
personal approaches to addressing<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le’s needs. According to the research,<br />
faith values can overlap with other faith<br />
and ethical values to enable successful<br />
forms of collaboration with others in<br />
relation to welfare, campaigning and<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ing more ethical approaches<br />
t ofi n a n c e .<br />
Now famous all over the world for its<br />
federation of worker co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, the<br />
Mondragon co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement was<br />
founded by Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta,<br />
a Catholic priest who wanted to help u<br />
32 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 29
“ROGER’S<br />
FAITH GIVES<br />
HIM A STRONG<br />
BELIEF IN<br />
EQUALITY.<br />
CLEARLY, THERE<br />
ARE CROSSOVERS<br />
BETWEEN<br />
A RADICAL<br />
CHRISTIAN<br />
POSITION<br />
AND CO-OP<br />
PRINCIPLES”<br />
as a student at Cambridge, where he met<br />
an American missionary and experienced<br />
a transcendental moment. This made him<br />
realise that he had to find ways to put his<br />
faith into action.<br />
In later life, his experiences in the<br />
workplace convinced him there was a<br />
role for Christians in business; but the<br />
structures where he worked did not allow<br />
him to do what he felt was needed. He<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>osed changes but the shareholders<br />
disagreed with him.<br />
But then came a visit to Israel, where he<br />
worked on a kibbutz making tools – and<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ed his ideas about worker co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
He says the Quaker business method<br />
helped his thinking on consensual<br />
decision-making – and he decided the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative model was the most suitable<br />
for putting his values into practice<br />
because it lacked the paternalistic<br />
dimension of Quaker businesses.<br />
Mr Sawtell was also one of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators who helped to draft the rules<br />
of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Production Federation,<br />
later known as the Industrial <strong>Co</strong>mmon<br />
Ownership Movement (ICOM) rules. ICOM<br />
would merge with the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Union,<br />
forming <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK – and the new<br />
rules were put to test at the Daily Bread<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative, which Mr Sawtell founded.<br />
Daily Bread <strong>op</strong>ened its store in October<br />
1980 and it has been seeking to live up to<br />
its original ideals ever since, providing<br />
quality, wholesome food at a fair price. Its<br />
continued success saw it win the Growing<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative category in the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> of the<br />
Year Awards 2017.<br />
Even today, almost 40 years later, Daily<br />
Bread has a strong Christian ethos, with<br />
u his congregation in Mondragon,<br />
the Basque <strong>Co</strong>untry, as the town tried<br />
to recover from the Spanish Civil War.<br />
In 1956, he created a social business based<br />
upon the principle of equality. He saw<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives as the perfect solution to<br />
the town’s unemployment crisis.<br />
Since then, Christian groups<br />
around the world have set up similar<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative ventures. Among them was<br />
Roger Sawtell, founder of Northamptonbased<br />
Daily Bread <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative – recently<br />
given a Lifetime Achievement Award at<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> of the Year Awards <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
Talking to Nick Matthews, chair of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, he explained how<br />
after a 20-year career as an engineer<br />
at Spear and Jackson in Sheffield, he<br />
started looking for ways to put his faith<br />
into practice.<br />
“Roger’s faith gives him a strong belief<br />
in equality,” says Mr Matthews. “Clearly,<br />
there are crossovers between a radical<br />
Christian position and co-<strong>op</strong> principles.”<br />
An Anglican, Mr Sawtell lives in<br />
a Christian community with his wife of 61<br />
years, Susan, a Quaker.<br />
Although he attended church at<br />
Wortley, Yorkshire, during his childhood,<br />
the turning point in his faith came to him<br />
30 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
prayers most mornings before the store<br />
<strong>op</strong>ens and communion at least once a<br />
fortnight. The co-<strong>op</strong> is committed to giving<br />
away a percentage of its annual turnover<br />
to causes ranging from educational<br />
projects in devel<strong>op</strong>ing countries to local<br />
schemes such as Northampton Soup and<br />
the H<strong>op</strong>e Centre.<br />
John Clarke, a current member of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>, says: “Daily Bread was founded<br />
from a Christian group that was part of<br />
a local church. This was similar to how<br />
some of the early co-<strong>op</strong>erative societies<br />
were formed, with concern about pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
rather than profit. Supporting members<br />
and working together for a common goal<br />
are good social and Christian values.<br />
“Since Daily Bread was founded in 1976<br />
and started trading in 1980, those values<br />
have always been present in our way<br />
of thinking and how we manage<br />
ourselves and conduct business.<br />
Of course, those values are not exclusive<br />
to the Christian faith, but our 40 years<br />
trading has been a demonstration that<br />
these values are strong enough for<br />
us – and many others in the worker<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement – to survive the<br />
downs in the economy and enjoy the<br />
fruits in good times.”<br />
But if faith acted as an incentive<br />
for religious communities to devel<strong>op</strong><br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative businesses, so too did a lack<br />
of belief in religion.<br />
In his lecture at the <strong>op</strong>ening of the<br />
Secular Hall in Leicester in 1881, George<br />
Holyoake talked about his vision of a<br />
secular society in which religion was based<br />
on “the simple creed of deed and duty”,<br />
with personal and society welfare at heart.<br />
Stephen Yeo, in his book Victorian<br />
Agitator – George Jacob Holyoake,<br />
tells how the co-<strong>op</strong>erator’s outspoken<br />
secularism landed him with six months’<br />
jail for blasphemy in Gloucester in 1843.<br />
Yeo describes how, for Holyoake, secular<br />
values of unity and tolerance could<br />
render co-<strong>op</strong>erative efforts possible.<br />
Later in his life, Holyoake sought to<br />
engage with preachers, Quakers and other<br />
faiths in an attempt to involve them in the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement. An Owenite<br />
social missionary, he was also influenced<br />
by John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. He<br />
served as president of the first day of the<br />
1887 <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress and wrote<br />
about the history of the movement.<br />
Is co-<strong>op</strong>eration like a religion? Prof<br />
Yeo writes: “I have watched many<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators during the last 50 years living<br />
out their attachment to their societies and<br />
their movement as if to a religion, with<br />
a dynamic faith – often against the odds<br />
and after many defeats – as freely chosen,<br />
as <strong>op</strong>en and voluntary and as binding, as<br />
any other religious faith.”<br />
And he suggests that modern advocates<br />
on co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual enterprises<br />
could promote not just an economic<br />
model, but also a co-<strong>op</strong>erative ethic and<br />
even spirituality.<br />
When he considers the lessons today’s<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators can take from Holyoake,<br />
he says: “The first thing to take away<br />
from Holyoake’s work is to respect other<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le’s beliefs and be sceptical about<br />
certainties, and to see co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
societies as societies which include<br />
differences of <strong>op</strong>inion in religion and<br />
party political terms, combined with<br />
unity around actions. Holyoake was<br />
always very sceptical about worldly<br />
certainties – he said he did not know.”<br />
Prof Yeo adds: “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration is not an<br />
ideology, it’s a set of practices – because<br />
what we’re actually committed to is a set<br />
of values and principles in practice. What<br />
we are trying to do is prefigure a different<br />
way of producing ideas and goods, bread<br />
and knowledge.”<br />
While <strong>op</strong>inions vary when it comes to<br />
the question of considering co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
as a religion, there is general agreement<br />
on the role co-<strong>op</strong>s play in bringing<br />
together a diverse mixture of pe<strong>op</strong>le for<br />
common goals.<br />
“It’s a good thing to be actively<br />
recruiting to a social and moral set<br />
“CO-OPERATION<br />
IS NOT AN IDEOLOGY,<br />
IT’S A SET OF PRACTICES.<br />
BECAUSE WHAT WE’RE ACTUALLY<br />
COMMITTED TO IS A SET OF<br />
VALUES AND PRINCIPLES<br />
IN PRACTICE.<br />
WHAT WE ARE TRYING<br />
TO DO IS PREFIGURE<br />
A DIFFERENT WAY OF PRODUCING<br />
IDEAS AND GOODS, BREAD<br />
AND KNOWLEDGE”<br />
of values,” says Prof Yeo. “Partly because<br />
our set of values is all about forms of<br />
association and forms of organisation, we<br />
have a commitment to a very particular<br />
way of producing a future society.<br />
Organisations and associational forms<br />
are crucial to us. Just using the word<br />
‘social’ doesn’t make you a co-<strong>op</strong>.”<br />
“We’re about a very particular way<br />
of arranging the powers of production,<br />
distribution, education and government.<br />
That was a Rochdale commitment and it<br />
puts education and government on same<br />
level as production and distribution –<br />
ideas as well as making and selling bread.<br />
So, if we are to be evangelical, then it has<br />
to be about particular forms of collective<br />
self-governing, not about ‘isms’ but about<br />
ways of getting together.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 31
HOW DO YOU MARKET THE<br />
CO-OPERATIVE<br />
IDENTITY?<br />
BY MILES HADFIELD<br />
Questions surrounding co-<strong>op</strong> culture and identity are vital to current efforts<br />
to double the size of the UK movement: how do we preserve that culture during<br />
the growth process, and how do we make that culture inclusive to new pe<strong>op</strong>le brought<br />
into the movement? This year’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress, held in Manchester in June, looked<br />
at how to grow the movement – and included a look at the implications of this for<br />
marketing the co-<strong>op</strong> identity, and questions on how to engage youth in co-<strong>op</strong> culture.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative identity came under the<br />
microsc<strong>op</strong>e at a <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress <strong>2019</strong><br />
session when representatives from two<br />
leading co-<strong>op</strong>s discussed ways it can<br />
be marketed.<br />
Pete Westall, chief values officer at the<br />
Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, whose <strong>op</strong>erations<br />
include retail, funerals, energy, telecoms<br />
and childcare, said embedding the<br />
identity “at the heart of customer<br />
experience” is especially important,<br />
given the society’s range of <strong>op</strong>erations.<br />
He gave the example of the Midcounties’<br />
nursery business, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Childcare. With<br />
all nurseries rated good or outstanding<br />
by Ofsted, the society had “licence to do<br />
something a bit different”.<br />
Firstly, Midcounties is using member<br />
insight, and encouraging every parent<br />
who has a child at one of its nurseries to<br />
become a member.<br />
“How do we reflect member needs and<br />
wishes in what we do in those nurseries?”<br />
asked Mr Westall. “We ask their priorities.<br />
They came back saying it was education<br />
– with education on the environment at<br />
the t<strong>op</strong>.”<br />
In response, the society set up an ecoschool<br />
programme, showing children<br />
where food comes from, and ensuring<br />
food transparency in the nursery’s meals.<br />
This drive to put a message consistently<br />
across all nurseries is replicated<br />
throughout the society, with member<br />
experience the key to Midcounties’<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> culture. “Putting members at the<br />
heart of what we do is important,” said Mr<br />
Westall, “and we have one person on our<br />
executive team whose job that is.<br />
“The culture is different – for the<br />
first time there is accountability at<br />
management level to make sure we stick<br />
to those values.”<br />
Different challenges in establishing<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong> culture among members is faced<br />
by Openfield, the UK’s only national grain<br />
marketing co-<strong>op</strong> – a large organisation<br />
with a turnover of £650m, supplying<br />
numerous high-profile customers.<br />
Marketing manager Richard Kaye<br />
described efforts to “get everyone on<br />
board with what we are”, including the<br />
farmers who own it, its customers and<br />
i t ss t a ff .<br />
To do this, Mr Kaye led efforts to clean<br />
up Openfield’s “muddled” messaging and<br />
branding, to explain simply the full range<br />
of its services and client base.<br />
He said Openfield is using the word<br />
“partnership” to stress its co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
difference from foreign-owned grain plcs<br />
who send their profits overseas.<br />
All these messages are integrated, he<br />
added, so that “everyone can talk about<br />
how they add value to the Openfield<br />
Partnership”.<br />
Asked why he had <strong>op</strong>ted for the word<br />
partnership, Mr Kaye said communicating<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> identity is a “challenge”.<br />
“Partnership is my modern way of<br />
translating it,” he said. “We consulted the<br />
farmers and pe<strong>op</strong>le didn’t understand<br />
‘co-<strong>op</strong>erative’; but they did understand<br />
‘partnership’. As we move forward I want<br />
to go back to that. A line in the material<br />
does say we’re the only national grain<br />
marketing co-<strong>op</strong>.”<br />
32 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
TEACHING<br />
YOUNG<br />
PEOPLE<br />
ABOUT CO-OPERATION<br />
Another session at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress looked<br />
at co-<strong>op</strong> education, where panellists<br />
tackled the difficulties of bringing young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le into the culture of co-<strong>op</strong>eration.<br />
Jonny Gordon-Farleigh from Stir to<br />
Action described his organisation’s New<br />
Economy Programme, which works<br />
with pe<strong>op</strong>le aged 25-45, on issues such<br />
as crowdfunding, community wealth<br />
building and sustainability.<br />
Stir To Action is also training young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le to host worksh<strong>op</strong>s, and helping<br />
18-35s in Brixton devel<strong>op</strong> community and<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> enterprises to deal with local needs<br />
and issues.<br />
With its BAME partners giving<br />
referrals, Stir To Action has also set up<br />
international residentials, which included<br />
a visit from Mississippi co-<strong>op</strong> city project<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eration Jackson.<br />
“We’re also working with book clubs<br />
… it’s a good way of engaging with youth<br />
looking for alternatives. Culturally,<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le don’t like to identify as<br />
entrepreneurs, they are more interested<br />
in collaboration. Book clubs give them<br />
a chance to learn about this business<br />
model and get the skills.”<br />
He added: “I don’t think older<br />
organisations can repeat what we do by<br />
reading about millennials; more funding<br />
is needed for partnerships.”<br />
Asked why this was the case by Simon<br />
Parkinson, principal and chief executive<br />
of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>llege, Mr Gordon-<br />
Farleigh said: “To a large degree it can't<br />
be authentically reproduced; it needs<br />
partnerships.”<br />
He added: “Some things are culturally<br />
native to younger generations,” pointing<br />
out that the Stir To Action team is now<br />
finding similar difficulties itself as it<br />
engages with the youngest generation as<br />
it enters the arena.<br />
“We need co-design and co-delivery<br />
with young generations,” he said. “Why<br />
is there such a lack of diversity? We invite<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le of colour but we are not involving<br />
them in the production of those events;<br />
it’s the same with young pe<strong>op</strong>le.”<br />
He added: “Having younger members of<br />
staff helps but there’s still a huge cultural<br />
issue around older organisations.”<br />
Tanya Noon from Central England<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> responded: “I do have to defend<br />
our work with young pe<strong>op</strong>le; we bring a<br />
lot of expertise to the table. We found the<br />
youngsters did want to learn from us. It’s<br />
intergenerational work – it’s important to<br />
pass on our skills.”<br />
She told delegates how her society was<br />
helping young pe<strong>op</strong>le set up co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
“We’re planting a seed to get them to<br />
look at co-<strong>op</strong>s … we connect them to the<br />
Hive, and students learn about consumer<br />
and worker co-<strong>op</strong>s. Students enjoy peer<br />
group working.”<br />
She said this means that students no<br />
longer saw the society’s stores as “just<br />
another sh<strong>op</strong>” and now favour them over<br />
rival retailers.<br />
BY MILES HADFIELD<br />
Vivian Woodell, on the panel to discuss<br />
his role in the foundation of Student<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Homes, said: “The way generations<br />
relate to each other has shifted. As long<br />
as you approach pe<strong>op</strong>le in an <strong>op</strong>en way,<br />
don’t tell them how to live, they are<br />
willing to engage.”<br />
He said young pe<strong>op</strong>le were keen to<br />
learn about alternative business models<br />
– giving the example of students in<br />
Sheffield, where these models are not<br />
taught; in response, they have set up their<br />
own forum.<br />
Mr Woodell also discussed his time<br />
at the Phone <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>, when he led the<br />
organisation's efforts to help students set<br />
up housing co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
A group in Birmingham was struggling<br />
to get a mortgage so the Phone <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
bought a house and leased it to<br />
them.“They’ve improved the pr<strong>op</strong>erty,<br />
added value and built two room,” said<br />
Mr Woodell. “We repeated the exercise<br />
in Sheffield, then a group in Edinburgh<br />
set up.”<br />
He called for more resources to scale<br />
up the model, including the devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
of secondary co-<strong>op</strong>s and the use of share<br />
issues to raise finance.<br />
“This is an <strong>op</strong>portunity to reach pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
at an important time in their lives, and<br />
<strong>op</strong>en up the possibility of getting them<br />
involved in the co-<strong>op</strong> movement,” he<br />
said. “It’s an alternative to experiencing<br />
the cynical world of landlords and<br />
a chance to learn what they can achieve<br />
by working together.”<br />
He added: “Many of those founders<br />
are now working in co-<strong>op</strong>s. One is<br />
youth representative on the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Group Members <strong>Co</strong>uncil and working at<br />
Phone <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>; others have gone and<br />
started co-<strong>op</strong>s.”<br />
JONNY GORDON-FARLEIGH<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 33
CO-OP CULTURE AS A DANGEROUS IDEA IN<br />
VICTORIAN<br />
BRITAIN<br />
BY REBEcCa HARVEY<br />
There is much frustration within the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement that few pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
know about the model beyond food<br />
stores and funeralcare. It is not on the<br />
syllabus of most business schools, and<br />
unless you live near, work for, engage<br />
with or stumble across independent<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, they are hard to find. As the<br />
introduction to <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK’s<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Economy Report 2018 asked:<br />
“Despite providing solutions to so many<br />
problems, with record membership<br />
figures and demonstrating incredible<br />
resilience, why do co-<strong>op</strong>s remain the best<br />
kept business secret in the UK?”<br />
But they are more than businesses. One<br />
educational institution showcasing the<br />
impact of co-<strong>op</strong>s to students is Manchester<br />
University, which is running an English<br />
Literature module on <strong>Co</strong>mpetition,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration and Happiness: Dangerous<br />
Ideas in Victorian Britain.<br />
Led by Dr Michael Sanders, the course<br />
starts by looking at three key ideologies<br />
of the early 19th century – political<br />
economy, utilitarianism and Owenism<br />
– before exploring some of the ways in<br />
which ideas of competition were revised<br />
later in the 19th century as a result of the<br />
ideas of John Ruskin and Charles Darwin.<br />
The final third of the course<br />
examines the efforts of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement to create an alternative to<br />
the individualistic, competitive culture<br />
fostered by industrial capitalism. It looks<br />
at how this was reflected in co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
periodicals at the time, from Our Circle<br />
(aimed at co-<strong>op</strong>erative youth) and<br />
Women's Outlook (the magazine of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Women’s Guild) to Millgate<br />
Monthly (a cultural magazine aimed at<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong>erative public) and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />
itself.<br />
“I grew up in rural Devon, and even<br />
there, ʻthe <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’ was always part of the<br />
landscape,” says Dr Sanders. His teenage<br />
years coincided with the anti-apartheid<br />
movement, which the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> backed.<br />
“You could sh<strong>op</strong> in the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> safe in<br />
the knowledge that there was no South<br />
African produce there. And then the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> suddenly changes from being just<br />
another sh<strong>op</strong> on the high street to being<br />
a sh<strong>op</strong> on the high street that was a little<br />
bit different.”<br />
From that early political awakening,<br />
he became interested in the Chartist<br />
movement and other aspects of working<br />
class history. “The great working class<br />
success story of the 19th century is the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement,” he says. “That<br />
story of how 24 men from Rochdale<br />
changed the world is just mind blowing<br />
and it spins off in so many different<br />
“THE<br />
THING ABOUT<br />
VICTORIAN<br />
LITERATURE IS<br />
THAT IT'S NOT<br />
A REAR VIEW<br />
MIRROR,” SAYS<br />
DR SANDERS.<br />
"IT'S STILL WITH<br />
US, STILL SHAPING<br />
US AND ACTUALLY<br />
IT MIGHT BE THE<br />
FUTURE”<br />
34 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
directions. I thought: ʻI’ve got to find<br />
a way of teaching this’.”<br />
Dr Sanders wanted to do something<br />
positive, away from the ʻheroic defeat’<br />
stories labour history events are, in his<br />
view, often relegated to – while making it<br />
contemporary and relevant.<br />
“The thing about Victorian literature is<br />
that it’s not a rear view mirror,” says Dr<br />
Sanders. “It’s still with us, still shaping<br />
us and actually it might be the future.<br />
Take precarity. Yes in a sense it's a new<br />
problem, but if you study 19th century<br />
working practices, precarity was the<br />
name of the game.”<br />
He was interested to see if there was<br />
a way of bringing classical Victorian<br />
literature into a meaningful relationship<br />
with the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement: “So<br />
much middle-class Victorian literature<br />
is imbued with the idea of competition<br />
and competitive culture – and on the<br />
other side we’ve got co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture. Both of them make<br />
claims that they’re concerned with<br />
human happiness.”<br />
One of the publications students find<br />
most interesting is Our Circle, which ran<br />
from 1907 to 1960. It was a magazine<br />
aimed at young children and teenagers<br />
containing informative articles (for<br />
example on the lives of prominent<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators) alongside short stories,<br />
puzzles and lessons in Esperanto –<br />
a universal language that was p<strong>op</strong>ular<br />
within the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement.<br />
Dr Sanders says: “The students had a<br />
really interesting discussion about what<br />
they thought the age range was. The<br />
very first issue looked like it was trying<br />
to cover ages 8-18. By 1926 it’s more 12-18<br />
and by 1936 it’s almost 14-20. There’s a lot<br />
of interactivity [between the magazine<br />
and its readers] – there's a real sense<br />
of Our Circle saying ʻWhat do you want?<br />
Tell us what you are interested in.<br />
We'd like to know.’<br />
“In comparison, Millgate Monthly was<br />
almost aspirational, more concerned with<br />
the distribution of cultural capital: ʻThis<br />
is what we think co-<strong>op</strong>erators should<br />
look like’.”<br />
He believes that a “whole, genuine<br />
culture around co-<strong>op</strong>erative societies<br />
has been lost.” While a few examples<br />
remain, societies ran sports clubs, choral<br />
societies, brass bands and day trips for<br />
colleagues and members.<br />
“If you read some of the debates in the<br />
1950s, you can see the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, in a sense,<br />
start to lose its way a little bit,” says Dr<br />
Sanders. “One of the ways I think it does<br />
that is that ceases to take culture – and<br />
that education mission – as seriously as<br />
it once did.<br />
“This coincided with the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
becoming aware that it needed business<br />
expertise from outside the movement. But<br />
it forgets that previously its management<br />
had risen through the ranks, and<br />
therefore imbibed co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture,<br />
values and ethos from the start – they<br />
were steeped in it. The pe<strong>op</strong>le coming in<br />
weren’t malignant or vindictive, they just<br />
hadn’t been raised in it. So the culture<br />
begins to change.<br />
“Another great missed <strong>op</strong>portunity was<br />
not having the Women’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Guild on the board of the CWS, despite<br />
them saying on numerous occasions, ‘we<br />
are your main purchasers, we are your<br />
main customers, we can tell you about<br />
the products you're making’.”<br />
The course ends with the students<br />
undertaking an individual research<br />
project on some aspect of co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
culture, such as looking at the extent to<br />
which gender and class intersect with<br />
the ideas of competition, co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
and happiness.<br />
“The project requires them to find<br />
something in the co-<strong>op</strong> periodicals that<br />
they’re interested in. The brief is to take<br />
four issues and design a précis and an<br />
analysis to go alongside it.” The aim is<br />
for some of the précis to be added to the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Archive website.<br />
Why does he think that learning about<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives is still important today?<br />
“Because the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, from its inception<br />
and throughout its history, asks the<br />
questions that nobody else in mainstream<br />
business asks. The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has a duty to its<br />
customers and its employees. But it also<br />
has a duty to the neighbourhood and<br />
environment where it’s located – and it<br />
has to find a way of balancing that. Who<br />
else in mainstream economics is thinking<br />
in these terms?”<br />
Dr Sanders adds: “The initial<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>osition of the Rochdale Pioneers<br />
was: ‘we can do this ourselves’. And<br />
that's what I really want my students to<br />
take away. This isn't a history of highpowered<br />
intellectuals of incredible<br />
experts, this is a story of ordinary men<br />
and women. It's the everyday democracy<br />
and the sense that everyone has<br />
a contribution to make.<br />
“If a group of weavers in Rochdale<br />
deprived of formal education, in the<br />
1840s, can make a success of it, then<br />
given the advantages we enjoy in terms<br />
of education and basic prosperity, you<br />
feel we should be making a much better<br />
job of it than we are.”<br />
“THE CO-OP, FROM<br />
ITS INCEPTION AND<br />
THROUGHOUT ITS<br />
HISTORY, ASKS<br />
THE QUESTIONS<br />
THAT NOBODY ELSE<br />
IN MAINSTREAM<br />
BUSINESS ASKS”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 35
CO-OP CULTURE IN<br />
EUROPE<br />
How can we bring together different national cultures in one<br />
organisation? Cec<strong>op</strong> looks back during its anniversary conference<br />
BY ANCa VOINEA<br />
Forty years ago co-<strong>op</strong> apex bodies from<br />
six Eur<strong>op</strong>ean states met in Manchester<br />
where they agreed to set up Cec<strong>op</strong>, the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>nfederation of co-<strong>op</strong>s in<br />
industry and services.<br />
At the time, the UK was governed by<br />
Margaret Thatcher, who was breaking the<br />
UK’s post-war political consensus. Her<br />
approach changed economic and fiscal<br />
policy at national and global level, while<br />
economic liberalisation changed the<br />
world of work and curbed union power.<br />
Cec<strong>op</strong> president Giuseppe Guerini<br />
says the world now faces similar<br />
challenges to those of 1979, with<br />
illiberal p<strong>op</strong>ulism on the rise in<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>e and elsewhere. In response, he<br />
sees co-<strong>op</strong>s as playing a key role in<br />
safeguarding democracy.<br />
Speaking at the organisation’s 40th<br />
anniversary conference in Manchester<br />
on 21 June, he looked at its achievements<br />
in bringing co-<strong>op</strong>s together to share<br />
experience and speak with one voice.<br />
Vice president Siôn Whellens said:<br />
“The purpose of us getting together is<br />
understanding one another, tackling the<br />
sometimes uneven devel<strong>op</strong>ment of our<br />
movement across Eur<strong>op</strong>e and being ready<br />
for global challenges.”<br />
Rainer Schlüter, secretary general<br />
of Cec<strong>op</strong> from 1985 to 2004, said that<br />
in 1979 other sectoral organisations<br />
were representing Eur<strong>op</strong>ean co-<strong>op</strong>s in<br />
retail, agriculture or banking. But these<br />
organisations were focusing on sectorspecific<br />
issues, rather than lobbying for<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> business model.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> bodies from across six Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
states joined Cec<strong>op</strong> not only to defend<br />
the worker co-<strong>op</strong> model, but also speak<br />
for the co-<strong>op</strong> concept with a single voice<br />
before Eur<strong>op</strong>ean institutions. Cec<strong>op</strong>’s<br />
permanent secretariat was established in<br />
1982 in Brussels.<br />
Initial successes included getting<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s for the first time on the agenda of<br />
MEPs in 1981 and securing a debate on a<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean co-<strong>op</strong>erative code. But agreeing<br />
a common message proved a challenge<br />
for Cec<strong>op</strong>’s members as well as other<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> sectoral organisations.<br />
“The histories and cultures of co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movements were very different and had<br />
very different rules,” said Mr Schlüter,<br />
adding that movements across different<br />
countries were worried their national<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> cultures would disappear under a<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean co-<strong>op</strong>erative statute. German<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s were worried the ability of their<br />
apex body to approve the establishment<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s would be eroded; Italian co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
had multiple organisations and voices;<br />
and French co-<strong>op</strong>s were afraid indivisible<br />
reserves rules could change.<br />
If Italy and France had strong industrial<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, Belgium had co-<strong>op</strong>s <strong>op</strong>erating as<br />
an alternative economy model – and the<br />
UK movement included many radical<br />
worker-owned businesses. Holland had<br />
loose forms of self-managed enterprises,<br />
said Mr Schlüter, adding that Cec<strong>op</strong><br />
needed to keep an <strong>op</strong>en mind.<br />
In the late 1980s the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission (EC) fully recognised the<br />
social economy sector through the<br />
creation in 1989 of a social economy unit<br />
in the DG Enterprise. Following multiple<br />
reorganisations, the unit was replaced<br />
by the autonomous Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Standing<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives, Mutual<br />
societies, Associations and Foundations<br />
(CEP-CMAF), which ad<strong>op</strong>ted the name<br />
Social Economy Eur<strong>op</strong>e in 2007.<br />
36 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
In the mid 1990s Italian social co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
joined Cec<strong>op</strong>, posing new challenges<br />
when it came to finding a common<br />
political message. These co-<strong>op</strong>s had<br />
been created in 1991 as worker co-<strong>op</strong>s, to<br />
provide employment for disadvantaged<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le; the model started being replicated<br />
all over Eur<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> federations from former<br />
communist states in Eastern Eur<strong>op</strong>e also<br />
started joining in the 90s – including<br />
the Poland’s National Union of Worker<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s (NAUWC). Its president Janusz<br />
Paszkowski said: “The decision by the<br />
federation to join Cec<strong>op</strong> was one of the<br />
best the organisation made at the time.”<br />
He said Cec<strong>op</strong> provided a platform for<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s to showcase their role in other<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean countries. Back then co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
in Poland were seen as the remnants of<br />
communism and authorities were looking<br />
to introduce policies to put an end to<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> enterprises. Around 18,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
(60%) were closed down.<br />
In 2004 Krakow was chosen to host the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Social Economy conference.<br />
“That conference gathered 800 pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
from Poland and different countries,”<br />
said Mr Paszkowski. “It was an important<br />
moment because it was the first time<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le in Poland heard about the social<br />
economy, what it stands for.”<br />
He added: “The reason why we<br />
joined Cec<strong>op</strong> was to show them that<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s are important.<br />
“The experience from Cec<strong>op</strong> can be<br />
used to explain to politicians, and all<br />
those reluctant [to engage with co-<strong>op</strong>s]<br />
about what the sector can do.”<br />
Cec<strong>op</strong> continued to work with these<br />
countries to share other Eur<strong>op</strong>ean states’<br />
experiences and make the case for the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> sector. It also played a key role in<br />
setting up <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e in 2005,<br />
which acts as the voice of all co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
in Eur<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
“We are strong only when we are strong<br />
everywhere,” said Mr Schlüter.<br />
Currently, Cec<strong>op</strong> represents 40,000<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s with 1.3 million members; these<br />
all come from EU countries, but Cec<strong>op</strong> is<br />
keen to have co-<strong>op</strong>s in non-EU states join.<br />
“Our mission is to go east of what is<br />
today the EU,” said secretary general<br />
Diana Dovgan.<br />
A 2016 survey collecting membership<br />
data revealed that 77% of Cec<strong>op</strong> members<br />
are worker co-<strong>op</strong>s and 22% are social<br />
“SOCIAL CO-OPERATIVES MUST<br />
PROMOTE A CULTURE OF SOLIDARITY<br />
AND RESIST. THEY MUST BE READY<br />
FOR EVERYTHING THE FUTURE HOLDS<br />
FOR US, WHATEVER IT IS”<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s. The organisation is keen to engage<br />
more with freelancer co-<strong>op</strong>s, community<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, multistakeholder co-<strong>op</strong>eratives,<br />
platform co-<strong>op</strong>s and youth co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
With transformations in the world<br />
of work, Cec<strong>op</strong> intends to provide new<br />
tools to offer workers access to social<br />
protection and financial security.<br />
“We have to think about building<br />
alliances with co-<strong>op</strong>s in other sectors<br />
as well as other organisations,”<br />
said Ms Dovgan.<br />
Diego Dutto, director of the Italian<br />
association of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and social<br />
enterprises Legaco<strong>op</strong>, added: “If I<br />
think of the Eur<strong>op</strong>e of 1979, I think<br />
of a Eur<strong>op</strong>e that no longer exists. We<br />
need to respond to current challenges;<br />
we are the first generation that<br />
accepts the world might end due to<br />
climate change – but the market has<br />
to continue.”<br />
He added: “Yesterday [20 June] was<br />
World Refugee Day – our movement<br />
can contribute a culture of solidarity.<br />
What future can we expect? We need<br />
to respond promptly and organise.<br />
Social co-<strong>op</strong>eratives must promote<br />
a culture of solidarity and resist. They<br />
must be ready for everything the future<br />
holds for us, whatever it is. "<br />
In 2013, the EC established its Working<br />
Group on <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives. Mr Guerini thinks<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s and other social economy actors<br />
need to continue to work together to<br />
ensure the digitisation of the economy is<br />
done in a sustainable, ecological manner.<br />
“We are not trendy ecologists like<br />
those in Silicon Valley – we believe<br />
sustainability has to do with how wealth<br />
is distributed,” he said, adding that<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s need to respond to challenges<br />
posed by the digital revolution.<br />
Some public procurement benefits<br />
were obtained in 2014 when the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
Parliament ad<strong>op</strong>ted new rules on public<br />
procurement. CECOP welcomed the<br />
ad<strong>op</strong>ted EU rules, especially the new<br />
criterion of the “most economically<br />
advantageous tender”, which allows<br />
public authorities to place a stronger<br />
emphasis in the award procedure on<br />
quality, social aspects, environmental<br />
considerations or innovation.<br />
In a video message to the conference,<br />
Ulla Englemann, head of Unit<br />
Advanced Technologies, Clusters and<br />
Social Economy at the EC, said co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
had already proven their resilience<br />
during the 2008 economic crisis<br />
and their ability to adapt to major<br />
economic transformations.<br />
She called on the sector to keep<br />
showing that economic performance<br />
is not incompatible with social<br />
benefits. She thinks co-<strong>op</strong>s are<br />
suitable models for digital innovation<br />
and platforms and devel<strong>op</strong>ing<br />
disruptive technologies.<br />
Juan Antonio Pedreño, president<br />
of Social Economy Eur<strong>op</strong>e, who has<br />
been a member of a local co-<strong>op</strong> in<br />
Murcia for 37 years, said: “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
are the backbone of social economy.<br />
There is momentum for the social<br />
economy to thrive in Eur<strong>op</strong>e. We need<br />
to make sure that the Social Economy<br />
Intergroup in the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament<br />
is re-established.”<br />
Intergroups are unofficial groupings<br />
of MEPs who are interested in a particular<br />
t<strong>op</strong>ic formed at the start of each<br />
parliamentary term.<br />
Mr Pedreño also called on co-<strong>op</strong>s to<br />
continue to work with social economy<br />
actors to speak with a single voice.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 37
CO-OP CULTURE IN<br />
FINANCIAL<br />
MARKET$<br />
Has Desjardins lost its<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative mission?<br />
BY ANCa VOINEA<br />
Has Canadian co-<strong>op</strong> Desjardins Group<br />
moved away from its original mission<br />
and co-<strong>op</strong> culture? A new study by the<br />
Institute of Research and Socio Economic<br />
Information (IRIS) argues that changes<br />
in the banking sector have impacted<br />
Desjardins’ own approach to meeting its<br />
members’ needs.<br />
In its report, the Montreal-based<br />
research institute examines the evolution<br />
of Desjardins from the moment it was<br />
set up by Alphonse Desjardins to its<br />
current position. Desjardins is the largest<br />
federation of credit unions in North<br />
America. The local credit unions are<br />
known as caisses.<br />
According to the research, Desjardins’<br />
first shift in approach occurred in the<br />
1960s when workers started to earn<br />
more and – finding themselves in a<br />
more prosperous economy – wanted to<br />
own more pr<strong>op</strong>erty and luxury goods.<br />
They started turning to banks for loans<br />
to acquire them – and, in response,<br />
Desjardins increased its number<br />
of consumer loans.<br />
In 1961, its loans accounted for only<br />
8.8% of total assets, the research says –<br />
but in 1971 this pr<strong>op</strong>ortion reached 19.3%.<br />
Since 2002 mortgages and loans for<br />
consumption represent on average 50%<br />
of the group’s total assets.<br />
34 38 | | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
The paper also highlights that<br />
Desjardins has set the target of being<br />
a leader in terms of credit cards and<br />
consumer loans. This erodes the<br />
incentive to save, says the study – and it<br />
warns that Desjardins is supporting mass<br />
consumption and indebtedness.<br />
Another change ushered in by the<br />
1960s was a move away from a desire<br />
to emancipate pe<strong>op</strong>le to a desire for<br />
managerial efficiency.<br />
During this period, to free Quebec from<br />
its dependence on US capital, the leaders<br />
of the federation pr<strong>op</strong>osed the use of<br />
savings from depositors to stimulate local<br />
business devel<strong>op</strong>ment. Desjardins also<br />
started acquiring enterprises and created<br />
a number of financial subsidiaries.<br />
But while this approach offers<br />
a variety of services, the researchers<br />
say it also affects the co-<strong>op</strong>erative's<br />
mission. Because they provide complex<br />
financial services, these subsidiaries<br />
are run by professionals who are not<br />
familiar with the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement<br />
– which means they might have<br />
problems integrating.<br />
To address this, the confederation<br />
has decision-making power for the<br />
whole movement of caisses, controlling<br />
the subsidiaries and centralising the<br />
resources of the individual caisses.<br />
The report claims the federation no<br />
longer aims to put in place measures that<br />
contribute to the economic emancipation<br />
of its members, but rather to maximise<br />
returns and surpluses. And those who<br />
run the federation now come from<br />
management schools or the banking<br />
community, it adds: and because its<br />
management is no longer politically<br />
active but paid professionals, Desjardins<br />
has lost its mission.<br />
The report says another big<br />
transformation took place during<br />
the 1990s due to legislative changes.<br />
Traditionally banks had been forbidden<br />
from combining traditional banking<br />
and market activities, such as securities<br />
issues, insurance, brokerage and fiduciary<br />
management. But in 1991, changes to the<br />
law enabled them to form large financial<br />
conglomerates, regrouping several or all<br />
fields of financial activity.<br />
Because Desjardins was classed as a<br />
local bank it never had to comply with<br />
the law. From the 1990s, the situation<br />
changed and it started facing competition<br />
from other banks; the movement had to<br />
enter new markets.<br />
Since it cannot acquire capital by<br />
issuing shares, Desjardins could not raise<br />
capital when it wanted, as other banks<br />
could. After lobbying the government to<br />
enable it to have access to funds, a change<br />
in legislation enabled it to issue securities<br />
to raise funds from investors. This also<br />
means that the yield (interest) offered to<br />
investors must be high enough for them to<br />
want to invest in the first place.<br />
To attract investment, the report says,<br />
Desjardins started ad<strong>op</strong>ting similar<br />
criteria to other banks. Remuneration<br />
also resembles that of traditional banks,<br />
focused on bonuses dependant on how<br />
the bank is performing.<br />
In its 2000 annual report Desjardins<br />
said that it chose to comply with capital<br />
requirements imposed by international<br />
regulators. The federation began to<br />
increasingly define itself by the credit<br />
ratings granted to it by the major rating<br />
agencies. And since 2013, Desjardins has<br />
been considered one of the banks that are<br />
“too big to fail” and has to comply with<br />
Basel III regulations.<br />
To improve performance, the federation<br />
started devel<strong>op</strong>ing a culture similar to<br />
that of traditional banks. The report says<br />
this is noticeable across three different<br />
areas: the organisation of work inside<br />
the caisses; <strong>op</strong>erating costs; and the<br />
organisational structure.<br />
In terms of changes within the<br />
branches, many services were automated<br />
while service became more personalised,<br />
with cashiers being replaced by advisers.<br />
Advisers also get financial incentives<br />
for selling the most beneficial financial<br />
products for Desjardins.<br />
The reducing of <strong>op</strong>erating costs is<br />
visible in two ways. The first is the<br />
merger or closure of the caisses that have<br />
low growth potential. The movement<br />
went from 1,350 caisses in Quebec in<br />
1990 to 671 in 2002. It now has just<br />
238 caisses.<br />
“CONTRARY TO WHAT ALPHONSE<br />
DESJARDINS WANTED, CAPITAL IS<br />
NO LONGER A MEANS, IT HAS BECOME<br />
THE MAIN OBJECTIVE,”<br />
The second cut in costs came in the<br />
amount paid to members via rebates –<br />
which depends on how much members<br />
spend with the co-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
The amount spent on rebates in 2016<br />
decreased by more than two-thirds since<br />
2002: from CA $490m to $144m – or 58%<br />
of the surplus amount in 2002, falling to<br />
8% in 2016.<br />
The total amount returned to members<br />
in 2017 was $202m while in 2018 this<br />
amounted to $253m. While there has<br />
been an increase, these figures represent<br />
only 9.4% and 10.9% of the annual<br />
surplus, says the report. Members who<br />
have more financial products with the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> are rewarded more than those who<br />
do not use all of its services.<br />
The research argues that the closure<br />
of branches and the lowering of rebates<br />
paid to members impacted the mission of<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>, which was set up by Alphonse<br />
Desjardins to provide financial services<br />
to those who could not afford them.<br />
After outside investors were attracted<br />
in the 1990s, Desjardins’ structure<br />
with local branches, regional caisses<br />
and the national federation also<br />
changed. The regional caisses were<br />
abolished and the leading organisation<br />
is now the central federation of caisses<br />
of Quebec.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 39
CO-OP CULTURE IN<br />
LEADERSHIP<br />
The impact of co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture<br />
on leading a business<br />
BY ANCa VOINEA<br />
Suma, the UK’s largest independent<br />
wholefood wholesaler, has recently<br />
embarked on a leadership devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
journey – and doing this in a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
way can be a challenging process.<br />
Jenny Carlyle, strategic HR officer at<br />
Suma, shared some of the co-<strong>op</strong>’s key<br />
learnings during a session at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>ngress in Manchester in June.<br />
Suma was converted into a co-<strong>op</strong> in<br />
1977, after its founder sold it to staff<br />
two years after setting it up. Since then,<br />
the business has been run as a worker<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>, <strong>op</strong>erating an equal pay policy.<br />
Ms Carlyle surveyed colleagues to find<br />
out what they thought about leadership.<br />
She found that worker owners wanted<br />
leadership and although they did not<br />
know what that might look like, they<br />
all pointed to the idea of collective<br />
leadership. This approach means that<br />
anybody can be a leader at any time;<br />
individuals step into leadership roles<br />
when appr<strong>op</strong>riate or when there is a need<br />
in the organisation. When that need is<br />
over they will step back and continue<br />
what they were doing before.<br />
“The idea of collective leadership<br />
resonated with our values and principles<br />
and our structure,” said Ms Carlyle.<br />
Meanwhile, the co-<strong>op</strong>’s equal pay<br />
policy meant pe<strong>op</strong>le chose to take extra<br />
roles for the good of the organisation<br />
rather than for financial incentives.<br />
Ms Carlyle started looking at how Suma<br />
could devel<strong>op</strong> collective leadership, and<br />
asking what was st<strong>op</strong>ping pe<strong>op</strong>le from<br />
stepping into leadership roles. The survey<br />
revealed the main barriers were a lack<br />
of support and role clarity, with pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
stepping in and filling in roles as needed,<br />
without guidance.<br />
In light of this, Suma started<br />
a governance restructure to give pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
very clear responsibilities. It is now run<br />
by a board of nine pe<strong>op</strong>le, replacing its<br />
former management committee of six.<br />
Those who wish to stand for the board<br />
have to complete a skills assessment in<br />
relation to the job description. <strong>Co</strong>lleagues<br />
also need to second the application and<br />
explain why they think the person is<br />
suitable. The new process was devised<br />
to balance legal responsibilities, good<br />
competence and democratic rights.<br />
Suma has also set up a learning<br />
and devel<strong>op</strong>ment team, looking at<br />
membership skills within the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
and trying to incorporate elements<br />
of coaching and reflective practice.<br />
While still at a very early stage<br />
of leadership devel<strong>op</strong>ment, the co-<strong>op</strong> is<br />
focusing on involving and supporting<br />
everybody wanting more responsibilities.<br />
Ms Carlyle says a key lessons is that it<br />
is important to identify what leadership<br />
means for an organisation and what<br />
leaders are expected to do.<br />
“Tailor existing leadership<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment literature to your skills and<br />
organisation,” she told delegates.<br />
Elsewhere in the movement,<br />
Lincolnshire <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is recruiting pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
at mid-career stage, particularly in food<br />
store and managerial roles.<br />
“They come from the plc world with<br />
the expectation to invest massively in<br />
technology, not necessarily in pe<strong>op</strong>le or<br />
values,” said Heather Lee, the society’s<br />
head of pe<strong>op</strong>le and performance.<br />
With its purpose in mind, Lincolnshire<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ed a nine-box talent matrix<br />
to define what they are looking for in<br />
employees. “Devel<strong>op</strong>ing pe<strong>op</strong>le is key to<br />
40 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
us and how we go about delivering our<br />
purpose,” she added.<br />
Three years ago, the society launched<br />
a Learn, Engage, Apply and Perform<br />
programme (LEAP) to help colleagues<br />
step up to store manager roles. Through<br />
the scheme, staff members can apply for<br />
an 18-month training process to devel<strong>op</strong><br />
their skills further.<br />
Some choose not to be store managers,<br />
while others <strong>op</strong>t for the promotion and<br />
go on to complete a level 3 retail team<br />
leader diploma in partnership with<br />
a local college.<br />
Those who come through the scheme<br />
can do a chartered manager degree<br />
apprenticeship BA through the University<br />
of Lincoln. As an apprenticeship<br />
“SOMETIMES WHEN TRADITIONAL<br />
PATHWAYS ARE NO LONGER AN<br />
OPTION YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK<br />
FOR DIFFERENT WAYS”<br />
levy-paying employer, Lincolnshire<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative is using some of levy<br />
funding for these projects.<br />
Gavin Wilson, one of regional managers<br />
in the food business, was one of the first<br />
Lincolnshire staff members to apply for<br />
the LEAP programme. He started with<br />
an initial chat to his line manager, who<br />
asked about his devel<strong>op</strong>ment and where<br />
he wanted to be in the future. He said the<br />
scheme had boosted his confidence and<br />
given him the <strong>op</strong>portunity to network and<br />
make new contacts within the business.<br />
Other colleagues have chosen to move<br />
into head office roles through the scheme.<br />
Richard Bickle, a director at Central<br />
England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative, pointed out that<br />
retail societies’ junior-to-senior schemes<br />
do not exist in the way that they used<br />
to, particularly due to the advancement<br />
of the national living wage.<br />
“Are there lessons that the retail<br />
societies can learn from pe<strong>op</strong>le like<br />
Suma – who by definition are a flat<br />
organisation?” he asked.<br />
Ms Carlyle argued that while the job<br />
rotation approach worked for Suma, it<br />
might prove to be wrong for a co-<strong>op</strong> with<br />
a traditional hierarchy.<br />
“Sometimes when traditional pathways<br />
are no longer an <strong>op</strong>tion, you just have to<br />
look for different ways,” she said, adding<br />
that working in the frozen section for<br />
a few days a week can give workers an<br />
insight into what to want from a buyer.<br />
“The advantage is that there is no<br />
financial penalty in Suma when moving<br />
within different roles,” she added.<br />
Ms Lee said that LEAP helped those<br />
working in stores who wanted to<br />
become store managers. Meanwhile, the<br />
chartered management degree helped<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le who were in mid-career roles.<br />
“It is about the line manager having<br />
regular conversations with individuals to<br />
identify their aspirations,” she said.<br />
Lincolnshire store managers who have<br />
come through these schemes have much<br />
have higher retention and success rate.<br />
The society’s current chief executive,<br />
Ursula Lidbetter, was herself a trainee<br />
when she joined the organisation.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 41
CO-OP CULTURE IN<br />
LONG LIVE<br />
C0-OPERATIVES<br />
Mussolini could not kill the co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
BY DaViD THOMPSON<br />
In April 1945, during Mussolini’s final<br />
days, he was hunted from town to town<br />
until he was seized, summarily executed<br />
and hanged publicly.<br />
His two decades in power had given<br />
him a long time to hone his murderous<br />
strong-arm tactics, which he used to rid<br />
himself of his enemies.<br />
Italy’s co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement was<br />
among those to suffer his attacks: as<br />
beacons of democracy, self-help and<br />
communal economy – aligned with<br />
socialist, communist, Catholic or<br />
republican groupings – they were a strong<br />
voice with values that fascism wanted to<br />
wipe out by force.<br />
Whether at the hand of the Blackshirt<br />
Fascisti squadristi street gangs or, later,<br />
the courts, police and army, the co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
of Italy were destroyed by the regime. At<br />
rallies such as in Udine in 1921, Mussolini<br />
called for his followers to “demolish the<br />
entire social-democratic superstructure”.<br />
Everything the co-<strong>op</strong>s owned was<br />
seized and turned over to the Fascisti<br />
government. Rome or Death: The Story of<br />
Fascism, a contemporary account from<br />
1923 by US writer Carleton Beals, depicts<br />
physical intimidation and the systematic<br />
destruction of democracy and civil<br />
society – with scores of pages recording<br />
the violent takeover of co-<strong>op</strong>s, with<br />
leaders murdered, beaten or intimidated.<br />
Not even the Catholic co-<strong>op</strong>s were safe.<br />
One notorious case was the Blackshirt<br />
assassination in 1923 of Fr Giovanni<br />
Minzoni, a p<strong>op</strong>ular priest who organised<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s in Emilia Romagna and was an<br />
early member of Catholic social action<br />
party Partito P<strong>op</strong>ulari Italiano (PPI).<br />
Also targeted was Fr Luigi Sturzo,<br />
secretary general of the PPI, who saw rural<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s as a tool to bring Christian dignity<br />
and community to the pe<strong>op</strong>le and spoke<br />
strongly against fascism at the party’s<br />
national conference in 1923. Mussolini<br />
pressured the Vatican to remove him<br />
as head of the PPI; fearing for his life,<br />
Fr Sturzo fled Italy in 1924, seeking exile<br />
in London and later the USA.<br />
Fr Sturzo would become a father<br />
of the long-governing post-war Christian<br />
Democratic Party in Italy – and the Church<br />
now has him on the path to sainthood. On<br />
27 March 1946 – a year after Mussolini’s<br />
execution – he signed the editorial of the<br />
first issue of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Italy, published<br />
by sector body <strong>Co</strong>nf<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative.<br />
“My wish is that <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Italy is not<br />
only the title of the weekly that reaffirms<br />
the idea and practice of co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
between Italians, but the sign for the<br />
future of our country,” he wrote.<br />
After the war, three national co-<strong>op</strong><br />
federations re-started; <strong>Co</strong>nf<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
to serve the Catholic-aligned co-<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
42 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
Legaco<strong>op</strong> to serve the socialist and<br />
communist aligned co-<strong>op</strong>s, and the<br />
smaller AGCI to serve the secular and<br />
republican aligned co-<strong>op</strong>s; all three<br />
have worked to build better co-<strong>op</strong>s – and<br />
when they unite on an issue, they have<br />
a platform which obtains political<br />
support across most political parties.<br />
To reverse the fascist eradication<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s, the three federations came<br />
together in 1946 to reassert their practice<br />
and promise. Together, at the start of<br />
national reconstruction, they supported<br />
ad<strong>op</strong>tion of co-<strong>op</strong>s directly into the new<br />
constitution, “as a form of mutual aid<br />
devoid of all private speculative intent.<br />
The law promotes and encourages the<br />
expansion of co-<strong>op</strong>eration by means<br />
of the most suitable means, and provides<br />
suitable checks designed to guarantee its<br />
character and purpose.”<br />
Piero Calamandrei, a revered professor<br />
of law, spoke about the massive impact<br />
of World War II on the formation of<br />
the Italian constitution. “If you want<br />
to go on a pilgrimage to the place<br />
where our constitution was created, go<br />
to the mountains where partisans fell, to<br />
the prisons where they were incarcerated<br />
and to the fields where they were hanged.<br />
Wherever an Italian died to redeem<br />
freedom and dignity, go there, young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le, and ponder: because that was<br />
where our constitution was born.”<br />
In 1947, the Basevi Law was ad<strong>op</strong>ted to<br />
regulate the affairs of co-<strong>op</strong>s and formed<br />
an important element in the success<br />
of the movement – including housing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, as it legalised indivisible reserves.<br />
This allowed co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to transfer the<br />
totality of their surpluses to a reserve.<br />
Exempt from corporate tax, these reserves<br />
have been the main source of capital<br />
for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
The new constitution reaffirmed that<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s were an economic and social form<br />
to be protected and supported by the state<br />
– a status unique to Italy, with parliament<br />
later adding more ground-breaking laws<br />
to support them.<br />
In 1985, the Marcora Law<br />
allowed redundant workers to use<br />
accumulated unemployment benefits<br />
to buy their old firm as a co-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
This has seen many firms saved as<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, and protected numerous jobs.<br />
In 1991, a law gave legal standing/<br />
tax status to a new form of social and<br />
service co-<strong>op</strong>erative. These co-<strong>op</strong>s were<br />
encouraged to provide services in health,<br />
social welfare and public service. Today,<br />
they employ over 400,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le, serve<br />
over five million clients and achieve<br />
a turnover of €9bn.<br />
From 1992, a law required every co-<strong>op</strong><br />
in Italy to contribute 3% of net profits to<br />
a national co-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment fund. There<br />
are now two national co-<strong>op</strong>erative funds:<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>fond affiliated with Legaco<strong>op</strong>,<br />
(€440m) and Fondosvillupo affiliated<br />
with <strong>Co</strong>nf<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative (€120m).<br />
TOURING ITALY’S CO-OPS<br />
At the invitation of Walter Briganti<br />
of Unipol (an insurance company majority<br />
owned by several Legaco<strong>op</strong>-affiliated<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s), I visited co-<strong>op</strong>s in Rome and<br />
Bologna in 1978. I have returned to<br />
Bologna and Emilia Romagna on three<br />
times, visiting co-<strong>op</strong>s and meeting<br />
leaders. Always at the back of my mind<br />
was the over 20-year history of Mussolini’s<br />
attack on the sector.<br />
In September of 2018, I toured round<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s in the Lake <strong>Co</strong>mo area – which<br />
include consumers, workers, beekeepers,<br />
olive orchards, dairy farmers, fishermen,<br />
social services, health and a local guides’<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> – <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erativa Turistica Imago.<br />
Tours on its website, wimagolario.<br />
com, include one of the locations<br />
where Mussolini spent his last<br />
hours, on the northwestern shore of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mo. It seemed fitting that it was<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong>erative which led me to Mezzegra<br />
neighbourhood near Tremezzo, where<br />
Mussolini was executed.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erativa Social Azalea is just a few<br />
streets away. Created in 1985, it is a social<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> with 25 working members who<br />
create employment for disadvantaged<br />
youth and for disabled pe<strong>op</strong>le. What a<br />
different world these new co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
seek to build. Italy’s co-<strong>op</strong>erators are to<br />
be commended for building a thriving,<br />
expansive movement from the ashes<br />
of fascism.<br />
I am forever grateful to the Italian<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators who did not let Mussolini<br />
kill their spirits or their co-<strong>op</strong>s. With<br />
all their organisational infrastructure,<br />
policies, objectives, reciprocity and<br />
strategies, the Italian co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
are probably the best national model<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment in the world.<br />
THE COOPERATIVE<br />
MOVEMENT THAT<br />
MUSSOLINI COULD<br />
NOT KILL*<br />
70,000<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives in Italy<br />
13 MILLION MEMBERS<br />
of Italian co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
1.3 MILLION<br />
employees/worker owners (not<br />
including co-<strong>op</strong><br />
insurance companies)<br />
137,000<br />
employees/worker owners<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in 1951<br />
7%<br />
of all Italians work<br />
at/for a co-<strong>op</strong><br />
136.5 BILLION EUROS<br />
Turnover (not including<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> banks and insurance<br />
companies)<br />
1 OUT OF 3<br />
Italians buys goods or<br />
services from a co-<strong>op</strong><br />
1 OUT OF 5<br />
Italians are members<br />
of a co-<strong>op</strong><br />
1 OUT OF 8<br />
Italians uses a social/<br />
health co-<strong>op</strong><br />
*2017 STaTISTICS FROM THE<br />
ALLIaNCE OF THE ITALIAN<br />
COOPERaTIVES. A COMBINaTION<br />
OF THE STaTISTICS OF AGCI,<br />
CONFCOOPERaTIVE aND<br />
THE LEGaCOOP.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 43
COOP<br />
EXCHANGE:<br />
THE FUTURE OF CO-OPERATIVE GROWTH?<br />
A stock exchange is<br />
a place where the public<br />
can buy and sell securities,<br />
such as shares of stock,<br />
bonds and other financial<br />
instruments. What if there<br />
was such an exchange<br />
specifically for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives?<br />
This was a question Stephen Gill<br />
began to think about last year: how can you<br />
grow the number of co-<strong>op</strong>s, while at the same<br />
time putting the ability to generate wealth into<br />
the hands of those who need it most?<br />
The solution? <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange, a mobile app that<br />
allows anyone in the world to invest in co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
A CO-OPERATIVE BACKGROUND<br />
The team behind <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange know co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
Stephen Gill, CEO and CTO, started out at Scotmid<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative, and has been running a successful<br />
software business for almost 20 years. VME is in<br />
the process of converting to a multistakeholder<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative. Its chair is Ben Reid, who was the<br />
CEO of Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> for over 10 years,<br />
and now sits on the board of the International<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance (ICA).<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange seeks to solve two problems that<br />
many co-<strong>op</strong>eratives face, says Stephen.<br />
“Firstly, it’s hard for small co-<strong>op</strong>s to <strong>op</strong>erate on<br />
a loss while devel<strong>op</strong>ing innovations. Uber lost<br />
$891m in 2018. It can do this by covering the losses<br />
with venture capital investment. It’s harder for a<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong> of taxi drivers to do the same: because<br />
everyone owns one share, equity investment to<br />
cover the losses is trickier.<br />
“Secondly, the withdrawable share capital<br />
doesn't appreciate, which can make founders who<br />
put a lot of initial effort into a company reluctant to<br />
ad<strong>op</strong>t the co-<strong>op</strong> model, as it makes repaying sweat<br />
equity harder.”<br />
A CO-OPERATIVE FUTURE<br />
Stephen believes the solution to both of these<br />
problems is to enable co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to issue a new<br />
type of share: investor shares. These would give a<br />
dividend of the profits, but no voting rights. The<br />
members have full and democratic ownership, but<br />
they can accept investment from anyone across the<br />
world and reward the investors.<br />
The idea for this comes from the FairShares<br />
model, espoused by Rory Ridley-Duff at Sheffield<br />
Hallam University. FairShares is a philos<strong>op</strong>hy for<br />
creating and sustaining networks of solidarity<br />
enterprises that share power and wealth among<br />
stakeholders. It integrates founders, producers,<br />
employees, customers, service users and investors<br />
– and it was this integration that inspired Stephen.<br />
“Investor shares would make it easier for driverowned<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> alternatives to Uber, for example,<br />
to <strong>op</strong>erate on a loss while they grow, as they can<br />
44 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
shift the initial losses from workers to investors<br />
– and in exchange, give a share of the profits to<br />
them when they become profitable,” he says. These<br />
shares would be ‘traded’ on a ‘<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange’.<br />
“We have spoken with co-<strong>op</strong>erative lawyers<br />
to address questions raised and make sure the<br />
legislation around investor shares is watertight<br />
while remaining true to the co-<strong>op</strong>erative principles.<br />
And other co-<strong>op</strong>eratives are on board too, from<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>s and retail societies up to the ICA.”<br />
Stephen gave a presentation on <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange<br />
to the ICA board in June. “Ben Reid introduced<br />
the agenda point and explained his role in the<br />
organisation,” he said, “and we demonstrated<br />
how <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange addresses many of the calls to<br />
action in the ICA’s own official documents.”<br />
These documents include The Capital <strong>Co</strong>nundrum<br />
for <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives paper (2016) and the Survey of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Capital (2015), which said: “Nonvoting<br />
shares can be used to preserve member<br />
democratic control while creating one or more<br />
classes of shares that can attract member or nonmember<br />
investment.” The document went on to<br />
predict a mechanism similar to the one pr<strong>op</strong>osed by<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange: “With advancing technology, this<br />
can be easily provided through an online platform,<br />
creating a private electronic marketplace.”<br />
The ICA’s Blueprint for a <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Decade<br />
also highlights that co-<strong>op</strong>s need capital if they are<br />
to be established, grow and flourish – and that the<br />
end aim should be secure reliable co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
capital while guaranteeing member control.<br />
Stephen adds: “The ICA was very receptive to<br />
the idea, and agreed to create a working group<br />
to fully evaluate <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange under the ICA<br />
audit committee. We h<strong>op</strong>e the audit committee will<br />
report back to the board at the General Assembly in<br />
Rwanda in October.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange is itself a co-<strong>op</strong>erative, based<br />
in Malta, and takes a small commission from<br />
investments above a certain threshold. To put <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Exchange into practice, it has built an app. “Unlike<br />
any other co-<strong>op</strong>erative financial institution, the<br />
app allows participation across time and space,<br />
from everywhere in the world at any time of the<br />
day, with a few clicks,” says Stephen.<br />
“At the end of the day, we want an economic<br />
system where stakeholders can democratically<br />
hold accountable those who make decisions<br />
affecting them.<br />
“We want to turn business from a force that<br />
suppresses democracy into a force that supports<br />
it, and we want the internet to be a space where<br />
users own the value they create, instead of being<br />
products that are sold. Our mission is to beat the 1%<br />
at their own game and do so in a way that changes<br />
the rules by making it fair for the 99%.”<br />
DAME<br />
PAULINE<br />
GREEN<br />
[Former MEP, president<br />
of the ICA, And Secretary<br />
general of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK]<br />
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED<br />
IN COOP EXCHANGE?<br />
I met Stephen in Malta – I’m a Maltese citizen and was<br />
already doing work with the Maltese co-<strong>op</strong> movement. One<br />
of the key issues during my presidency of the ICA was how<br />
to secure capital for existing, and start up co-<strong>op</strong>s, so <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Exchange was immediately of interest to me. I am now on<br />
the board.<br />
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS PROJECT?<br />
Because for both new and existing co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, finding<br />
the capital to grow is hard. Managing the tension between<br />
finding investors and ensuring the rights of member-owners<br />
aren’t eroded is a balance, and many co-<strong>op</strong>s around the<br />
world have foundered when they haven’t got that balance<br />
right. All co-<strong>op</strong>s struggle with this. How do you make sure<br />
someone putting money into a co-<strong>op</strong> doesn’t remove<br />
members’ right to decide? I firmly believe the devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange is a significant <strong>op</strong>portunity to find<br />
a way to ease that tension.<br />
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN MAKING IT A REALITY?<br />
The challenge is making sure the co-<strong>op</strong> movement knows<br />
what <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Exchange is and understands it. I’m really<br />
delighted to have a chance to help with that.<br />
The issue of capital will always be a dilemma, but <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Exchange addresses this. It’s a modern, clever, innovative,<br />
digital approach that keeps co-<strong>op</strong> ownership in the hands<br />
of members while allowing a co-<strong>op</strong> itself to raise capital<br />
and grow. It’s a great project and product and Stephen<br />
himself is committed and determined. He believes he can<br />
make a contribution to co-<strong>op</strong> growth – and to poverty<br />
reduction too, as it is also a way of supporting working<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le to invest small amounts in co-<strong>op</strong>s, giving them<br />
a return that will enable them to grow their own incomes.<br />
u Find out more at WWW.COOP.EXCHANGE<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 45
CHANNEL ISLANDS<br />
CO-OP CELEBRATES<br />
By Anca Voinea<br />
This year marks a milestone anniversary for the<br />
Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative, whose story began<br />
with the <strong>op</strong>ening of a small St Helier corner sh<strong>op</strong><br />
in June 1919.<br />
Now one of the largest retailers in Jersey<br />
and Guernsey, the co-<strong>op</strong> traces its roots to the<br />
establishment of the Jersey <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society,<br />
which <strong>op</strong>ened its first store at 41 New Street on<br />
30 June 1919, selling confectionery and bakery<br />
products. Two years later the society <strong>op</strong>ened<br />
another store at 24 Charing Cross.<br />
The Jersey co-<strong>op</strong> carried on expanding the<br />
business and acquiring new buildings until the<br />
start of World War II, when the territory fell under<br />
German occupation.<br />
The Channel Islands were the only part of the<br />
British Isles to be occupied by the Nazis during the<br />
war. The Jersey co-<strong>op</strong>erative was able to survive<br />
the challenges faced during this period – and came<br />
out of the war strong enough to enable payment of<br />
a dividend of 5p and a bonus of 1p. After the war,<br />
the Guernsey Society was established in 1947, with<br />
its first sh<strong>op</strong> at No. 2 Market Street.<br />
At the time, both the Jersey and the Guernsey<br />
societies were supported by a CWS supervisory<br />
committee, which meant they were subject to<br />
UK taxation. They decided to merge in 1955 and<br />
registered an office in Jersey. The new Channel<br />
Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society was no longer subject<br />
to UK taxation.<br />
Following the merger, the society continued<br />
to expand and venture into new sectors. Today it<br />
spans a range of businesses, running food stores,<br />
funeral homes, pharmacies, and healthcare<br />
centres. It boasts 125,000 members, the equivalent<br />
of 76% of the total p<strong>op</strong>ulation of the islands,<br />
to whom it returned a total of £7.97m in <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
To celebrate its milestone anniversary, the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
carried out a number of activities and promotions<br />
bringing together suppliers, customers and the<br />
local community to showcase how it has been<br />
making a difference over the past 100 years.<br />
“It’s important to look back at where we’ve<br />
come from,” says Carl Winn, head of marketing,<br />
membership and travel.<br />
“Many companies now have CSR policies but<br />
this has been the backbone of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
model and what we’ve been doing for 100 years ...<br />
We are at the heart of the community and we will<br />
continue to be so.”
As part of its year-long centenary celebrations,<br />
the society set up a 100 Year <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Fund<br />
and 100 hours’ colleague volunteering. Launched<br />
in April, fund invited applications from local<br />
charities, schools and community groups needing<br />
funding for a project that will help them make a<br />
real difference in their community, and can be<br />
completed in 100 days. The 10 successful projects<br />
will each receive £1,000 to carry out the work.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>lleagues also volunteered to support<br />
community projects and initiatives that are close<br />
to their hearts, while customers were invited to<br />
take part in a competition run in partnership with<br />
Jersey Dairy to create a new flavour of ice cream. On<br />
the week of the anniversary, the society hosted an<br />
event at the Jersey Zoo attended by 350 members<br />
and colleagues. Another initiative saw colleagues<br />
and members plant 100 trees.<br />
Customers also benefited from promotions with<br />
£100 off a selected range of goods in non-food<br />
stores and double dividend days.<br />
The society shared stories from past decades<br />
in local press, trying to raise awareness about<br />
its contribution to the local community. The<br />
celebratory activities were highlighted on social<br />
media using the hashtag #CICOOP100.<br />
“Like the founding members in 1919 we are<br />
temporary custodians of the business,” said<br />
Mr Winn, “and we need to ensure we plan for<br />
future generations so we are around for the next<br />
100 years. In terms of what’s next, it is doing more<br />
of the same and sharing our stories a lot more.”<br />
Right: Families enjoy the celebration at<br />
Jersey Zoo. Below a Channel Island <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 47
REVIEWS<br />
How do we give economic power to the pe<strong>op</strong>le?<br />
The making<br />
of a democratic<br />
economy:<br />
Building<br />
prosperity for<br />
the many, not<br />
just the few<br />
Marjorie Kelly<br />
and Ted Howard,<br />
Berrett-Koehler<br />
Publishers, US<br />
$26,95 (£21.60)<br />
“We’re radicals with our feet on the ground,” write<br />
Marjorie Kelly, executive vice president, and Ted<br />
Howard, president and co-founder of the Democracy<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llaborative, a non-profit acting as a research and<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment lab for the democratic economy.<br />
Their latest book focuses on creating a democratic<br />
economy, which they describe as “one of the pe<strong>op</strong>le,<br />
by the pe<strong>op</strong>le, for the pe<strong>op</strong>le”.<br />
Leading with the premise that state socialism<br />
will not work but neither will corporate capitalism,<br />
the two argue that while society democratised<br />
government long ago, it never democratised<br />
the economy.<br />
They identify capital bias, or favouritism<br />
towards finance and wealth-holders, as one of<br />
the issues with the current economic system.<br />
And they believe the emerging democratic<br />
economy is in stark contrast to today’s<br />
extractive economy: “There’s a role for everyone in<br />
nourishing this potential next system.”<br />
In addition to research, the Democracy<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llaborative has focused on community wealthbuilding<br />
projects in Cleveland, which had fallen<br />
from being one of the USA’s wealthiest cities to<br />
one of its poorest after deindustrialisation. In<br />
collaboration with other local institutions, the<br />
Democracy <strong>Co</strong>llaborative helped to set up Evergreen<br />
Energy Solutions, Green City Growers and Evergreen<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Laundry, all known as the Evergreen<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives. Evergreen Laundry’s clients include<br />
large local non-profits, such as the Cleveland Clinic,<br />
called ‘anchor institutions’ because of the way they<br />
are anchored in the local community.<br />
The book identifies seven principles of the<br />
democratic economy: community; inclusion; place;<br />
good work; democratic ownership; sustainability;<br />
and ethical finance. Its chapters then look at how<br />
these principles have been put into action.<br />
The book traces the emergence of the democratic<br />
economy in different communities, with case studies<br />
about various actors, including a former drug dealer<br />
from Cleveland who got a second chance when he<br />
got a job at the Evergreen laundry, and an ecological<br />
scientist behind an employee-owned environmental<br />
consulting firm in Hunt Valley, Maryland.<br />
Matthew Brown, Preston <strong>Co</strong>uncil’s leader,<br />
also features in a chapter on how the town took<br />
inspiration from the Cleveland model to devel<strong>op</strong> its<br />
own version of a democratic economy.<br />
However, Kelly and Howard warn that what works<br />
in Preston may not be the same as in Cleveland<br />
and what resonates with one community may not<br />
resonate with another.<br />
They also fear that the democratic economy has<br />
too many names – stakeholder capitalism, the<br />
solidarity economy, the new economy, the sharing<br />
economy, the regenerative economy, the living<br />
economy – which makes it harder for the different<br />
democratic businesses to speak with a single voice.<br />
“There’s a role for everyone in nourishing this<br />
potential next system,” they add, explaining that the<br />
book is aimed at everyone concerned about the fate<br />
of the planet and civilisation, rather than targeting<br />
just political scientists and economists.<br />
p Marjorie Kelly and Ted<br />
Howard. Below: Workers at<br />
the Evergreen <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Laundry. Credit: Evergreen<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
48 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
Ted Howard: Architect of the Cleveland Model<br />
On 9 July <strong>2019</strong>, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Futures and<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives West Midlands hosted an evening<br />
with Ted Howard, at the co-<strong>op</strong>eratively owned<br />
Warehouse Cafe in Birmingham.<br />
Mr Howard, who co-wrote The Making of<br />
a Democratic Economy with Marjorie Kelly (see<br />
review, left), has spent his career working in<br />
social justice advocacy and campaigning for<br />
a democratic economy. He co-founded the Democracy<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llaborative in 2000 (he remains executive<br />
director) and was the architect of the green jobs and<br />
wealth-building program in Cleveland, Ohio, known<br />
as the Evergreen <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives (or the Cleveland<br />
Model), which was based in part on the Mondragon<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives in the Basque region of Spain.<br />
In 2010 he was named one of ‘25 Visionaries Who<br />
Are Changing Your World’ by Utne Reader magazine.<br />
“I am convinced that there is a very interesting,<br />
dynamic dialogue between the UK and the US,”<br />
he said. Mr Howard highlighted how, in the 1970s<br />
and 80s, UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and<br />
US president Ronald Regan ushered in a bold<br />
neoliberal agenda that swept the globe. But, but<br />
added, “I am h<strong>op</strong>eful a new expression is emerging<br />
for our countries and for the world – that of<br />
a democratic economy”.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-founding the Democracy <strong>Co</strong>llaborative was a<br />
significant turning point for him. “That was when<br />
I began to make the journey beyond politics and<br />
policy reform to look at the key structural issues that<br />
are embedded in our capitalist economy,” he said.<br />
“What are alternative ways of organising<br />
enterprise that are more democratic, committed<br />
to and rooted in community, that produce greater<br />
benefit for pe<strong>op</strong>le? That journey has led me into<br />
an inquiry about how can we envision a political<br />
economy that is neither centralised state socialism<br />
[...] nor this hyper-corporate capitalism that<br />
we have now.”<br />
A second turning point was the experience<br />
of Mondragon, which he has now visited six times.<br />
“It has influenced the work we’re doing in Cleveland.<br />
It’s illuminating to see highly democratic worker<br />
ownership done at scale. But as they say there, this<br />
is not paradise and we are not angels. There are<br />
still challenges.”<br />
The third part of his journey came when he was<br />
challenged to actually build a co-<strong>op</strong> structure after<br />
years of researching and writing about the model. “This<br />
is our work in Cleveland,” he said. “When we started,<br />
I said ‘how hard can it be, this isn’t rocket science…’<br />
Eventually a friend of mine said ‘no, it’s not rocket<br />
science, it’s much harder than that’. The reality has<br />
been a transformative experience in my life.”<br />
In the 1950s and early 60s, Cleveland, Ohio was<br />
one of the five wealthiest cities in America, and one<br />
of the largest with a p<strong>op</strong>ulation of nearly 1 million.<br />
JD Rockefeller, the industrialist, was born there,<br />
and at one point it was home to 50% of the world’s<br />
millionaires. But then came the deindustrialisation<br />
of the 70s and 80s. Today Cleveland is one of the<br />
country’s five poorest cities, with a p<strong>op</strong>ulation<br />
of just 385,000.<br />
“There had been a sense of great futility,” said Mr<br />
Howard. “I was invited to come there by a number<br />
of institutions to try to find a new way to devel<strong>op</strong><br />
the economy. What we hit upon was to emphasise<br />
worker ownership rather than just a salary;<br />
emphasise decent work, not just a job; and we<br />
created a strategy, working with legacy institutions<br />
(universities, hospitals, cultural centres, etc) to<br />
encourage them to buy locally, while at the same<br />
time setting up worker co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in the city to<br />
provide the services they need.”<br />
One of the challenges was to find pe<strong>op</strong>le to run<br />
these services – often technical and complex, such<br />
as with industrial laundries – while remaining true<br />
to values. Bringing in co-<strong>op</strong>erators and training<br />
them in this work didn’t work. “What did work was<br />
bringing in corporate experts and training them in<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture,” says Mr Howard.<br />
“We made every possible mistake in the book,<br />
but we’re still standing.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> | 49
DIARY<br />
Radical Routes<br />
FROM FAR LEFT CLOCKWISE:<br />
Radical Routes’ Summer Gathering takes<br />
place in Derbyshire on from 9-11 Aug;<br />
Energy4All holds its AGM and <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
in Lancaster, 20-21 Sept; Rochdale Town<br />
Hall hosts the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>llege<br />
centenary event on 26-28 Nov; and Ariel<br />
Guarco of the International <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Alliance will welcome delegates to its<br />
global conference in Rwanda on 14-17 Oct<br />
9-11 Aug: Radical Routes<br />
Summer Gathering<br />
Radical Routes is a network of radical<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s whose members are committed<br />
to working for positive social change.<br />
Anyone interested in finding out<br />
how worker co-<strong>op</strong>s and housing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s can work for positive social<br />
change is welcome to attend.<br />
WHERE: Belper, Derbyshire<br />
INFO: radicalroutes.org.uk<br />
20-21 Sep: Energy4All AGM<br />
& <strong>Co</strong>nference – Lancaster<br />
This annual event is a chance to share<br />
learning and <strong>op</strong>portunities and help<br />
set Energy4All’s direction as a group<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s. The formal AGM takes place<br />
in the morning, hosted by chair Mike<br />
Smyth, followed by keynote speakers<br />
Vivian Woodell (founder and former<br />
CEO of the Phone <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>) and Natasha<br />
Hoare (a masters student at the<br />
University of Lancaster looking at how<br />
E4A can understand and support the<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment of its co-<strong>op</strong>s). There will<br />
be three worksh<strong>op</strong> activities in the<br />
afternoon. Energy4All will cover the cost<br />
of accommodation and food.<br />
WHERE: Lancaster University<br />
INFO: s.co<strong>op</strong>/23g4n<br />
11-13 Oct: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
The annual event will include debates on<br />
policy; Q&As with elected representatives<br />
from the UK, Scottish and Wales<br />
parliaments and councils across the UK;<br />
a series of informative and constructive<br />
worksh<strong>op</strong>s and examples of best practice<br />
from local co-<strong>op</strong>s. There are networking<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities, and members can take<br />
part in the Party’s diversity networks<br />
(including BAME, disability, LGBT+,<br />
women and youth).<br />
WHERE: Doubletree, Glasgow<br />
INFO: s.co<strong>op</strong>/22h9f<br />
14-17 Oct: ICA <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives for<br />
Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Global <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
The conference will be structured around<br />
plenary sessions, sectoral and thematic<br />
seminars and discussion panels. It is<br />
<strong>op</strong>en to co-<strong>op</strong>erators worldwide and also<br />
to other civil society actors, devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
agencies, policy makers, institutional<br />
partners, government representatives,<br />
researchers, and all those who are<br />
concerned about devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
WHERE: Rwanda<br />
INFO: kigali<strong>2019</strong>.co<strong>op</strong><br />
7 Nov: Practitioners’ Forum<br />
Professional training event for pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
<strong>op</strong>erating in key roles in co-<strong>op</strong> businesses<br />
large and small. Featuring a series of<br />
specialist forums: communications;<br />
finance; governance; HR; and membership,<br />
with delegates able to mix and match<br />
across forums.<br />
WHERE: The Studio, Manchester<br />
INFO: s.co<strong>op</strong>/23jas<br />
26-28 Nov: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>llege<br />
100 years: And now the future<br />
Rochdale and its town hall will be the<br />
venue for a highlight of the <strong>Co</strong>llege’s<br />
centenary year. Speakers include Prof.<br />
Esther N. Gicheru (Principal, The<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative University <strong>Co</strong>llege of<br />
Kenya), Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater<br />
Manchester) and Angela Rayner (Labour<br />
MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden<br />
and Failsworth). The conference will<br />
include a Gala Dinner in the Grand Hall.<br />
WHERE: Rochdale Town Hall<br />
INFO: s.co<strong>op</strong>/22h9h<br />
LOOKING AHEAD<br />
28 Feb – 1 Mar 2020 : <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Retail<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference (Cheshire)<br />
10-20 June - <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress (Rochdale)<br />
50 | AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>
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