Co-op News December 2021
The December edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at the issues around training, education and the sharing of information between co-ops. There's a look at how UK retail co-ops are using apprenticeships to try to create opportunity in local economies - tying in with politicians' rhetoric about 'levelling up' neglected parts of the country. We speak to the Co-op College's new CEO Neil Calvert and look at how co-ops are among community organisations sharing expertise as they revive Britain's waterways. Plus reports on co-op organising in Preston, Cincinnati and from Stir to Action. We also hear from Co-op Group MND Kate Allum and report on the co-op presence at COP26.
The December edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at the issues around training, education and the sharing of information between co-ops. There's a look at how UK retail co-ops are using apprenticeships to try to create opportunity in local economies - tying in with politicians' rhetoric about 'levelling up' neglected parts of the country. We speak to the Co-op College's new CEO Neil Calvert and look at how co-ops are among community organisations sharing expertise as they revive Britain's waterways. Plus reports on co-op organising in Preston, Cincinnati and from Stir to Action. We also hear from Co-op Group MND Kate Allum and report on the co-op presence at COP26.
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THIS ISSUE<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:<br />
Christmas wrapping range goes plastic-free<br />
(p8); Guatemala: New service organisation<br />
will help credit unions lend to SMEs<br />
(p15); Power in Numbers - Lessons in<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> organising from Cincinnati (p38-39);<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity waterways - canal mooring co<strong>op</strong><br />
joins the debate (p44-45); Part two of our<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> Christmas gift guide (p46-47)<br />
20·21 MEET ... MATT BLAND<br />
CEO of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Credit Union<br />
35 STIR TO ACTION<br />
New Economy Programme continues<br />
24·27 COP26<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> reactions from the Climate<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
24 FAIRTRADE, CO-OPS AND COP26<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group's Steve Murrells and Kua pa<br />
Kokoo's Bismark Kpabity join debate<br />
25 CO-OP BANKS<br />
Their role in driving the green transition<br />
36·37 'A GATEWAY TO THE MOVEMENT'<br />
Neil Calvert's goals for the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege<br />
38-39 POWER IN NUMBERS<br />
Lessons in co-<strong>op</strong> organising from Cincinnati<br />
40·41 CO-OP GROUP MNDS<br />
How member nominated directors help<br />
steer the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group<br />
COVER: For co-<strong>op</strong>s to be effective<br />
it's important they share<br />
learning and experience. We look<br />
at co-<strong>op</strong> education and training,<br />
and report from events where<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s shared best practice<br />
Read more: p28-45<br />
26 IRISH CO·OP SECTOR<br />
Reaction to the government's climate<br />
plan<br />
27 COP26 AGREEMENT<br />
What do co-<strong>op</strong>eratives think?<br />
28-29 LOCALITY CONVENTION<br />
Locality calls for community power to<br />
tackle 21st century crises<br />
30-31 PRACTITIONERS FORUM<br />
Key trends that co-<strong>op</strong>s need to watch out<br />
for, from the event organised by<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK<br />
32·45 LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER<br />
Peer learning and Principle Six<br />
32-34 THE PRESTON MODEL<br />
How Mondragon is helping Preston to<br />
devel<strong>op</strong> a co-<strong>op</strong>erative ecosystem<br />
42·43 TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS<br />
Move on up: co-<strong>op</strong>s enabling social<br />
mobility<br />
44·45 COMMUNITY WATERWAYS<br />
Canal mooring co-<strong>op</strong> joins the debate<br />
46·47 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE: PART 2<br />
Ethical ideas for a co-<strong>op</strong>erative Christmas<br />
REGULARS<br />
5-12 UKNEWS<br />
13-19 GLOBAL NEWS<br />
22 Letters<br />
22-23 Obituaries<br />
48-49 Reviews<br />
50 Events<br />
4 I DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
WORKER CO-OPS<br />
Welsh parliament<br />
considers Marcora Law<br />
In November the Welsh Senedd voted<br />
to back an employee ownership bill<br />
that would help workers buy out their<br />
employers' businesses in times of crisis.<br />
Huw Irranca-Davies, Labour and <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
MS for Ogmore and chair of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Senedd Group, introduced a<br />
motion on 20 October to consider a Welsh<br />
'Marcora Law', which would provide the<br />
legal framework, financial support and<br />
advice for workers to buy out all or part of<br />
a business facing closure or downsizing.<br />
The pr<strong>op</strong>osed legislation is inspired by<br />
the Italian Marcora Law, introduced in<br />
1985, which allows workers to invest their<br />
unemployment benefit and severance<br />
pay in recovering the business they had<br />
worked for, and provides support and<br />
advice throughout the process.<br />
The motion received support from the<br />
majority of the Senedd and ministers<br />
agreed to meet with Mr Irranca-Davies<br />
to discuss the pr<strong>op</strong>osed legislation. But<br />
Welsh minister for the economy Vaughan<br />
Gething abstained, saying: "If we were to<br />
introduce legislation in this area, more<br />
detailed discussions would be required to<br />
understand the benefit of doing so."<br />
Mr Gething said he had "an <strong>op</strong>en<br />
mind" about the pr<strong>op</strong>osed legislation,<br />
but cited challenges around the balance<br />
of Westminster's reserved powers and the<br />
Senedd's devolved powers - Westminster<br />
has reserved powers over employment<br />
and trade law.<br />
Mr Irranca-Davies acknowledged<br />
some of these challenges in the debate,<br />
but said that the Welsh government<br />
.&. Huw lrranca-Davies, Labour and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative MS for Ogmore and chair of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Senedd Group, introducing a motion on 20 October to consider a Welsh 'Marcora Law'<br />
has "levers that could prise <strong>op</strong>en a<br />
Welsh Marcora law within our devolved<br />
competencies," including powers over<br />
economic devel<strong>op</strong>ment, the Welsh<br />
Economic <strong>Co</strong>ntract, social partnership<br />
and procurement, as well as influence<br />
over companies in receipt of significant<br />
Welsh government funding.<br />
The Welsh government currently<br />
provides support for businesses around<br />
employee ownership through its Social<br />
Business Wales programme, delivered<br />
by the Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre<br />
(WCC), which has advised over 50 Welsh<br />
companies on ownership transition.<br />
The wee described the debate in the<br />
Senedd, and wider discussions about<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and employee-owned<br />
businesses, as "very encouraging". Rhodri<br />
Packman from the wee told <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
<strong>News</strong>: "While we do not have a formal<br />
Marcora arrangement, the new Welsh<br />
government's programme for government<br />
has committed to doubling the number<br />
of employee-owned businesses over<br />
the next Senedd term. We welcome<br />
this commitment, as the advantages of<br />
greater employee ownership of firms are<br />
proven, for the businesses, the workers<br />
themselves, and the communities they are<br />
rooted in."<br />
A similar pr<strong>op</strong>osal for a Marcora-style<br />
law was put forward in UK parliament<br />
last month, when Christina Rees, MP for<br />
Neath, led a debate on the potential for a<br />
British Marcora Law.<br />
Speaking at a <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party<br />
online event on 25 October, Ms Rees<br />
said that while the pr<strong>op</strong>osal had not<br />
garnered much of a response from the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nservative government, it had resulted<br />
in a meeting with shadow secretary of<br />
state for business, energy and industrial<br />
strategy Ed Miliband's team to explore the<br />
possibility of putting the Marcora Law into<br />
Labour Party policy.<br />
HISTORY<br />
Book celebrates iconic mural of co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
A new booklet celebrates the Three Ships<br />
mural built for the Hull & East Riding <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Society department store, which<br />
later housed a branch of BHS.<br />
When the building was scheduled<br />
for demolition the area, co-<strong>op</strong>erators<br />
and local heritage lovers campaigned to<br />
remove and protect the mural.<br />
Now Esther Johnson, an artist,<br />
filmmaker and professor of film and<br />
media arts at Sheffield Hallam University,<br />
has released a social history of the site,<br />
Ships In The Sky: the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>nnection,<br />
which brings together assorted ephemera<br />
and artefacts associated with its time as a<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> store.<br />
To mark the release, S<strong>op</strong>hie McCulloch<br />
from the National <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Archive is sharing<br />
highlights of local co-<strong>op</strong> history on the<br />
shipsinthesky63 Instagram page.<br />
The booklet is available from The<br />
Modernist for £7: bit.ly/313NhpE<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong> I 7
GLOBAL UPDATES<br />
GLOBAL<br />
Climate report<br />
brings bleak forecast<br />
for Fairtrade farmers<br />
A new study from Fairtrade International<br />
warns that millions of farmers face<br />
financial collapse from climate change.<br />
The most at risk areas identified in<br />
the Fairtrade and Climate Change report<br />
are Africa, Central America and the<br />
Caribbean, South America and south and<br />
south-east Asia.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mpiled by researchers from the VU<br />
Amsterdam and Bern University of Applied<br />
Sciences and funded by the EU, the study<br />
assesses climate risk to Fairtrade cr<strong>op</strong>s<br />
such as cocoa, sugarcane, tea and cotton.<br />
Soaring temperatures, shifting rainfall<br />
patterns, and rising sea levels all pose a<br />
threat to farm productivity, leaving the<br />
sector looking for ways to avoid cr<strong>op</strong><br />
failure. Climate change also increases the<br />
risk of pests and cr<strong>op</strong> diseases.<br />
But co-<strong>op</strong> membership can help farmers<br />
adapt, says the report. "By increasing and<br />
balancing out their assets, farmers can<br />
become more resilient towards climate<br />
change; in practice, this means increasing<br />
off-farm income, keeping savings and<br />
attending farmer trainings."<br />
Most at risk, says the report, are<br />
Ghana (banana and cocoa), <strong>Co</strong>te d'Ivoire<br />
(sugarcane, tea), Tanzania (tea), <strong>Co</strong>sta Rica<br />
(coffee, sugarcane), Dominican Republic<br />
(banana, cocoa), Honduras (coffee),<br />
Mexico (coffee), Nicaragua (coffee), Brazil<br />
(cocoa, coffee), <strong>Co</strong>lombia (coffee), Peru<br />
(cocoa, coffee), India (coffee, sugarcane,<br />
tea) and Timor-Leste (cocoa, coffee).<br />
A <strong>Co</strong>ffee producer Felicita Castilla working in her field in San Miguel del Faique, Piura, Peru (Photo:<br />
Eduardo Martino for Fairtrade International)<br />
The report says banana producers in<br />
the Caribbean and in Central America<br />
are expected to face less rainfall and<br />
more extreme temperatures while those<br />
in south east Asia and Oceania will see<br />
more cyclones. <strong>Co</strong>ffee producers in Brazil,<br />
Central America and south India are<br />
at threat from temperature spikes and<br />
drought. <strong>Co</strong>coa farmers in the Dominican<br />
Republic, Peru, and West Africa could see<br />
more hot, dry weather, while producers in<br />
eastern Ghana and northern <strong>Co</strong>te d'Ivoire<br />
face heavier rains.<br />
"The results are extremely alarming<br />
and a clarion call for immediate and<br />
comprehensive climate action," warned<br />
Dr Nyagoy Nyong'o, global CEO at<br />
Fairtrade. "The threat to the future of<br />
many supply chains is very real and our<br />
planet's farmers and agricultural workers<br />
are on the frontline of this global climate<br />
crisis. We must do everything to ensure<br />
they are not left behind and that they are<br />
indeed a part of the solution."<br />
Options presented to farmers in the<br />
report include switching to agroforestry<br />
and the diversification of cr<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
livelihoods. Fairtrade can also increase<br />
its portfolio of commodities and support<br />
farmers in becoming more resilient.<br />
The research is based on literature<br />
reviews, spatial hotspot analysis, expert<br />
interviews and a survey of farmer co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
► Icmif discusses ethical investment: p14<br />
► COP26 and co-<strong>op</strong>s: p24-27<br />
11<br />
IRELAND<br />
Glanbia dairy co-<strong>op</strong> has made an<br />
agreement to buy the 4Oo/o stake held by<br />
Glanbia plc in their joint venture Glanbia<br />
Ireland DAC, for an estimated €307m<br />
(£262m), subject to contract negotiations<br />
and shareholder approvals.<br />
The plc will contribute €8m related to<br />
pension, re branding and separation costs,<br />
while Glanbia <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, which is looking<br />
to rebrand after the process is complete,<br />
will fund up to SOo/o of the transaction<br />
Glanbia <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> to buy out joint venture and considers rebrand<br />
through the sale of its shares in Glanbia<br />
plc, with the balance to be funded through<br />
borrowings. It also pr<strong>op</strong>oses to transfer 12<br />
million Glanbia plc shares to its members<br />
- worth an estimated €168m.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> chair John Murphy said: "If our<br />
members approve this pr<strong>op</strong>osal, we will<br />
have a very strong co-<strong>op</strong>. We will remain<br />
the largest investor in Glanbia plc, which<br />
is focused on growing as a global nutrition<br />
company."<br />
Industry organisations say members<br />
should carefully consider the pr<strong>op</strong>osals<br />
before approving them.<br />
Irish Farmers' Association president,<br />
Tim Cullinan, said: "This is a complex<br />
financial arrangement that will require<br />
careful scrutiny before members vote on<br />
the pr<strong>op</strong>osals. I would ask that Glanbia<br />
provide every <strong>op</strong>portunity for this plan to<br />
be discussed ahead of the SGM that will<br />
have to take place."<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong> I 13
- EUROPE<br />
Green finance<br />
and risk management:<br />
ICMIF shares best<br />
practice on climate<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> and mutual insurers were<br />
represented at a high-level UN panel<br />
discussion on best practices that address<br />
climate action and the challenges made<br />
worse by the pandemic.<br />
The hybrid meeting, Delivering Climate<br />
Action - for Pe<strong>op</strong>le, for Planet & for<br />
Prosperity, was held in October at the UN<br />
headquarters in New York and formed<br />
part of the 76th President of the United<br />
Nations (UN) General Assembly.<br />
The meeting was looking for ways<br />
to bridge the gap between current and<br />
required technical and financial capacities<br />
to achieve the 1.SC target.<br />
Participants included the chair of the<br />
International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative and Mutual<br />
Insurance Federation (ICMIF), Hilde<br />
Vernaillen, who described the work of the<br />
mutual and co-<strong>op</strong> insurance sector, which<br />
represents almost 30o/o of the world's<br />
insurance market and US$10tn in assets.<br />
Ms Vernaillen, who also chairs the<br />
management committee of Belgian<br />
insurance co-<strong>op</strong> P&V Group, said:<br />
"Insurance as an industry is uniquely<br />
positioned to make pe<strong>op</strong>le and our planet<br />
more resilient, as it has both the assets<br />
to invest in and, on the other side, the<br />
knowledge of the risks that need to be<br />
mitigated, both at the macro level and at<br />
the community level.<br />
"When it comes to financing and<br />
showing leadership we are really doing<br />
our bit and much of this financing is in the<br />
form of green bonds, social bonds, resilient<br />
bonds, and increasingly this funding is<br />
measured by impact investments."<br />
ICMIF's members are collectively<br />
investing US$570bn in responsible<br />
investments, such as green bonds, social<br />
bonds and resilience bonds, many of<br />
which will focus on climate change.<br />
Ms Vernaillen said the federation's<br />
partnership with the UN Office for Disaster<br />
Risk Reduction (UNDRR) could bring<br />
about "the real systemic change that the<br />
planet needs".<br />
In April <strong>2021</strong> ICMIF and the UNDRR<br />
published a joint report on the role of<br />
.._ Hilde Vernaillen, chair of the mutual insurance apex, was among speakers (Photo: ICMIF)<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> and mutual insurance in disaster<br />
risk reduction. The report summarised<br />
seven mechanisms for risk reduction and<br />
resilience. ICMIF is now monitoring and<br />
benchmarking the application of these<br />
mechanisms by its members as they work<br />
to embed the UN's 2015 Sendai Agreement<br />
on disaster risk reduction into their<br />
businesses.<br />
The partnership with the UNDRR,<br />
which started in 2019, is rolling out pilot<br />
initiatives to bring together the investment<br />
and risk parts of mutual insurance<br />
businesses.<br />
As part of this, ICMIF members are<br />
making sustainable investments in<br />
resilient infrastructure projects that need<br />
funding and will reduce risk of, or build<br />
resilience against, climate disasters. Each<br />
stakeholder will be asked to consider their<br />
investments in a different way and to work<br />
in partnership to deliver outcomes.<br />
Ms Vernaillen said the pilot will be<br />
scalable in II countries and could make<br />
communities more resilient.<br />
"We don't leave anybody behind<br />
because mutuals are all about being<br />
inclusive," she added.<br />
The panel also highlighted the<br />
importance of intergenerational dialogues<br />
and public-private partnerships in<br />
tackling the climate crisis.<br />
Sara Maria <strong>Co</strong>gnuck Gonzalez, UNICEF<br />
climate champion, said young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
face challenges when trying to secure<br />
financing for green projects, often needing<br />
10 years' work experience in the sector.<br />
Allen Blue, co-founder and vice<br />
president of product management at<br />
Linkedln, called on financial institutions<br />
to look for places where investment in<br />
green financing is low and fill those gaps as<br />
quickly as possible, rather than ad<strong>op</strong>ting<br />
a careful approach and expecting a return<br />
on every investment.<br />
Richard Mattison, president of S&P<br />
Global Sustainablel, and CEO of S&P<br />
Global Trucost, said green finance needs<br />
a clear definition. And he warned that the<br />
impact of investments will vary depending<br />
where in the world the money is spent.<br />
Green financing must also take into<br />
account resilience to existing climate<br />
challenges, as well as the transition to<br />
greener <strong>op</strong>tions, he said.<br />
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and special<br />
representative of the UN Secretary<br />
General for Sustainable Energy for All,<br />
and co-chair of UN-Energy, said it is vital<br />
that less devel<strong>op</strong>ed countries are not left<br />
behind when green investments are made.<br />
The UN Framework <strong>Co</strong>nvention on<br />
Climate Change acts as the primary<br />
international and intergovernmental<br />
forum for negotiating the global response<br />
to climate change. The UN General<br />
Assembly also focuses on fostering<br />
political consensus, raising awareness<br />
and giving strategic direction to the UN.<br />
► Reports on COP26: p24-27<br />
14 I DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
STIRTO<br />
New Economy Programme continues<br />
ION<br />
By Anca Voinea<br />
► Kate Whittle (t<strong>op</strong>)<br />
and Jo White<br />
Stir to Action is running more worksh<strong>op</strong>s via<br />
its New Economy Programme, a community<br />
business learning and action platform.<br />
Designed to provide capacity-building training<br />
for local communities, democratic businesses,<br />
third sector organisations, and activists, the<br />
programme is now in its fourth edition. This<br />
year, with support from the Power to Change,<br />
Stir to Action is offering 80 free training places<br />
- available to minoritised ethnic communities,<br />
young adults (aged between 18-35) and those<br />
living in areas of deprivation.<br />
Unlike previous editions, this year's<br />
programme is fully women-led; all training<br />
sessions will be run by practitioners in the field.<br />
The New Economy Programme started as an<br />
in-person training programme in 2016/2017 and<br />
ran a number of courses in London, Bristol and<br />
Oxford. A year later it expanded to Bradford and<br />
Newcastle. Once the pandemic, hit all worksh<strong>op</strong>s<br />
went online, which has helped to attract more<br />
participants from a wider geographical area,<br />
including some international attendees.<br />
"We aim to have some in person events<br />
in the future as well," says marketing and<br />
communications director, Abby Gordon<br />
Farleigh.<br />
A total of 209 participants have registered<br />
for the 15 worksh<strong>op</strong>s so far but Stir to Action<br />
expects the figure to increase to 1,000 by the<br />
end of the programme in June 2022. Worksh<strong>op</strong>s<br />
will explore a range of issues, from sociocracy,<br />
community shares and how to start a worker co<strong>op</strong><br />
to conflict resolution, community ownership,<br />
democratising the high street and forming<br />
successful partnerships.<br />
One of the worksh<strong>op</strong>s will look at supporting<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration through HR and will be facilitated<br />
by Pe<strong>op</strong>le Support <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, a women's sociocratic<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
"In our experience co-<strong>op</strong>s don't have an HR<br />
function within the organisation," says Ms<br />
Gordon-Farleigh. The worksh<strong>op</strong> will aim to help<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> members and employees understand how<br />
to create an effective HR function that supports<br />
their members and builds a strong co-<strong>op</strong> culture.<br />
In another worksh<strong>op</strong> Jo White from <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Futures will cover some of the key<br />
steps required to set up a worker co-<strong>op</strong>. Kate<br />
Whittle from <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erantics will also to explore<br />
constructive and practical approaches to dealing<br />
with conflict.<br />
Stir to Action has big plans for the future<br />
- it h<strong>op</strong>es to expand its training offer via its<br />
Democratic Training Centre in Devon and<br />
provide longer courses, building on the New<br />
Economy Programme.<br />
"We really do want to focus a lot of our<br />
strategy on training within the sector. Looking at<br />
how we can work together with local authorities<br />
and policy makers for everyone's benefit," said<br />
Ms Gordon-Farleigh.<br />
More details at stirtoaction.com<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong> I 35
about the movement as a whole. But I think it was<br />
only when I joined First Milk, having had a very<br />
commercial career, that I started to understand<br />
some of the differences. The importance of<br />
member engagement and taking members with<br />
you is very different from taking shareholders<br />
with you and is quite taxing and testing when it<br />
comes to communication."<br />
If a private firm has most of its shareholders in<br />
agreement over what they want from the board,<br />
for a co-<strong>op</strong> "your members have got a whole<br />
range of things of what they want from you,"<br />
she says. "Part of what I like about is that you<br />
can put value back to the members rather than<br />
putting value back to the shareholders."<br />
Ms Allum said she had been approached<br />
previously to stand for MND but she was busy<br />
elsewhere in a CEO role.<br />
"This is the first time when it hasn't been so<br />
logistically complicated. I couldn't honestly say<br />
to you that being on a board of a co-<strong>op</strong> was a<br />
lifelong ambition. But I've always had a great<br />
interest in the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> for all the reasons that<br />
we've said ... it's great that this time when it came<br />
around, I actually could do something about it.<br />
"Looking at it from the inside out, you<br />
suddenly realise the scale of what the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
is contributing. We need to find some more<br />
ways to share this because when I've spoken to<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le, they've been surprised but also deeply<br />
impressed at what we do."<br />
But what is the difference between the work<br />
of an MND and a regular director? "We've all<br />
got a responsibility to the business to make the<br />
right decisions. From that point of view, I don't<br />
think there is a difference," she says. "But I do<br />
feel there is an additional responsibility with the<br />
MNDs to have that engagement."<br />
This includes sessions with the Members'<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil where we have explored different<br />
priorities for the business. Work with a smaller<br />
breakout group was useful, helping her "to see<br />
what council members, and therefore members,<br />
thought about the priorities for investment, and<br />
how they would move it forward.<br />
"I was impressed in those discussions in terms<br />
of the depth of thought. Some of those smaller<br />
group interactive sessions were extremely<br />
powerful - particularly when working remotely."<br />
The question now is how to continue that<br />
engagement as the country leaves lockdown,<br />
with more face to face meetings.<br />
"We can't please anybody but I think it<br />
really informs our decision making if we can<br />
understand why some members feel strongly<br />
about some things and why other pe<strong>op</strong>le feel<br />
strongly about other things," says Ms Allum.<br />
"While all the directors do engage with the<br />
members, and they all engage with the <strong>Co</strong>uncil,<br />
for a member nominated director, there is a<br />
responsibility to engage a little bit more than the<br />
other directors might and to feed that into the<br />
board discussions."<br />
Her time on the board has left Ms Allum proud<br />
of the Group. "In our village the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is part of<br />
the social centre. I am very proud of the fact that I<br />
am part of that, and part of all the initiatives that<br />
we've got going. We're constantly contributing<br />
and constantly looking at ways to do it better.<br />
11ITWAS VERY DIFFERENT<br />
GOING FROM ONE OF THE<br />
BIGGEST MULTINATIONALS<br />
IN THE WORLD TO A BRITISH<br />
DAIRY FARMER CO-OP"<br />
"One of the most positive things about the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is that it's multiple issues, multiple<br />
contributions. Some of those are big issues like<br />
social mobility, but again, in our little village,<br />
community causes have made a huge difference."<br />
These causes can be important to local<br />
identity, she says - including her village's<br />
pipe band, which is p<strong>op</strong>ular with tourists and<br />
promotes inclusion, with its members ranging in<br />
age from 10 to 70.<br />
To do this work, MNDs need the right skills,<br />
says Ms Allum. "We will benefit nobody if<br />
we're not a successful business, so from a<br />
board perspective, it is really important that we<br />
have the right skills to make sure we drive the<br />
business in the right direction. But it's really<br />
important that the board relationships work very<br />
effectively, so you've got a board that is actually<br />
talking, listening, engaging."<br />
The leadership style to get this right is<br />
different from that needed by a private company,<br />
she adds, because the structure is different. "It<br />
is important that we do engage and listen to the<br />
members. We need a good diverse board with<br />
different perspectives, looking at things through<br />
different lenses. And they must appreciate the<br />
fact that our colleagues are important. Our<br />
members are important. Our customers are<br />
important. Our suppliers are important."<br />
Applications are now <strong>op</strong>en for MND<br />
nominations, with two positions up for election.<br />
More details at co-<strong>op</strong>erative.co<strong>op</strong>/mndelection<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong> I 41
<strong>2021</strong><br />
Christntas<br />
giftguide<br />
£10<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>2021</strong> Christmas Gift Guide is back with more gifts<br />
under £5 and £10, as well as our t<strong>op</strong> picks for subscription gifts,<br />
all from co-<strong>op</strong>s and ethical businesses.<br />
Vegetable sowing guide mug.<br />
£9.95 ethicalsh<strong>op</strong>.org<br />
<strong>Co</strong>conut thumb piano. £7.95<br />
ethicalsh<strong>op</strong>.org Willsow plan table children's books. £9.99<br />
willsow.com<br />
◄ Recycled notebook from<br />
Malawian women's co-<strong>op</strong><br />
Pamette. £9, reduced<br />
from£10.50<br />
cycleofgood.com<br />
► Chocolate espresso body<br />
butter bar. £7.95<br />
wearthlondon.com<br />
HANDMADE SOAP<br />
COCONUT MILK<br />
& YLANG YLANC<br />
,:.t <br />
°"1,<br />
◄ Alter/Native soap, shampoo<br />
and conditioner bars from Suma<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative £3.50-£4.95<br />
adamandeco.com<br />
► Tony's chocolonely christmas<br />
bars£3.98<br />
tonyschocolonely.com<br />
► Mulled wine and cider<br />
spice kit £3.70<br />
wearthlondon.com<br />
► Recycled brass chime<br />
christmas tree £4.99<br />
ethicalsh<strong>op</strong>.org<br />
46 I DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
And for the gift that keeps on giving, check out the following subscriptions ....<br />
Boundary<br />
Boundary is a Belfast-based<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative brewery with over<br />
1,400 members. They offer a<br />
selection of beer subscriptions<br />
ranging from £35 to £40 per<br />
month. Members of the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
receive a discount, as well as<br />
being able to run and vote for<br />
Boundary's board of directors.<br />
boundarybrewing.co<strong>op</strong><br />
Ocfot<br />
Edinburgh micro chocolate factory Ocelot produces<br />
artisan chocolate bars in beautifully designed and fully<br />
compostable wrappers. They work with bean-to-bar<br />
suppliers who pay more than the minimum Fairtrade<br />
standard to farmers.<br />
Ocelot also make a<br />
bar called Femme,<br />
made from rare<br />
Amelonado cocoa<br />
beans grown by the<br />
world's first female<br />
cacao co-<strong>op</strong>erative.<br />
Ocelot's chocolate<br />
subscription is<br />
£22 per month.<br />
oce/otchocolate.com<br />
Spic Kitchn UK<br />
Spice Kitchen UK is an award-winning<br />
venture run by a mother and son team<br />
who offer a range of spice subscription<br />
services. Their Avid Adventurer<br />
subscription is £40 for three months'<br />
worth of spices from India, Africa and<br />
the Middle East, or around the world.<br />
spicekitchenuk.com<br />
zedbees<br />
Manchester-based Zed Bees is a family run business on a mission<br />
to deliver low waste, sustainable toiletries to customers. They aim<br />
to help more pe<strong>op</strong>le make the switch from plastic based products<br />
in a hassle free and affordable way through their online sh<strong>op</strong><br />
and subscription service. Their Eco-friendly bathroom essentials<br />
subscription is £10 per month and contains organic soaps,<br />
shampoo bars and toothpaste tablets.<br />
zedbees.com<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>Nws<br />
And of course we couldn't forget to mention<br />
our very own magazine subscription!<br />
For £5 per month, you can gift a loved one<br />
a monthly c<strong>op</strong>y of our magazine so they<br />
can stay up to date on the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement around the world.<br />
thenews.co<strong>op</strong>
C:0 REVIEWS<br />
Snapshots from the 1980s and the<br />
idealism of its worker co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
English Worker <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>e,-allve<br />
Movement 1980s<br />
English Worker<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Movement 1980s,<br />
(Cafe Royal Books,<br />
£6.50. Order on line<br />
from caferoyalbooks.<br />
com)<br />
Ah, the 1980s! The time when, even despite<br />
Thatcher, there still seemed plenty of h<strong>op</strong>e on<br />
the left and plenty of sc<strong>op</strong>e for building a new<br />
and better world.<br />
The upsurge of worker co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in<br />
the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s brought in a new<br />
generation of activists to the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement, and the network of local co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment agencies (many, but not<br />
all, unfortunately relatively short-lived) offered<br />
a framework for that growth. The experience of<br />
those heady days has influenced many pe<strong>op</strong>le's<br />
subsequent political and personal lives.<br />
And now Martin Stott, himself one of those<br />
activists, has collected together a small booklet<br />
of photographs of the workers' co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement from that time.<br />
English Worker <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Movement 1980s<br />
offers over 20 photos which will provide an<br />
instant nostalgia-fest for co-<strong>op</strong>erative babyboomers,<br />
and might well also fascinate the<br />
younger generation of co-<strong>op</strong>erators active today.<br />
(Those clothes! That hair!)<br />
Martin's selection includes photos of a very<br />
early Suma, of the editorial conference at The<br />
Leveller magazine, of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Fair held at the<br />
Beechwood Centre in Leeds, of co-<strong>op</strong> printers<br />
Lithosphere, of East End <strong>News</strong>, and of several<br />
other worker-run businesses.<br />
This is important history, and fortunately<br />
(thanks to the recent Workers' <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Archive<br />
Project, run by the National <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Archive), key records, artefacts and oral<br />
testimonies from that time are now safely in the<br />
Archive in Manchester.<br />
If Martin Stott's booklet makes you long for<br />
more, the Flickr page linked to the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Heritage<br />
Trust offers an even bigger treasure-trove.<br />
..r<br />
.,,•• <br />
f<br />
48 I DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
The <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 crisis had led to the<br />
postponement of many co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
events. However, a number of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and apex bodies<br />
are holding on line webinars and<br />
meetings.<br />
We listed some of these below.<br />
If you would like to add any<br />
postponements - or let us know<br />
of any virtual events taking place<br />
instead, please email<br />
events@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
ICA <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Research <strong>Co</strong>nference and<br />
3rd International Forum on <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Law<br />
28-30 November <strong>2021</strong><br />
(Hybrid event: on line and in-person)<br />
The ICA is organising two preparatory<br />
research-based events within the framework<br />
of the World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress - the ICA<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Research <strong>Co</strong>nference and the<br />
3rd International Forum on <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Law. Both events will be organised<br />
physically in the Grand Walkerhill Hotel as<br />
well as virtually through the <strong>Co</strong>ngress online<br />
platform. A total of 180 research papers from<br />
43 countries will be presented at the events,<br />
which will feature 18 special panel sessions,<br />
all dedicated to the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Identity.<br />
c-:::> bit.ly/316/AmX<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
1-3 <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
(Hybrid event: online and in-person)<br />
The 33rd World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
will enable the co<strong>op</strong>erative movement<br />
to explore its identity to build a more<br />
secure future. Using the current global<br />
crisis as a framework, discussions will<br />
aim to deepen the co<strong>op</strong>erative identity<br />
by examining its values, strengthening<br />
its actions, committing to its principles<br />
and living its achievements. This hybrid<br />
event will be held in person in Seoul, the<br />
Republic of Korea and online.<br />
C-:::> icaworldco<strong>op</strong>congress.co<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>nnections: Rose Marley<br />
8 <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong>, 3.30-4.30pm<br />
(Online event)<br />
Organised by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnections is a series of events that<br />
enables co-<strong>op</strong>s to connect, learn and<br />
discuss t<strong>op</strong>ical themes. In this session,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK CEO Rose Marley will<br />
share her observations after speaking to<br />
a myriad of societies and co-<strong>op</strong>s at her<br />
monthly surgery sessions, meetings and<br />
visits - and will explore key challenges<br />
and share her vision for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in<br />
2022.<br />
C-:::> bit.ly/3E00iyl<br />
Selgars Mill Open Day<br />
10 <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
(In-person event)<br />
Stir to Action are <strong>op</strong>ening an eco venue<br />
and training centre for the democratic<br />
economy, the climate emergency, and<br />
social change in Mid Devon. The new<br />
venue will be supporting communities<br />
to create new responses to a range of<br />
creative, cultural and environmental<br />
issues as well as offering a special space<br />
to connect, rest and recharge.<br />
c-:::> bit.ly/3FQvNM4<br />
Decent Work and Democracy<br />
20-21 May 2022<br />
(In-person, Wortley Hall, Nr. Sheffield)<br />
A conference on union co-<strong>op</strong>s, with<br />
discussions on: What can union activists<br />
do to fight for decent work and democracy?<br />
How can workers get control over our daily<br />
working lives? What can we do to promote<br />
democracy in the workplace? Do we have<br />
to accept the gig economy and precarity?<br />
And more.<br />
C-:::> unionco<strong>op</strong>suk@gmail.com<br />
ICA General Assembly 2022<br />
20 June 2022<br />
Seville, Spain<br />
The event will be hosted by the Spanish<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nfederation of Worker <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
(COCETA) and include the election of the<br />
ICA Presidency and Board of Directors .<br />
C-:> bit.ly/3DVpypZ<br />
50 I DECEMBER <strong>2021</strong>