November 2017

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p Scotmid Co-operative works to benefit its community by teaming up with charity partners such as Childline. After a successful fundraising and awareness campaign, Elaine Chalmers, head of Childline in Scotland; Harry Cairney, Scotmid Co-operative president; and John Brodie, chief executive of Scotmid Co-operative; and top Scotmid fundraisers gather to celebrate What innovations have you seen in reporting community impact? ALISON FREEMAN: Theory of Change was pretty radical when it started being mainstreamed a few years ago. I still don’t find Theory of Change well understood by many organisations, as they think it is just a glorified logic model. However, a good Theory of Change is elegant p Child support group Youngsters, Selly Oak Trust School, Digbeth in the Field, and Kushinga Community Garden shared over £5,000 in a payout from Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund and simple. It communicates the how and why of the change you create within a complex system. The best examples show not only causal chains but dynamic interactions with external factors. A challenge that I’d like to see innovation and research around is a better community outcomes framework. Those currently available, such as the ONS’s Social Capital Indicators, seem half-baked or policy orientated. It would be great if a systematic approach was taken to conceptually isolating typical outcomes for local communities.” ALYSON SLATER: There are two trends which are shaping the community impact reporting space. One is the change in community impact management, which has a knock-on effect for reporting. For example, companies are setting goals or ideal outcomes for community engagement and longer-term horizons for getting there. The role for reporting is then clear – it is used to track progress toward the goal or ideal outcome. As a result, we are seeing a shift in reporting away from one-off activities, to a longerterm story about transformational change. The second trend we are seeing is a more sophisticated use of social, economic and environmental disclosures in combination, to demonstrate the multi-dimensionality of impacts. 36 | NOVEMBER <strong>2017</strong>
Should businesses look at integrating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their reporting? ALYSON SLATER: The SDGs provide us with a globally agreed set of goals and targets for creating a better world. They are generally being embraced by the business community, and governments have made it clear that we cannot reach most of these goals without business engagement. Co-ops are in a unique position when it comes to the SDGs – they have intentionally designed their business models to try to have a positive impact on some of the toughest goals – things like inequality, zero hunger, and life on land. If co-ops can demonstrate their contributions to these goals they may very well inspire other businesses to scale up their action too. ALISON FREEMAN: Absolutely; the SDGs represent the globally agreed priority areas selected by governments, businesses and civil society. This is the first time such an agenda has received endorsement across sectors. Many organisations are now using the SDGs as strategic tools to focus on where they can make the biggest contribution. Institutional investors too are moving away from businesses that they consider risky and they will be looking towards the SDGs for criteria. From a regulatory perspective, it also makes sense for businesses to report on these areas, as they will shape the policy environment, and the public sector will look favourably on contractors who can show they are adding to the agenda. The UN Global Compact and Accenture conducted a survey of CEOs in 2016 and found more than half thought businesses had the most important role to play in achieving the SDGs. This might seem like a big responsibility to have to rest on the shoulders of business, but it also makes sense, as this is by far the biggest sector and provider of services and infrastructure. The business case is also clear, as year-on-year recordbreaking global temperatures, along with extreme weather events, such as the hurricanes in America, show that ignoring some of these major trends presents significant operational risks. Millennials coming into the workforce will also be attracted to businesses who are most engaged in purposeful and SDG agendas. MARCUS HULME: The SDGs have got much more traction than the old Millennium Development Goals; there’s much more noise about them. I think you should at least say how what you’re doing fits in with them. They’re a common language that people understand – a universal framework. You can just pick out one or two goals that cover your work. p Southern Co-op’s ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ sees it support community causes throughout its trading area NOVEMBER <strong>2017</strong> | 37
Page 1 and 2: news NOVEMBER 2017 IMPACT How much
Page 3 and 4: CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND CHALLEN
Page 5 and 6: “ I’ve chosen energy from aroun
Page 7 and 8: p Jeremy Corbyn addresses the Co-op
Page 9 and 10: p Andy Burnham (right) addresses th
Page 11 and 12: HERITAGE Call goes out for records
Page 13 and 14: EDUCATION Ex-Army officer attacks w
Page 15 and 16: SYRIA First ever conference of co-o
Page 17 and 18: Project to build a young generation
Page 19 and 20: CANADA Massive volunteering effort
Page 21 and 22: YOUR VIEWS to the value of local, s
Page 23 and 24: CO-OP IRRESISTIBLE POTTED STILTON 2
Page 25 and 26: Little Trove Website: littletrove.c
Page 27 and 28: Expert views: Meet some of the peop
Page 29 and 30: Community Impact Index The index co
Page 31 and 32: local cause in their community. Aft
Page 33 and 34: Midcounties Co-operative’s region
Page 35: What are the latest trends for comm
Page 39 and 40: What does the future hold for CSR a
Page 41 and 42: Give credit to credit One of the bi
Page 43 and 44: Content (written or pictorial) Rele
Page 45 and 46: p The Co-op Party’s centenary ban
Page 47 and 48: Corbyn: ‘Co-operation is a natura
Page 49 and 50: priority, setting an important exam
Page 52: An investment that’s just your cu

November 2017

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