NOVEMBER 2018

GLOBAL
Co-operatives back
International Fairtrade
Charter
Co-operatives are among the supporters
of the new International Fairtrade Charter.
Around 250 organisations, including
the International Co-operative Alliance,
back the charter, developed by the World
Fair Trade Organization and Fairtrade
International to provide a common
reference document for the movement.
ICA director general Bruno Roelants
said: “Putting fairness and equality first,
co-ops around the world are allowing
people to create sustainable enterprises
that generate long-term jobs and
prosperity. That’s why we are natural
partners of the Fairtrade movement and
we support the charter defining a common
vision towards achieving the SDGs.”
The charter aims to support the
work of Fairtrade organisations in
raising awareness among consumers,
governments, academia and the
private sector. It also seeks to facilitate
collaboration within the movement, as
well as with other organisations.
Co-op organisations backing the
charter include Co-operatives UK, Divine
Chocolate, Coop coffees, the Co-op Group,
Faecta, We Effect (formerly Swedish Co-op
Center) and Cooproagro.
The charter says Fairtrade contributes to
the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
by helping workers build democratic
organisations and control their futures.
“Associations or co-ops of small and
family-owned businesses have always
been at the heart of Fairtrade because of
their role in helping marginalised and
disadvantaged producers and workers
improve their access to markets,” the
charter says.
Argentine co-op develops app for solidarity economy
Co-ops in Argentina can now connect with
customers and other social and solidarity
economy businesses through a free app.
ESSApp, developed by open software
co-operative GCOOP, maps co-operatives
across the country. Under the motto
“connecting solidarity”, it enables people
to search for co-op providers of goods and
services. So far, more than 3,000 co-ops
are featured on the interactive map, with
another 800 due to be added.
Crédit Mutuel goes digital to spread the co-op word
French financial co-op Crédit Mutuel is
running a digital campaign to show how
working for a member-owned business
is different. The campaign features
film testimonies from employees who
describe their experience working for
the organisation. Owned by 7.4 million
members, the co-op bank was founded in
1982 and employs 80,000 people.
Co-ops adopt new cooling tech to fight global warming
Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society
and the Onion River Cooperative in
Burlington are two of the 13 organisations
honoured by the US Environmental
Protection Agency for their work to curb
the impact of refrigerant emissions,
by eliminating leaks, adopting green
technologies and using best practices.
Promising step forward for Australian mutuals law
Australia’s Business Council for
Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has
welcomed proposals to give new legal
recognition to the co-op model. A proposed
amendment to the Corporations Act would
include a definition of the mutual business
model. BCCM believes this could bring
new opportunities to the sector.
New executive director at Co-ops and Mutuals Canada
André Beaudry has been appointed
executive director of Co-operatives and
Mutuals Canada (CMC). Mr Beaudry was
most recently chief advancement officer
at Saint Paul University, where he worked
to establish Canada’s first School of Social
Innovation,and also its first School of
Transformative Leadership.
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