JANUARY 2019

JANUARY 2019
NEW YEAR,
NEW CO-OPS
Choosing the
co-op model
Plus ... is Fairtrade
really fair? ... A new look
for Suma Wholefoods ...
What to read in 2019
ISSN 0009-9821
9 770009 982010
01
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news
New year,
new co-operatives
CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871
Holyoake House, Hanover Street,
Manchester M60 0AS
(00) 44 161 214 0870
www.thenews.coop
editorial@thenews.coop
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Rebecca Harvey
rebecca@thenews.coop
INTERNATIONAL EDITOR
Anca Voinea | anca@thenews.coop
DIGITAL EDITOR
Miles Hadfield | miles@thenews.coop
DESIGN:
Keir Mucklestone-Barnett
DIRECTORS
Elaine Dean (chair), David Paterson
(vice-chair), Sofygil Crew, Gavin
Ewing, Tim Hartley, Beverley Perkins
and Barbara Rainford. Secretary:
Richard Bickle
Established in 1871, Co-operative
News is published by Co-operative
Press Ltd, a registered society under
the Co-operative and Community
Benefit Society Act 2014. It is printed
every month by Buxton Press, Palace
Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE.
Membership of Co-operative Press is
open to individual readers as well as
to other co-operatives, corporate bodies
and unincorporated organisations.
The Co-operative News mission statement
is to connect, champion and challenge
the global co-operative movement,
through fair and objective journalism
and open and honest comment and
debate. Co-op News is, on occasion,
supported by co-operatives, but
final editorial control remains with
Co-operative News unless specifically
labelled ‘advertorial’. The information
and views set out in opinion articles
and letters do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of Co-operative News.
@coopnews
cooperativenews
The biggest co-operative societies are in retail, agriculture and
finance. They are the organisations with the most members, the
most influence and plenty of resources to spread news of their
achievements. So it is often these big names that get the headlines.
But whatever the size of a co-operative, they are plugged into
a movement that is bigger than the sum of its parts. And whether they
have five members or 500,000, co-ops are bound together by values
and principles that span geographies and sectors.
In celebration of this, and with the help of Co-operatives UK and other
friends around the world, for the first issue of 2019 we are looking
at some of the co-operative communities that have sprung up over
the last 15 years or so, where people are working together to achieve
more for their members and their communities than they could on
their own.
In the Stirchley area of Birmingham, the Anfield / Everton area
of Liverpool and in Stretford, on the outskirts of Manchester,
communities are teaching skills and meeting neighbours while at
the same time creating sustainable businesses that benefit the wider
community (p28-33).
Local communities aren’t the only ones benefiting from this new
growth in co-operation though – the Contractor Co-operative was
recently set up specifically to offer security to those at the sharp end
of short-term contracts and the expanding gig economy (p36-37).
Then there’s the Creative Coop, born of a desire to work within a fairer,
more ethical business model and strip back the layers of hierarchy
often found in traditional creative agencies (40-41).
We also hear how co-ops in Europe are being set up by and for youth
at risk of exclusion (p42-43) – and how social enterprises are being
encouraged in the USA (p44-45). And we speak to Suma about their
new branding and refreshed look (p26-27) and revisit the question
of the fairness of Fairtrade (p46-47).
REBECCA HARVEY - EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Co-operative News is printed using vegetable oil-based
inks on 80% recycled paper (with 60% from post-consumer
waste) with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC
certified sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process.
JANUARY 2019 | 3

ISSN 0009-9821
9 770009 982010
01
THIS ISSUE
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
Meet Jane Avery, vice-president of Central
England Co-op (p22-23); Suma worker
co-op rebrands (p26-27); Bristol Bike
Project welcomes volunteers and is looking
for a new home (p38-39); and delegates
discuss how Co-ops can empower young
people that feel disenfranchised at Cecop
-Cicopa Europe (p42-43)
news Issue #7303 JANUARY 2019
Connecting, championing, challenging
JANUARY 2019
NEW YEAR,
NEW CO-OPS
Choosing the
co-op model
Plus ... is Fairtrade
really fair? ... A new look
for Suma Wholefoods ...
What to read in 2019
£4.20
www.thenews.coop
COVER: FairBnB is a new
co-op being launched by
a group of activists as
an alternative platform
for person-to-person
vacation rentals
Read more: p44-45
22-23 MEET... JANE AVERY
Vice-president of the Central England
Co-operative
26-27 NEW LOOK FOR SUMA
Suma Wholefoods has undergone a
rebrand to stress its co-op credentials
and create more consistency
28-45 NEW YEAR, NEW CO-OPERATIVES
28-30 CO-OPERATIVE CITIES:
BIRMINGHAM
The communities working together
in and around the Stirchley area of the
city: Loaf Baker, the Old Print Works,
Children’s Quarter and Glue collective
30-32 CO-OPERATIVE CITIES:
MANCHESTER
How the Friends of Stretford Public
Hall and Projekts MCR are making
a difference locally
32-33 CO-OPERATIVE CITIES:
LIVERPOOL
Kitty’s Laundrette and Homebaked
are building on the city’s co-operative
heritage for a new generation
34-35 FAIRBNB
Can FairBnB become a platform for
community-powered tourism?
36-37 CONTRACTOR CO-OP
A new co-operative offering security
to those at the sharp end of short
-term contracts and the expanding
gig economy
38-39 BRISTOL BIKE PROJECT
Celebrating 10 years of empowering
communities through the power of
the humble bike
40-41 CREATIVE COOP
Innovation, creativity and booming
business – the co-operative way
42-43 YOUTH
The role of co-ops in helping young
people who feel disenfranchised
44-45 USA LOCAL ENTERPRISE
Setting up community businesses:
social enterprises in the USA
46-47 IS FAIRTRADE FAIR?
The Fairtrade debate: does certification
have a positive or negative impact overall?
REGULARS
5-13 UK updates
14-21 Global updates
24 Letters
48 Books
4 | JANUARY 2019

NEWS
Sam was rushed straight to hospital as he had lost a
lot of blood. The police arrived and when the store
manager Jon arrived he described it as “a scene
from a horror movie.” There was blood everywhere,
and police tape covering the shop.
about what had happened, so I told them to talk to
me and I asked LifeWorks for the tools to help. They
were great.”
The three men were caught in the middle of a
similar attempt elsewhere. Between them they
were sentenced to 26 years in prison.
CO-OP GROUP
Lobbying, tech and outreach: Group sets out its response to store attacks
5
p Artwork from the Group to support its new campaign
The Co-op Group National Member’s
Council has made Safer Colleagues, Safer
Communities an official campaign.
The decision by the council, which
represents the society’s 4.6 million
members, means the Group will campaign
“to get to get the issue of colleague and
community safety taken more seriously
and use our community presence to tackle
root causes of violence and crime”.
A report from the Group includes case
studies of violent incidents at stores,
including harrowing accounts of robberies
where staff were threatened with axes
and crowbars.
Jo Whitfield, chief executive of the
Group’s Food division, said: “The Co-op
is committed to tackling crime impacting
our colleagues and the communities in
which they live.”
Steps already taken include work with
MPs Alex Norris (Labour/Co-op) and
David Hanson (Labour) to amend the
Offensive Weapons Bill to provide greater
protection for shop workers.
The Group will also work with other
co-op retailers, the wider business
community and trade unions, including
the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied
Workers (Usdaw), whose general secretary
Paddy Lillis discussed the issue of store
security in a speech to the Co-op Party
in October.
“We supported Usdaw’s Respect for
Shop workers week,” added Ms Whitfield,
“where we welcomed 48 MPs into our
shops and talked to them about the
impact crime has on our colleagues. We’ve
also been talking to other influential
people like the police, community
groups and the media and leading the
conversation that this is a crime against
people, our colleagues and communities,
not business.”
She said the campaign will also see “a
focused investment in our shops to reduce
the impact on colleagues even further.
“This year we’ve significantly invested
into technology such as intelligent
CCTV, colleague headsets, guarding in
vulnerable stores during at risk hours
and training of our colleagues and this
will continue.”
Store crime has sparked concern
across the co-op retail movement this
year, prompting new security measures
– including beefed-up CCTV and ATM
security at Central England Co-op and
the launch of a business offering security
services at East of England Co-op.
The Group, which in September
received a petition from staff complaining
that staffing levels were dangerously
low in stores at night, offered detail of
specific uses of its security measures in
the report.
These include the introduction
of headsets for staff so they can stay in
contact with each other at all times, and
working with the police to bring stores
closer to their communities and to work
with young repeat offenders so that they
understand the effect of their actions.
It is also offering funding and other
support through its Local Community
Fund to organisations working to reduce
anti-social behaviour, including the
Damilola Taylor Trust, which supports
young people aged 12-24 in South London,
Streetsport, which delivers youth activity
in Aberdeen, and the Streetwise project
in Bradford, which works to give young
people a new direction in life.
uFrom January 2019, members of the
Co-op Group will no longer earn points
from Co-op Bank products. An email has
been sent to members advising them of
the change, which follows the sale of the
Group’s remaining stake in the Bank.
JANUARY 2019 | 5

CO-OP GROUP
Changes to apprentice levy would aid job creation, says Group
The Co-op Group has called for an urgent
review of the apprentice levy system,
introduced by the government last year
to fund employment training.
Under the levy, employers with a pay bill
of more than £3m a year must pay into a
fund for apprenticeship schemes. Since its
introduction, it has come under fire from
business groups such as manufacturers’
organisation EEF, and the CBI.
Critics say it is overly complex and fails
to persuade employers, who often see it as
just another tax, to take on apprentices.
In February this year, it was reported that
the number of new apprenticeships had
dropped by 30% on the previous year.
Now the Group – which has itself
employed more than 4,000 apprentices
since 2011 and calls itself a “front runner”
in hiring apprentices, has called for
an overhaul.
It says around 400 more placements
could be offered if there were basic
changes to the levy – such as allowing
firms to use the fund to cover travel and
accommodation costs on training courses.
p The Group has hired more than 4,000 apprentices since 2011 (Photo: The Co-op Group)
Helen Webb, chief people officer at the
Group, said: “We share the government’s
vision, but there needs to be an urgent
review of how the levy works in practice.
“We support the principle that 20%
of an apprentice’s time is spent off the
job in training, but funding guidelines
mean that we can’t use our levy. This
costs us more than £5m a year to finance
our apprentices when they are out of the
business, reimbursing their travel costs or
paying for someone to cover their duties.
“Our business is currently having to
spend an additional £3.2m to support
these costs as it can’t be claimed through
the levy. If we could use the levy to cover
these costs we could offer up to 400 more
apprenticeship roles.”
Green innovation: The carrier bags
that can help feed the soil
Three more schools join the
Group’s schools network
More than 1,000 Co-op Group food stores
are supplying new compostable carrier
bags to help replace the 60 million singleuse
plastic bags used across the UK.
The 5p bags are initially available
at stores based in areas where the
local authority accepts them in
household food waste collection.
Approved for home composting, they can
be reused as food waste caddy liners and
turned into peat-free compost, along with
household food waste.
Iain Ferguson, the Group’s environment
manager, said: “Our members and
customers expect us to help them to
make more ethical choices, and we are
dedicated to doing just that. Reducing
environmental impacts is, and always has
been, at the core of the Co-op’s efforts.
“The bags are carefully designed to
help local authorities with food waste
recycling, supporting their community
and resident engagement and reducing
plastic contamination in a targeted way.”
Historic building restoration
boosted by store donations
Shoppers at Co-op Group stores in south
Wales have helped raised more than
£6,200 for the restoration of the Guildhall
in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
A restoration project is under way to
transform the 13th century building into
an educational facility, community hub
and visitors’ centre.
Llantrisant Guildhall Restoration Project
trustees visited stores in Southgate and
Pontyclun to thank shoppers and staff.
Guildhall manager Dean Powell said:
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of
organisations, businesses and individuals
across the region for their support.”
The Co-op Academies Trust has welcomed
three new schools to the fold.
In December, two primaries – Co-op
Academy Friarswood, in Newcastle Under
Lyme, and Co-op Academy Woodslee,
Birkenhead, signed up to the trust,
alongside Co-op Academy Walkden,
a secondary in Salford.
Frank Norris, director of the Co-op
Academies Trust, said: “The effect of a good
school that was previously failing or weak
is immense in regenerating communities
and we have established a great track
record of turning around schools, which
were previously struggling.”
6 | JANUARY 2019

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP
£2.2m funding announced for communities looking to save their pubs...
Power to Change will provide £2.2m in
funding for people looking to save their
local pubs through community ownership.
This funding builds on the success
of the current More Than a Pub
programme, which is jointly funded by
Power to Change, an independent trust
supporting community businesses in
England, and the Ministry of Housing
Communities and Local Government.
The programme is led by Plunkett
Foundation in collaboration with Key
Fund, Co-operative and Community
Finance, the Campaign for Real Ale
(Camra), Co-operative Mutual Solutions,
Pub is the Hub, Locality and the British
Beer and Pub Association.
Since 2016 it has supported 190
communities and seen 26 pubs open their
doors under community ownership.
Announcing the new funding at
Plunkett’s Rural Community Ownership
Awards in London in December, Vidhya
Alakeson, chief executive of Power to
Change, said: “Community-run pubs are
so valuable to the people who use them,
offering a huge range of crucial services
including lunch clubs for vulnerable
people, training and development,
gardening and cooking classes.
p Celebrations as the community buys the King’s Head in Pebmarsh, Essex
“The More than a Pub programme
we have run with Plunkett has been an
enormous success so it was a natural
decision for us to continue to support this
thriving and much-loved sector.”
James Alcock, executive director
of Plunkett, added: “This announcement
is an endorsement of the role community
pubs play in creating thriving communities
and will strengthen the community pub
sector. For many, pubs are not just a place
to drink; they are central to people’s sense
of place and identity, they provide an
important space for people to meet and
help to build community cohesion.”
Co-operative and Community Finance,
a key partner in More Than A Pub, also
welcomed the announcement. Business
development manager Tim Coomer said:
“We are delighted by this news, and look
forward to working with the partnership in
the spring of 2019 to design and develop a
programme that builds on the great things
that have been achieved so far.”
Community pubs minister Jake
Berry said: “Pubs have and will continue
to be at the very heart of our communities.
The More Than a Pub programme is
a fantastic example of communities
taking ownership of their local assets,
and it’s great to see Power to Change
supporting their innovative work for
another year. I look forward to the
continued partnership work in boosting
the ever important agenda of empowering
our local communities.”
... and Wales welcomes its latest co-operative local
p Locals cheer as they save the Sportsman
The Sportsman, a pub in the coastal town
of Nefyn, Wales, will reopen for the first
time since 2009 after locals raised over
£85,000 through a community share offer
to purchase the freehold.
Launched in May, the community share
offer raised 50% of the money needed to
buy the pub. The group hosted an initial
public meeting in January 2018, which 80
people attended, and set up a committee
to run the project.
Investors were asked to buy a minimum
of 50 shares at £1 each, and more than
500 people took up the offer.
The project received support from
Community Shares Wales, a project
delivered by the Wales Co-operative
Centre. The team also worked with
the Plunkett Foundation and
Gwynedd Council.
Elin Angharad Davies, newly appointed
director and secretary, said: “We never
believed in our wildest dreams that we
would be able to raise over £80,000
pounds in just over eight weeks. We are
completely overwhelmed by the response
of our community to save their local pub,
which used to be the central meeting
place for sports clubs and visitors to the
Llyn Peninsula.
“The training and support we’ve
received from the Wales Co-operative
Centre has been second to none. They’ve
been a reliable advisor and mentor in
times of uncertainty.”
JANUARY 2019 | 7

MIDCOUNTIES
Pitching the perfect produce for society’s local range
The Midcounties Co-operative has
launched a £10,000 award for the best
regionally produced food or drink idea
or product.
The Food Glorious Food competition
will see producers, farmers and locals
pitching their ideas to a Dragon’s Denstyle
panel of local food and drink experts
The winner will receive £10,000
to invest in their product, which will join
the Midcounties Best of our Counties
range. Runners up will also get the
chance to sell their products in selected
Midcounties stores, along with a free
one-day business skills course at
Hartpury University and Hartpury College.
Midcounties is already working with
42 Gloucestershire food and drink
businesses for its Best of Our Counties
range, including Hillside Brewery,
which supplies beers to over 120 of the
society’s stores.
Paul Williamson, director of Hillside
Brewery, said: “The support we have
received from Midcounties has been
instrumental in allowing us to grow our
business, helping us to reach areas we
would never get to on our own. There’s a
real focus on quality and local sourcing,
which made them the perfect retail
partner for us.”
He added: “I can speak from experience
when I say that securing investment
at those early stages can make all the
difference. What is perhaps even more
useful for local suppliers and individuals,
however, is the stamp of approval that
you receive from being listed by a major
retailer and the on-going mentoring and
support offered by Midcounties.
“The Food Glorious Food competition is
a unique opportunity for local businesses
to work with a dedicated team that is
committed to helping put Gloucestershire
producers on the map.”
Midcounties chief executive Phil
Ponsonby said: “Supporting local
suppliers is at the heart of what we do.
Through our Best of our Counties range
we are promoting more than 40 local
producers and this latest campaign
is designed to extend that even further.
“For the winning idea or product
there is the offer of a cash injection
and guaranteed listing across all of our
Gloucestershire stores. However, we will
be looking to work closely with all those
who enter to provide access to industry
experts and for the runners up shelf space
in selected stores.”
Those interested can enter the Food
Glorious Food competition by providing
details of their new food and drink idea
at: www.foodgloriousfood.coop.
MENTAL HEALTH
Midcounties hosts training days to beat
the stigma around mental health
The Midcounties Co-operative is working
with Warwickshire charity Springfield
Mind to deliver mental health first aid
training for senior colleagues.
The collaboration will enable the society
to provide training for all operational
managers, executives, leadership team
ambassadors and members of the human
resources team.
Midcounties colleagues will undertake
half-day sessions to reduce the
stigma surrounding mental health in
the workplace and promote a wider
understanding of mental health and some
of the most common mental health issues.
In addition to getting advice on
how to support someone who may be
experiencing mental health problems,
colleagues will receive guidance on how
to look after their own mental health.
The training is aimed at ensuring
that all colleagues feel able to speak
openly about their issues in the
workplace without fear of being alienated
or discriminated against.
The society intends to continue to
work with Springfield Mind to deliver
similar training more widely over the next
three years.
Maria Fennell, chief executive of
Springfield Mind, said: “There is still
so much more to be done to reduce
stigma around mental health in the
workplace, and it’s encouraging to see
groups like Midcounties embracing this
responsibility.
“The training session we ran was
incredibly well attended, and we hope
those who attended will leave with a
greater awareness of mental health issues,
and the huge difference they can make to
their colleagues’ lives.”
Midcounties has had a long relationship
with the Springfield Mind, with two of its
p Staff at a training session
senior colleagues currently serving as
trustees of the charity.
Rebekah Brain, society engagement
manager at Midcounties, said: “The
wellbeing of our colleagues is of
paramount importance to us, and we
want to make sure anyone suffering from
mental health issues feels they have
someone to can reach out to.
“W look forward to continuing our work
with Mind in the future to ensure that we
can encourage important conversations
about mental health among Midcounties
colleagues and members.”
8 | JANUARY 2019

AWARDS
Community businesses celebrated at Plunkett Foundation’s annual awards
p The winners and runners up of the Rural Community Ownership Awards
The Plunkett Foundation announced
the winners of its Rural Community
Ownership Awards at a ceremony in
London in December.
Finalists included a community-owned
farm in Shropshire and a community
bakery in Scotland, alongside community
pubs and shops in Wales and England.
Plunkett, a support body for rural
community business, said there were
more than 50 entries this year – a new
record – across six categories, and called
it “a testament to the growth of the
community business sector”.
Headline sponsored by Hastoe
Housing Association, the awards also
had continued support and sponsorship
from Power to Change and the Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation.
The ceremony was hosted by Charlie
Luxton, an architectural designer, writer
and television presenter who is passionate
about affordable housing and rural
communities and has supported several
eco-friendly projects in Oxfordshire.
THE WINNERS
Slapton Community Shop in Devon won
Community Story of the Year, sponsored
by The Retail Mutual. This award
recognises the stories that capture how
community businesses provide a much
deeper role in supporting individuals
and community life. When the Beast from
the East storm struck the UK in March, it
washed away the road which connects
Slapton to Dartmouth, and members
of the shop team drove to Kingsbridge
and brought back supplies of essentials,
including bottled water, and kept the
shop open. The shelves were bare by the
time deliveries could resume, but the
village had been sustained by the efforts
of the volunteers.
p The Slapton team pick up their award
Hampstead Norreys Community Shop
in Berkshire won Diversifying to Make a
Difference, sponsored by BCRS Business
Loans. The store has come up with
innovative ideas to become plastic-free
and is working to make the community
more sustainable, involving the whole
community in an inter-generational way.
Ashwater Village Shop in Devon won
Investing in Local People, sponsored by
Suma Wholefoods. During the snowy
weather in 2017, the team kept the
community together and continued
to deliver their customers. They also
provide a foodbank service and are
excellent at fundraising and giving back to
the community.
Dunbar Community Bakery in East
Lothian won the Horace Plunkett Better
Business Award, supported by the Co-op
Group. This award recognises community
business longevity and ability to
innovative business practices. This bakery
has recovered from a long period of losses,
with a strong volunteer management
committee which set and achieved an
objective to turn around the business and
generate a surplus.
Talking Shop in Oxfordshire won the
The Little Things Award, sponsored by
the Phone Coop. In the words of one
customer “…you come away from Talking
Shop feeling happier than you went in.”
This award recognises the incredible
work undertaken by rural community
businesses to tackle loneliness and
isolation. Talking Shop has been set up
with the intention of bringing people
together. They have taken steps to
ensure everyone feels welcome and
included, no matter their age, background
or circumstance.
Rick Nickerson from Bigton Community
Enterprise in Shetland won the People’s
Choice, sponsored by Hastoe Housing
Association. This award recognises
the dedication and commitment of an
outstanding individual. When the village
store was put on sale seven years ago,
Rick Nickerson rallied the community
together to investigate a purchase. He is a
committed volunteer serving in the shop
with tireless dedication, and helps ensure
the shop is dementia and autism friendly.
James Alcock, executive director at
Plunkett, said: “The winners all represent
fantastic examples of community
p Rick Nickerson collects his award
business. The nominations recognise
the dedication within the sector to create
thriving and resilient rural communities,
and celebrate the aspects that make them
inspirational businesses.”
JANUARY 2019 | 9

AGRICULTURE
Tim Bailey named chief
executive of SAOS
The Scottish Agricultural Organisation
Society (SAOS) has announced its new
chief executive as Tim Bailey, who takes
up role in March 2019.
Mr Bailey has been working in the
food supply chain for 19 years. He is
joining from Acoura (formerly Scottish
Food Quality Certification) where he
has served as agricultural director,
managing director and global head of
service delivery support. Acoura, part of
the Lloyd’s Register Group, is the UK’s
fastest growing provider of risk services
for the food and drink supply chain.
Prior to joining Acoura in 2002, Mr Bailey
practiced as a veterinary surgeon. He also
runs his own livestock farming business.
Mr Bailey takes over from James
Graham, who is retiring after 21 years
with SAOS.
He said: “SAOS is in the pivotal position
to make an even larger contribution to
the Scottish agri-food and drink industry
in the years ahead, and I believe I can
help it to achieve that. The SAOS team
is highly respected for its expertise and
track record, but also for the collaborative
values it represents and practices. SAOS’s
values and innovation capabilities will be
more important than ever to the industry
in future, as we address a wide range of
challenges and capitalise on the growth
opportunities ahead. I very much look
forward to taking up the role.”
Mark Clark, chair of SAOS, said: “Tim
brings a range of knowledge and skills
from across supply chains that will
be extremely valuable as we continue
building the organisation through our
innovation work.
“It is also vitally important that
Tim brings both a genuine interest in
Scotland’s primary and manufacturing
sectors, and empathy with SAOS’s
co-operative membership, our culture and
our values.”
ENVIRONMENT
Zero waste co-op to
benefit from Welsh
government funding
Co-ops and social enterprises involved
in recycling will be able to implement
new zero waste projects with the
backing of a £5.4m investment from the
Welsh government.
Announced by environment minister
Hannah Blythyn, the scheme will see eight
projects developed by social enterprises
receive capital. A zero-waste pilot project
will also provide new recycling facilities
to 24 schools in Pembrokeshire.
Crest Co-operative in North Wales is
among the social enterprises that will
receive £2.7m, along with Pembrokeshire
charity Frame and social enterprise
Newport Wastesavers. The co-op, which
runs a series of recycling projects, will
receive £1.02m to expand its infrastructure
in Conwy and Denbighshire.
p Hannah Blythyn visits Crest Co-op
Set up with lottery grants in 1998, the
community co-op operates a number of
small enterprises providing services to
communities in Conwy and Denbighshire.
In addition to selling pre-loved furniture
and electricals and running cafés, it also
helps disabled and unemployed people
increase their skills and gain employment.
Strategic business development
manager Jay Martin said the investment
would lead to more jobs and
apprenticeships. The co-op also plans to
open a new shop in Rhyl.
“In the last few years, our community
reuse stores in Llandudno Junction and
Colwyn Bay have experienced significant
growth in sales of reuse furniture,
clothing, mattresses and household goods
with sales increasing month on month.
“Aside of the obvious environmental
benefits of our reuse activities; they
also make a significant contribution
to addressing the poverty agenda by
enabling low income individuals and
families access to good quality furniture
and electrical goods for a fraction
of new cost.”
Minister Hannah Blythyn said: “One
of the best ways to reduce waste is to
repair and refurbish items so they can
be reused and some of these projects will
improve facilities to enable this. We’re
also investing in a pilot schools project to
reduce waste and instil good habits from
a young age.”
10 | JANUARY 2019

CREDIT UNIONS
Non-executive director
of two mutuals banned
by the FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
has banned Angela Burns from acting as
a non-executive director (NED) and fined
her £20,000 for failing to act with integrity
at two mutual societies.
In a statement, the regulator said Ms
Burns served from January 2009 until May
2011 as an NED at two mutual societies,
Marine and General Life Assurance
Society and Teachers Provident Society,
and chaired their investment committees.
It added that she took part in discussions
at both mutuals about Vanguard Asset
Management Limited, a US investment
manager that had just opened UK offices.
She was simultaneously soliciting
work from Vanguard by referring to her
NED positions at the two mutuals while
providing them with what they thought
was impartial advice. But she did not tell
either mutual that she was simultaneously
seeking consultancy work with Vanguard.
Mark Steward, executive director of
enforcement and market oversight of
the FCA, said: “Directors have a duty to
disclose or avoid conflicts of interest so
they can be addressed by the board.
“In this case, Ms Burns placed herself
in a position where her duty as a nonexecutive
director may have conflicted
with concurrent opportunities she was
pursuing. This was neither disclosed nor,
as a consequence, could it be addressed
by the board. This was inappropriate
and inconsistent with the standards of
integrity expected from senior managers.”
The publication of the ban and fine
comes after Ms Burns’ unsuccessful
challenge to the FCA’s ruling. She referred
the regulator’s previous decision notice to
the Upper Tribunal on 21 December 2012,
then applied to the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court denied her
permission to appeal on 27 November.
Tamworth Co-op bags £26,000 of cash for local causes
Tamworth Co-operative Society has given
out £26,000 to local good causes, thanks
to its ‘Cash in the Bag’ scheme which has
raised funds from its five pence plastic
carrier bag charge. Sixteen organisations
have been given grants of between
£300 and £2,500, and the money will be
used for a variety of projects and
services helping a wide cross-section
of the community.
SAOS invites nominations for Next Generation Award
The Scottish Agricultural Organisation
Society (SAOS) is looking for contenders
for its Next Generation Award, for young
people involved in agricultural co-ops
who have shown leadership, vision
and commitment to co-operation.
Nominees must be under 40 and be an
employee, farmer member or director
of a co-operative.
Lincolnshire Co-operative opens Scunthorpe funeral home
Lincolnshire Co-op has invested £500,000
into a new funeral home in Scunthorpe.
The new branch on Oswald Road will
include a private arrangement lounge,
welcoming reception area and chapel of
rest. There will also be a display showing
the handiwork of Lincolnshire Co-op’s
memorial masons, who use state-of-theart
technology for special tributes.
Police Credit Union reaches a lending landmark
The Police Credit Union has hit the milestone
of lending more than £250m to its members.
It serves over 25,000 members covering
England and Wales and includes prison
officers, probation officers and the armed
forces. CEO Paul Norgrove said: “Credit
to our team and their continued efforts in
supporting our members.”
Renovation boosts sales at Heart of England Co-op store
Heart of England Co-operative has
seen sales increase at its food store
in Balsall Common after a £238,000
re-fit. Sales had started to soar by 11%
even before the work was completed.
The largest increases occurred in the
wines and spirits, food to go and frozen
food sections.
JANUARY 2019 | 11

POLITICS
Let credit unions fund community energy
and social housing, says Co-op Party chair
Co-op Party chair Gareth Thomas has
been lobbying ministers for measures
to allow credit unions to finance social
programmes such as community energy
projects and social housing.
In December, the Labour/Co-op MP
asked the government when it would
“bring forward proposals to allow wellfunded
credit unions to provide low-cost
credit cards and low-cost car loans, and to
invest in other social programmes such as
energy co-ops and housing schemes?”
John Glen, economic secretary to the
Treasury, replied: “Following on from
the budget, we have a series of measures
to assist credit unions to expand their
role in delivering affordable credit across
communities. We have a scheme of
work over the next three months to pilot
interest-free loans and prize-linked saving
schemes, to help credit unions to grow as
they have been doing in recent years.”
In a follow-up letter to the minister,
Mr Thomas asked for further information
about government plans to help “the
growing credit union sector to continue
expansion of its services”.
He said British credit unions had seen
“striking” growth over the past 15 years,
trebling its membership to 1.34m people
and almost quadrupling its assets to
£1.6bn.
“As the sector grows it is becoming even
better equipped to expand the services
it is permitted to offer to members,”
he added, arguing that this expansion
would increase credit unions’ capacity
to promote financial inclusion at a time
when “traditional high street banks are
becoming further removed from local
communities”.
Mr Thomas said there would be wider
benefits to allowing credit unions with
sufficient surplus assets to support social
programmes.
“It allows individual credit unions
to diversify their portfolio and increase
returns on investment for members,”
he wrote, “[and] allows communities
to pursue projects that benefit the local
area that they might not otherwise be
able to finance.”
It would also put “a significant
proportion of members’ funds (currently
held in bank accounts and thus accruing
interest rates below the rate of inflation)
to a more productive and economically
rewarding purpose ... addressing a
key social issue that deeply affects the
communities which credit unions serve”.
He said representatives of the
Northern Ireland credit union sector
are already in talks with the Prudential
Regulation Authority on similar issues
and are “currently preparing a business
case for how they could help finance
social housing”.
COMMUNITY BUSINESS
Power to Change allocates new funding for community businesses
p Halton Mill, home to Green Elephant
Community businesses across the UK can
apply to receive a grant matched to their
earnings of up to £10,000.
The funding is provided through the
Community Business Trade Up Programme
run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs
(SSE) in partnership with Power to Change.
Now in its third year, the programme is
open for applications until 14 February.
Businesses receive a grant of up
to £10,000, a nine-month learning
programme of 12 learning days, and can
access a community of supportive peers.
The learning programme runs from June
2019 to March 2020, providing places for
80 community business leaders across
England who will learn in groups of 10 at
eight different locations across England.
According to SSE, the first cohort of the
Community Business Trade Up Programme
achieved a typical 92% increase in income.
One of the businesses receiving support
through the programme was the Green
Elephant Co-operative at Halton Mill in
Lancaster, which increased trading by
36% after receiving grant funding.
Alastair Wilson, CEO of School for
Social Entrepreneurs, said: “Community
businesses strengthen local economies
and enrich the fabric of society. But
running them can be challenging. We’ll
help community business leaders develop
the skills, strengths and networks they
need to improve their sustainability and
impact, with the support of match trading
grants and a learning approach we’ve
refined over 21 years.”
Jenny Sansom, programmes manager at
Power to Change, said: “This programme
will give a really important step up for
relatively new community businesses
and help them to focus on their trading
activities and long-term sustainability.”
Buzz Lockleaze, a community interest
company in Bristol, also took part in
the programme. The business runs a
community shop, café and garden, offering
volunteering and training opportunities.
Business development manager Roisin
Tobin said: “The match trading grant really
helped us to focus on growing our income
from trading. We knew that if we put the
effort in, we would receive an additional
pound in funding for every pound we
earned. It proved to be the catalyst we
needed to try ideas and move our thinking
from how we would find the next grant to
keep us going, to what income we could
generate ourselves, to be supplemented
by grant. Knowing we’re more selfsufficient
is a great boost.”
12 | JANUARY 2019

CREDIT UNIONS
Andy Burnham backs credit union ‘Oscars’
p Community First Credit Union picks up its award
The eighth annual ‘credit union Oscars’,
that celebrate the sector’s work around
the world, was held in Manchester in
December, with the support of regional
mayor Andy Burnham.
Mr Burnham, Labour/Co-op mayor
for the devolved Greater Manchester
Combined Authority, sent a message
that was read out at the event by Jeff
Seneviratne, vice chair of Credit Unions
for Greater Manchester.
“I am a huge supporter of the credit
union way of doing business,” said Mr
Burnham. “Credit unions transform
people’s lives because they help them
manage their finances in a way that means
they don’t have to resort to loan sharks
and payday lenders.
“I’m proud to say that Greater
Manchester Combined Authority will be
working with the consortium of credit
unions and other partners across Greater
Manchester over the coming months.
I welcome their co-operative way of
working.”
It is the first time the awards, organised
by the International Credit Union
Leadership Development & Education
Foundation (Iculdef), have been held in
Manchester.
The event saw the Joe Biden Award for
Development Educator of the Year go to
development education programmes in
Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Caribbean,
Europe and North America – recognising
their efforts in serving communities in a
spirit of co-operation.
Winners and runners up of the Great
Britain and Ireland Edward Filene Credit
Union Awards for Performance Excellence
were all also celebrated, with Community
First Credit Union from Mexborough in
South Yorkshire scooping the top Award
for Social Entrepreneurship.
Credit Unions for Greater Manchester,
a consortium of eight credit unions,
won the award for ‘Pursuing International
Co-operative Alliance Principle 6
– Co-operation Amongst Co-operatives’
in recognition of the way they joined
forces to serve their communities and
bring the unique credit union difference
to everyone within the Greater Manchester
Combined Authority.
Iculdef trustee, Barry Epstein,
thanked everyone for supporting the
credit union movement and said:
“We are proud and humble to be part
of it – go out and let the world know what
we have to offer.”
The full list of winners can be found at
www.new.iculdef.org/award_dinners/
celebratory_dinner.asp
JANUARY 2019 | 13

GLOBAL UPDATES
GLOBAL
DotCoop secures .coop domain for another 10 years
The .coop domain will remain the
exclusive domain name for the
co-operative movement for the next
10 years.
Launched in 2001, the domain is
managed by DotCooperation LLC
(DotCoop), which is jointly owned by
the National Cooperative Business
Association (NCBA CLUSA) and the
International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).
Every domain name on the internet is
licensed by the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
In November, DotCoop, the registry
operator for the .coop domain, renewed its
contract with ICANN for the second time
since the domain’s launch.
Negotiations began in 2016 – and
DotCoop communications officer Tom
Ivey says the process took over two
years due to the changing environment
and regulations within the domain
name industry.
“Since 2012, ICANN has opened up
the market and there are over 1,000
namespaces (TLDs) so the standards for
operating them have changed,” he said.
“We are in the age of the new internet.
In this crowded space online where
everyone has the space they want, we
needed to safeguard this domain we have.
We were one of the first to be added to
the internet after .com. It’s important that
we managed to secure this space for the
co-operative movement.”
ICANN also agreed for the domain
to continue to be available only to bona
fide co-operatives and co-operative
organisations.
“Most domain names out there have
no such restrictions, they can be used by
everybody. This is fundamental, it means
that if a co-op uses this domain it’s like a
badge, they are verified, they joined this
co-op movement,” added Mr Ivey.
14 | JANUARY 2019

AUSTRALIA
BCCM pushes for the co-op alternative
in the finance and healthcare sectors
The Business Council of Co-operatives
and Mutuals (BCCM) – Australia’s apex
body for co-ops – has welcomed draft
legislation to assist co-ops and mutuals in
the banking and insurance sectors.
Australia’s assistant finance minister
Zed Seselja released the draft legislation
for public consultation. It would create a
capital instrument in the Corporations Act
to enable co-ops, mutuals and memberowned
firms to be more competitive and
access growth capital.
Over the last nine months, the BCCM
has worked with its member businesses,
the Customer Owned Banking Association
(COBA) and Friendly Societies of
Australia (FSA) to positively influence
how the government implements the
recommendations of the independent
Hammond Review of reforms for co-ops,
mutuals and member-owned firms.
“Today we are delighted to see the final
tranche of draft legislation that will help
to deliver on the government’s promise to
our sector. The bipartisan nature of this
process has been very encouraging,” said
BCCM CEO Melina Morrison.
“We are looking forward to seeing the
second part of this work with the treasury,
which will create a new capital instrument
that may be issued by mutuals, enabling
them to grow and better serve Australians,
while protecting their co-operative or
mutual ownership structures.”
In another initiative, Ms Morrison has
contributed to Connecting People with
Progress, a report from the Committee for
the Economic Development of Australia
(CEDA). Her input focuses on the role of
co-operatives and mutuals in health and
human service delivery – and highlights
how co-ops create quality and benefit
workers, service users and the economy.
At a CEDA panel discussion of the report,
Ms Morrison pointed to a co-operative
revival in health and human services,
with consumer-owned and employeeowned
models emerging in sectors such
as primary health, disability housing,
aged care and disability employment.
In the report, she cited numerous
examples of successful co-operatives in
these sectors that offer “quality, stability
and predictability to participants, and
enabling workers – who are co-owners
– to co-design the business together and
share in any surplus from their labour”.
She also looked at the role of platform
co-ops in delivering health and human
services, as they “have lower transaction
p Melina Morrison (Photo: Chris Gleisner)
costs, invest surpluses in community
benefit, protect users and workers
from being exploited and have a higher
commitment to long-term goals”.
She called on the government to support
co-operatives and mutuals, including
reviewing current regulations and cutting
the red tape that makes forming a co-op
unnecessarily arduous.
“How we deliver care and support
services will define our society in years
to come,” she said. “We must counter
this looming challenge with imagination,
innovation and co-operation.”
u Full report at s.coop/2atpq
GLOBAL
Basel Committee exempts credit unions from new disclosure rules
p The Basel Committee HQ (Photo: nchenga)
Credit unions and community-based
depository institutions will be exempt
from many aspects of the Basel
Committee’s new disclosure rules issued
on 11 December.
The World Council of Credit Unions
(Woccu), which has spent the year
campaigning for the exemptions,
welcomed the news.
The rules are part of the Basel III
international risk-based capital and
liquidity standard. The committee has
made other disclosure requirements
optional at national level.
Woccu said many other disclosure
requirements would be limited to
institutions that use internal models to
calculate capital levels or are parties to
derivatives transactions, which exempts
most community-based depository
institutions from these paperwork
burdens. National-level regulators will
be able to decide whether to require
depository institutions to issue disclosures
on capital distribution constraints and
on exposures to problem assets under
expected credit loss accounting standards.
“We commend the committee for
establishing proportional reporting
thresholds and increasing national
discretion over disclosures requirements,
which should help reduce the regulatory
burden spillover, that rules for
internationally active banks often have
on community-based institutions like
credit unions,” said Michael Edwards,
Woccu’s senior vice president and
general counsel.
JANUARY 2019 | 15

ARGENTINA
International co-op movement adopts declaration on decent work
The International Co-operative Alliance
(ICA) has committed to promoting a
decent working environment and zero
tolerance for harassment.
Its members unanimously adopted the
Declaration on Decent Work and Against
Harassment at its General Assembly in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The document notes that the movement
endorses the International Labour
Organization’s (ILO) Recommendation
193 on the Promotion of Co-operatives
(2002). It adds that the international
co-operative movement supports the
UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda
for 2020, which calls for a world free
of poverty, where people are able to
enjoy decent work and benefit from
“sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth”.
To this end, the ICA commits itself
to “respect, promote and act diligently
to support the fundamental tenets of
decent work”. These include freedom of
association and full recognition of the right
to collective bargaining; the elimination
of all forms of forced or compulsory
labour; an end to child labour; and
the elimination of discrimination in
employment and every form of work.
The declaration defends the basic
principles of dignity and equality in the
new and emerging forms of employment;
prohibits within its sphere of influence all
sexual harassment; and strongly opposes
every other kind of workplace misconduct,
including intimidation, oppression
and discrimination, as well as any
abuse of power.
While pledging “zero tolerance for
violence in the workplace”, the ICA also
calls on all members to abide by the
declaration, which applies to all of its
constituent bodies.
The commitments included in the
declaration align with the co-operative
values and principles stated in the
Statement on the Cooperative Identity, the
document adds.
“We are one of the first international
organisations saying formally and strongly
that a decent working environment is
fundamental in our society and that there
is no room for any form of harassment in
our organisations,” said ICA president
Ariel Guarco.
GLOBAL
Price rises
for Fairtrade cocoa
to help build co-ops
Fairtrade International is raising the
Fairtrade Minimum Price for conventional
cocoa from $2,000 (£1,570) to $2,400
(£1,886) per metric tonne at the point of
export (FOB), marking a 20% increase.
For organic cocoa, the Fairtrade price
will be $300 (£235) above the market
price or the Fairtrade Minimum Price,
whichever is higher at the time of
sale. This is a change from the current
minimum fixed price of $2,300 (£1,807)
per metric tonne for Fairtrade certified
organic cocoa.
The additional Fairtrade Premium will
be increased from $200 (£157) to $240
(£188) per metric tonne, the highest fixed
premium of any certification scheme. This
is on top of the selling price, paid directly
to farmer organisations to spend on
projects of their choice.
The premium helps to build strong
and viable co-ops that can respond to
members’ needs and strengthen them
as long-term business partners for
buyers. And the new minimum price will
allow average Fairtrade cocoa growing
households to move above the extreme
poverty line – after a study earlier this year
showed that 58% of Fairtrade certified
cocoa farming households in Côte d’Ivoire
had incomes below this.
The review of the Fairtrade Minimum
Price and Premium is linked to a wider
Fairtrade strategy to work towards a
living income for cocoa farmers. Under
that strategy, Fairtrade International
has also established a Living Income
Reference Price for cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire
and Ghana, providing the first target
price for the industry based on living
income benchmarks and consultation
on farm costs.
The new price structure, agreed by the
Fairtrade Standards Committee, a multistakeholder
body which includes farmer
and trader representatives, will take effect
on 1 October 2019. The decision follows
a lengthy consultation process across
the cocoa supply chain with Fairtrade
farmers, traders, manufacturers and
chocolate brands.
“This is good news for West Africa’s
cocoa growing communities,” said Fortin
Bley, an Ivorian cocoa farmer and chair of
Fairtrade Africa’s West African Network.
“Farmers have been badly squeezed by
low prices ... this will help level the playing
field for a more sustainable future.”
u Is FairTrade fair? Page 46-47
16 | JANUARY 2019

EUROPE
MEPs and credit unions meet to discuss regulatory relief
Regulation was on the agenda at a
recent meeting between the European
Parliament Credit Union Interest
Group and the European Network
of Credit Unions.
MEPs engaged with members of ENCU
on how the Parliament could reduce
unnecessary regulatory burdens on the
sector. They also explored how credit
unions can increase financial inclusion,
provide services to underserved
populations and increase access to
responsible lending products.
Launched in 2014, the interest group is
a caucus for MEPs from all parties, which
works to raise awareness of credit unions
and micro-finance among EU institutions
and stakeholders.
p Representatives from Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), Vereniging Samenwerkende
Kredietunies (VSK), C.A.R. Federation (FEDCAR), Savings House (FULM), and Instinctif Partners
It briefs the European Parliament and
other decision-makers on credit union
developments in EU member states and
around the world.
Co-chair MEP Marian Harkin (Ireland)
said: “We must not overburden small
credit unions so they can continue to
serve underserved and rural areas that are
in need of responsible access to credit.
“Credit unions represent an ideal way
to help ordinary Irish people with their
financial needs and regulations should
not stand in their way.”
Gerry Thompson, vice president of
the Irish Credit Union League (ICLU),
added: “Prudent regulatory reforms
can reduce unnecessary compliance
burdens on credit unions and will help
lead to inclusive economic growth
throughout Europe.”
The network was represented by
delegates from the ILCU, the National
Association of Co-operative Savings and
Credit Unions of Poland, the Estonian
Union of Credit Cooperatives and World
Council of Credit Unions.
It’s time to back the co-op model in the
Common Agricultural Policy, EU told
A call to include measures to support
farm co-ops in the future Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) was heard by
the European Parliament Committee on
Agriculture and Rural Development at a
recent meeting.
The committee held a public hearing
aimed at tackling the challenges faced
by the dairy sector – and heard how
co-operatives empower farmers.
The event, entitled ‘Models of
co-operation to strengthen farmers’
position in the food chain’ heard
form farmers, agri-co-operatives’
representatives and academics,
who explained that co-ops increase
farmers’ bargaining power and
ability to address markets and future
trade challenges.
Co-operative case studies were
presented at the hearing, with that
of the Mila Co-operative – situated in
the northern Italian alpine region of
South Tirol – demonstrating the value
of co-ops to farmers in remote and
disadvantaged areas.
The case of the Pomograna
Co-operative in South Italy demonstrated
how co-operation tackles the challenges
of agriculture in the region, and the
advantages created by agri-coops to
benefit the overall sector, farmers and
consumers.
Umberto Di Pasquo, senior policy
advisor at European farmers’ apex
body Copa-Cogeca, said: “Since their
establishment, agri-co-ops’ core mission
has always been to pool farmers’
resources and support them in specific
activities. They may also supply their
members with inputs for agricultural
production, as well as food processing,
transportation, packaging, distribution
and marketing.
“During this public hearing, we heard
about the difficulties, but also the dreams
and ambitions of farmers who, every
day, experience the burdens deriving
from the urban-rural divide. However,
we have undoubtedly continued learning
about how agri-co-operatives, in many
respects, are capable of empowering
farmer members by providing them
with essential services and innovative
tools to thrive in a circular, resilient and
innovative agricultural economy.”
JANUARY 2019 | 17

SPAIN
Mondragon changes rules around the distribution of dividends
p Mondragon’s annual congress
The world’s largest worker co-operative,
the Mondragon Corporation, has adopted
new rules on the distribution of dividends
to members.
From January 2019, the dividend paid to
members by individual co-ops that form
the group will depend on how financially
stable they are, their ability to generate
profit, and their capacity to pay their
debts. The measures were put forward by
the board and approved by members at
the group’s annual congress in November,
in which over 650 members took part.
The meeting’s report was published in
Mondragon’s own publication, TUlankide.
According to the new rules, the co-ops
will be able to distribute dividends only if
they have a rate of return (the net gain or
loss on an investment) above 9%.
Furthermore, co-ops must have a debt
(EBITDA) ratio below 2.5, and a financial
autonomy rate higher than 1. This is
calculated by dividing a co-op’s own
capital to its permanent capital (reserves).
Should these requirements not be met,
Mondragon will be able to stop individual
co-ops distributing dividends. In this
case the distribution of dividends will
be, at most, 50% of a co-op’s net surplus,
compared to the current 70%.
Co-ops meeting the requirements
will be able to allocate 75% of their
net surplus for the distribution
of dividends to members. The payment
of interest for the contributions of the
members to the capital (including the
contribution to join the co-op and the
accumulated dividends) will also be
adjusted to the organisation’s financial
progress and may not exceed 25%. It
currently stands at 50%.
With the new requirements, the group
aims to avoid crises such as the one at
Fagor Electronics, Mondragon’s former
domestic and commercial appliance
manufacturer, which went bust in 2013.
To prevent similar scenarios, the group
has also set a limit of 50% for voluntary
reserves generated in previous years that
can be used in a single year.
“The aim of the approved document is
to strengthen the financial situation of
the co-operatives and the sustainability
of their businesses,” says the report,
published by the group’s magazine.
The Mondragon Corporation includes
261 enterprises, of which 101 are co-ops.
Eroski and its customers donate 6,150 tonnes of food
Spanish retail co-op Eroski donated 5,717
tonnes of food in 2018 as part of its Zero
Waste programme. Another 433 tonnes
were collected from customers and
members, bringing the total donation to
6,150 tonnes of food.
The Zero Waste programme was
designed to end the waste of food products
in date at Eroski shops, by handing it to
charities near their trading areas. Enough
food has been given out to provide meals
to 3,899 families.
On 30 November and 1 December the
co-op joined other supermarkets in a
Big Collection organised by the Spanish
Federation of Food Banks (Fesbal). More
than 1,400 Eroski stores, from convenience
to large format, took part.
“At Eroski we have a firm commitment
to contributing to a fairer, more supportive
society, which is one of our objectives
under our renewed health and
sustainability commitments,” said the coop’s
director of health and sustainability,
Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa. “Once
again, our collaboration with the
food banks was a great opportunity to
materialise Eroski’s commitment and
mission as a consumer co-operative.”
Eroski has been collaborating with
Fesbal, which helped it to develop the
p Collecting food donations at Eroski
Zero Waste programme, for more than
20 years. The campaign was initially
proposed by the food bank of Vizcaya
and supported by Eroski customers. “We
would like to thank Eroski for its longterm
collaboration with the food banks,
which shows a commitment to fighting
food waste, something at the heart of both
organisations,” said Fesbal.
Customers could also pay for €5 food
vouchers at the checkout – funding a
donation equivalent to two packs of
vegetables, two kilos of pasta and four
fish tins. At the end of the campaign all
funding obtained through the vouchers
will given to the food banks to buy the
products they most need.
Mr Berriochoa said Eroski shoppers
could also buy food products on their
own and leave them at collection centres
in stores.
Eroski will make an additional donation
of 7% of the total amount raised through
the campaign.
“As usual, at Eroski we wanted to
further commit ourselves to this cause by
making an additional donation towards
the total amount raised by consumers,”
said Mr Berriochoa.
Eroski is run by the Mondragon
Corporation, the world’s largest federation
of worker co-operatives.
18 | JANUARY 2019

FRANCE
Tax exemptions: MPs grant reprieve for French co-ops ...
The French co-operative movement
secured a big win in parliament as an
amendment proposing the removal of
some tax exemptions for co-ops failed
to pass.
Les Scop, the French Federation of
Worker Co-ops, had warned that the
amendment, which formed part of the
new Finance Bill, threatened the futures
of co-operative societies of collective
interest (SCICs) and co-operative and
participative societies (SCOPs), two of
the most common legal forms for co-ops
in the country. Existing co-operative law
requires SCICs to allocate 57.5% of their
surpluses for non-distributable reserves.
They do not pay corporate taxes for funds
set aside for these indivisible reserves.
Article 11 of the finance law removes
the tax exemptions for the amount
contributed to indivisible reserves.
Following campaigning from Les Scop,
the government removed the amendment
at the second reading of the bill.
The draft Finance Bill passed the first
reading in the French National Assembly
in November and is due to be debated
further during the second reading.
Another amendment introduced
through the bill questioned the financing
of SCOPs (worker co-ops known as
production co-operative societies) through
the provision for investment (PPI).
The PPI is a tool used by SCOPs to set
aside funds for future development.
These can be equal to the dividend paid
to employees. Tax free, the funds can be
used to make investments in the business
within the first four years of its creation.
CG Scop estimates that in 2017 SCOPs
allocated between 40 and 45% of their
surpluses to such investment funds,
a total of €72m.
The federation argued that removing
tax exemptions for co-ops investing in
their business would affect 2,400 SCOPs
and their 50,650 employees.
Following lobbying from Les Scop, the
French senate voted to continue to allow
co-ops to use the provision for investment.
ARGENTINA
... but Cooperar still has a battle on its
hands to change budget plans
Argentine financial co-ops and mutuals
could lose their tax-exempt status in the
government’s 2019 document.
The budget document includes an
amendment to tax laws that removes the
exemption from paying tax on profits for
co-operatives and mutuals active in
banking and insurance.
The budget, which has been approved
by the Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies, sets a tax rate of 6% for these
co-ops and mutuals. But after protests
from the co-operative sector, the Senate
approved an amendment which lowers
the tax rate to 3%. This law is yet to be
discussed by the Chamber of Deputies.
Ariel Guarco, president of national
co-op body Cooperar, said the initiative
failed to take into account the specificity
of the co-operative model.
Speaking at the Senate in November,
Mr Guarco, who is also president of the
International Co-operative Alliance,
said co-ops were not making profit but
a surplus, reinvesting a large part of this
into the business to improve services.
They also depend on capital from
members, and are unable to use funding
from external investors.
Earlier in September Mr Guarco had
told a meeting of agricultural co-ops: “The
State should treat co-ops as not-for-profit
companies. We have always contributed
and even more so in difficult times, but
our legal nature must be respected. We
can never accept being taxed on earnings.
“We are not marginal enterprises. We
are enterprises that represent 10 million
people and provide services in all sectors.
Co-operatives are not companies with
social responsibility, we are the social
responsibility made enterprise.”
Alejandro Russo, president of the
Argentine confederation of mutual
p Ariel Guarco, president of Cooperar
businesses, also raised concerns over
the impact this legislation could have on
co-ops’ and mutuals’ ability to provide
services to members.
He said in a statement before the Senate
Budget and Finance Committee: “It is
punishing entities with greater wealth,
whose only sin was to strengthen their
assets to provide more security to their
members and respond to eventual claims
or requirements.”
Similar legislation calling for removing
the exemption to pay tax on profit for
co-operatives and mutuals was rejected
by parliament last year.
JANUARY 2019 | 19

NEW ZEALAND
Fonterra reports on sustainability efforts
New Zealand dairy co-op Fonterra
has released its second Sustainability
Report, which reveals progress across
its environmental, social and economic
goals, but says more needs to be done.
The co-op recently formed a
sustainability advisory panel, and
says its approach is focused on three
pillars: health and wellbeing through
its products and service; a healthy
environment for farming and society;
and prosperity for its farmers and wider
communities.
In 2018 the co-op reached its target for
reformulating its products to nutritional
guidelines. It now has 71% of its everyday
and advanced nutrition products
meeting its the guidelines – endorsed by
the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation –
in line with its target of 75% by 2020.
Fonterra can now electronically trace
92% of its products back to the source of
its milk. So far, 90% of its manufacturing
sites have been certified by an
independent third party to a leading food
safety management system, on target for
100% by 2019.
In 2018 the co-op delivered 1,000 Farm
Environment Plans (FEPs) and piloted a
climate action plan on 100 farms.
Around 53% of its farms have water
meters on significant water intakes (NZ),
a small increase from 51% in 2017. The
co-op wants to increase this to 85%.
Over 97% of its farms are participating
in nutrient management reporting and
benchmarking (NZ), but Fonterra was
hoping to achieve 100% by 2015.
Since 2015, the co-op achieved a 3%
reduction in absolute manufacturing
GHG emissions. It aims for these
emissions to fall by 30% by 2020.
Fonterra also launched Cared for Cows
Standard, to bring an independently
verified certification to the way its
farmers treat their herds every day.
To support local communities,
Fonterra has agreed a target for diversity
and inclusion, introduced a family
violence support initiative and delivered
more than 20m of free portions of dairy
nutrition for New Zealand children.
Female representation in senior
leadership stands at 30%, with a target
of 50% set for 2022. Similarly, ethnic
representation is at 9%, with the
objective of reaching 20% by 2022.
Fonterra’s return on capital stood at
6.3%, down from 8.3% the previous year.
“Sustainability is not a long-term
goal – it is an infinite one. Every year of
work that we report represents a small
step along the way,” said chair John
Monaghan and CEO Miles Hurrell.
Meanwhile, Fonterra has topped a list
of the 40 highest earning co-ops, mutuals
and societies in New Zealand, based on
2017/2018 revenues.
The 40 businesses on the list
generated over $NZ48.bn (£26bn) in
revenues over their respective 2017/18
financial years, equating to 16%
of New Zealand’s GDP.
Grocery distributor and retailer
Foodstuffs New Zealand took second and
third place with their North and South
Island based co-ops; kiwi fruit producer
Zespri was fourth and rural supplier
Farmlands Co-operative came fifth.
New Zealand Alliance Group enters UK market
New Zealand farm co-op Alliance has
partnered with Classic Fine Foods to
distribute its Pure South range across
southern England and the Midlands.
London-based distributor Classic Fine
Foods is expanding its courier network to
enable 48-hour delivery.
Donna Smith, Alliance UK and Europe
sales director, said: “We are delighted to
partner with Classic Fine Foods. They
are a trusted brand to deliver innovative
and artisan products into fine dining
establishments.”
Alliance is one of the world’s largest
lamb producers and also produces beef
and venison. With a turnover of NZ$1.8bn
(£996m), it is owned by 5,000 farmer
members and exports to 65 countries.
Through this partnership, Alliance
will supply lamb and venison to highend
restaurants, hotels, department
stores and gourmet food outlets. The
Pure South range also includes the
co-op’s recently launched Te Mana
lamb, a 21-day aged, premium lamb
that has been bred in the New Zealand
high country as part of a ten-year
programme. The lamb presents naturally
elevated levels of Omega-3 due to an
intramuscular fat.
Pure South’s Te Mana lamb and Silere
Alpine Merino are free-range, grass-fed,
GMO free and raised without antibiotics.
Emma Scott Aiton, sales director at
Classic Fine Foods said: “Classic Fine
Foods has always built its success on
having the right partners, and Alliance
is no exception. We look forward to a
prosperous future working alongside
Alliance and their premium lamb brands.
“Together we are building a
partnership that chefs can rely on for
top quality, specialist knowledge and
flexibility. We have no doubt that we will
have sensational results together.”
20 | JANUARY 2019

Lending fintech bought up for the credit union sector
CUNA Mutual Group – insurance and
technology provider to credit unions –
has acquired Oregon-based Mirador, a
fintech startup operating a digital small
business lending platforms. Mirador’s
digital lending platform enables banks
and credit unions to decide on loans
within 24 hours or less. It works with
financial institutions across the USA.
Co-operation amongst national co-op bodies
p Barcelona’s kiosks could find a new use
SPAIN
Kiosk revival
to bring opportunities
for disabled workers
A co-operative of 25 people with
disabilities will operate 10 disused
newspaper stands in Barcelona under an
initiative by the city council.
The three year pilot scheme aims
to create new business models for the
stands and integrate more people with
disabilities into the workforce. The stands
will open next summer after a six-month
training period for co-op members, who
will decide how to use each stand.
The 25 co-op members have a range of
disabilities, including physical, visual,
hearing and mental health. They will
have a number of different roles within
the co-operative, such as co-op coordinator,
administrative support and
kiosk manager.
The co-op’s members will look after
business plans, business model and
operation of the stands – allowing
them to work in a city where only 25%
of working age people with disabilities
have jobs.
Laia Ortiz, Barcelona’s deputy mayor
for social rights, said the co-operative
will be established as a labour integration
company, so it must have at least 30%
of its workforce at risk of social exclusion.
The city’s health commissioner, Gemma
Tarafa, added: “This initiative will allow
us to have more and better opportunities
for people with disabilities.”
Confecoop, Colombia’s apex body for
co-ops, and Coopermondo – part of
Confcooperative, Italy’s sector body –
have strengthened their co-operation
agreement. This will see them continue
projects which have helped quinoa, coffee,
sugar, fruit and aquaculture workers in
Colombia, as well as victims of conflict,
displaced people and ex-combatants.
Mondragon composes co-operative ‘soundtrack’
Mondragon Corporation, the federation
of worker co-operatives based in the
Basque region of Spain, has created a
‘soundtrack’ to the co-op experience
as part of a collaborative musical and
cultural project. Musician Fernando
Velázquez and lyricist Jon Sarasua were
just two of many collaborators on the
project, which has also had input from
numerous ‘bertsolaris’.
Consolidation boosts number of €100m CUs in Ireland
The number of Irish credit unions with
more than €100m in assets has doubled in
the past five years to 54. The credit unions
make up 57% of the total of €17.6bn of
assets in the sector, said the Central Bank.
The news follows rapid consolidation
which saw the number of credit unions
falling from nearly 400 to 250 since 2013.
Costa Rican co-op honoured for disability work
A co-operative in San José, Costa Rica, has
received a Global Recognition Award from
the United Nations for integrating people
with disabilities in the labour market.
Coopesuperación took home the award in
the Recruitment and Selection category.
The business runs two customer service
centres with 71 employees.
JANUARY 2019 | 21

MEET...
Meet ... Jane Avery,
vice president of the Central
England Co-operative
Jane Avery serves as vice president of the Central England Co-operative,
having joined the board in 2015. Her day-to-day job is also related to
co-operatives – she works as business development officer at the
Co-operative and Social Enterprise Development Agency. In addition
to her involvement in the co-op sector, she is chair of Leicester Rape
Crisis, a charity providing therapeutic services for women and girls who
have experienced sexual abuse.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE
CO-OPERATIVE SECTOR?
I became a member of the board of the Central
England Co-operative in May 2015. I stood for
election and was successful so I am now a board
member. In May this year I became vice president.
My experience with co-ops started when I left
school in 1978 and became an employee of the
former Derby society as management trainee. I
knew absolutely nothing about co-ops and it was
very different to me to work for one, compared to
working as a student at Sainsbury’s. It was just
another shop for me at the time.
HOW WAS IT DIFFERENT?
At the induction meetings that happened over
a week we were introduced to all the different
departments within the society – food, non
food, bakery, floristry, funerals and the services
offered, HR, property and so on. At the final
session on the Friday afternoon there was a
presentation by a member relations officer. That
person talked about the history of the co-op, the
co-operative having a different sort of structure,
with ownership based on membership and
how we could become members. I was sold on
the story.
CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR
WORK IN THE CHARITY SECTOR?
In my spare time I volunteer with an organisation
called Leicester Rape Crisis. I am the chair of the
trustees there and we provide services in Leicester
for about 450 women a year who are survivors of
sexual abuse. Some of it is signposting them to
the different services they need, and some of it is
providing therapeutic counselling services. These
are often provided in the NHS, but they tend to be
generic services rather than specialised ones and,
of course, there is a really long waiting list so we
are trying to fill that gap.
DO YOU THINK THERE IS A ROLE FOR CO-OPS TO
PLAY IN SUPPORTING THIS?
Central England Co-op awarded the charity a
community dividend – it used that to refurbish the
THERE IS A PERCEPTION THAT TO BE GOOD
IN BUSINESS YOU HAVE TO HAVE MALE
CHARACTERISTICS. THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY
THE CASE AT ALL, AND THIS IS JUST ONE WAY
OF HELPING TO BREAK OUT BARRIERS.
22 | JANUARY 2019

news
01
www.thenews.coop
news Issue #7288 OCTOBER 2017
Co
building and make it a pleasant environment. A lot
of the values of the organisation, such as help and
care for others, are values that it shares with the
co-op movement. It is a charity though, it isn’t a
co-op and sometimes we have to recognise that
there is a role for charities. Co-ops are commercial
businesses and you wouldn’t want to have a
situation where providing support for victims of
sexual abuse is a commercial activity. There is a
difference but there are also shared values.
IS EMPOWERING OTHER WOMEN A RECURRING
THEME IN YOUR DAILY JOB AS WELL?
Plus ... The Alliance’s
2017 Global Conference...
Co-op development in
Malawi... Celebrating
Social Saturday
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
www.thenews.coop
In my day job – when I am not at Central England
Co-operative or at Rape Crisis – I am a coowner
of the Co-operative and Social Enterprise
Development Agency. A lot of the support we give
to people who want to set up a business is to
women. It’s less so now, but still is the case that
sometimes women want to set up a business
and want some support but find that it is a bit
intimidating. So we aim to provide training
sessions or advice sessions that are specifically run
by and for women.
This creates a really strong trust base where
women aren’t going to be judged because there is
a perception that to be ‘good’ in business you have
to have male characteristics. It is not necessarily
the case at all, but it is just one way of helping to
break down barriers. So we do support women
into business a lot but our focus is on developing
co-ops and businesses that have profit with
purpose – so some social enterprises as well.
news Issue #7291 JANUARY 2018
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
OCTOBER 2017
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Plus ... Helping
Looking ahead to 2018
... Working for gender
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for homeless veterans
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TOGETHER
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help refugees ... A short
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... Why Quakers didn’t
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MARCH 2018
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Are credit unions
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Plus ... Helping
Updates from the 6th Ways
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Financial inclusion... The
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NOVEMBER 2017
IMPACT
How much do
co-ops give back
to communities?
Plus ... Helping
tea farmers to unite
... Jeremy Corbyn on
co-ops ... Get set
for Christmas
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E
Co-o
Princip
in action
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MAY 2018
GOVERNANCE
A spotlight on
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it differently
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ty results updates
01
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AUGUST 2018
GOING FOR
GROWTH
How to help the
movement thrive
Plus ... 150 years of
Radstock ... Using spoken
word to tell the co-op
story ... Lessons from US
worker co-ops
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Tu
ahea
Co-oper
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SEPTEMBER 2018
VALUES
Are co-op values
losing ground as
businesses grow?
Plus ... Meet Tamworth
Co-op’s Julian Coles ...
Updates from OPEN 2018
... Social Business Wales
Conference: a preview
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FEBRUARY 2018
FUTURE
OF WORK
The challenges
facing workers
and co-ops
Plus ... Helping
Meet new global co-op
chief ... Get promoting
Fairtrade ... History of
community business
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What politicians
are offering and
what co-ops want
Plus... ... A governance guide
... Mixing co-operation
and tech for strength
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JANUARY 2019 | 23
ISSN 0009-9821
www.thenews
.20

YOUR VIEWS
RE: DISTRIBUTION OF WHITE POPPIES IN
SCHOOLS CAUSES CONTROVERSY
The Women’s Co-operative Guild decided
to wear the white poppy as a peace
demonstration at the 1933 armistice
remembrance service as they felt that the
original meaning of the red poppy – ‘Never
Again’ – was being lost. They also wanted
a symbol that would remember all those
affected by war.
The head of the Guild wrote to the British
Legion to ask them to make both red and
white poppies and she suggested that all
profits from sales of the white poppy go to
the same armed forces charities as those
from the sale of the red poppy (this is
documented in a Daily Herald newspaper
article from 1933).
At the time, the Women’s Co-operative
Guild had a membership of more than
72,000 women many of whom had lost
their sons and husbands in WWI. But
they did not even receive a reply from the
British Legion.
The Guild decided to make their own
white poppies and chose their own causes
and charities to send the money to. The
white poppy is a symbol of peace adopted
by women who felt very strongly that they
wanted an end to all wars and that the
original meaning of the red poppy was
being subtly changed over the years to a
symbol that supports militarism.
The PPU only started to take part in the
distribution of the white poppy in 1936.
The British Legion could have supported
the Women’s Co-operative Guild which
would have changed everything but chose
instead to ignore tens of thousands of
women who were themselves directly
affected by the horrors of war.
Some of the comments around this issue
are ill-informed and are an insult to the
thousands of mothers who lost their sons
in WWI and to the many wives who lost
their husbands.
Betty Samba
via website
AT WHAT POINT DOES SIZE MATTER?
It is vexing that our Phone Co-op has
been swallowed into Midcounties which,
in my view, is too big already. How many
years will it be before Midcounties has a
CWS-style disaster?
Mr Hodges
Shrewsbury
RE: CO-OP GROUP MEMBERS WILL
NO LONGER EARN POINTS FROM
CO-OPERATIVE BANK PRODUCTS
Time to switch accounts to Nationwide
I think!
Christopher Rawlinson
via Facebook
So, what bank will enable us to earn Co-op
Group points?
John Morton,
via Facebook
ARE CO-OP FUNERALS THE PEOPLE’S
FRIEND?
When my brother died, his widow insisted
we went to the Co-op Funeralcare, because
you can trust them.
They were very nice and already had his
body (quite confusing how). She agreed
to the simplest funeral and it cost £3,000,
which she didn’t have. I asked around and
news Issue #7295 MAY 2018
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
Have your say
Add your comments to our stories
online at www.thenews.coop, get
in touch via social media, or send
us a letter. If sending a letter, please
include your address and contact
number. Letters may be edited
and no longer than 350 words.
Co-operative News, Holyoake
House, Hanover Street,
Manchester M60 0AS
letters@thenews.coop
@coopnews
Co-operative News
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Social Saturday
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found the equivalent for £1,700 but she
was too upset to change.
When they asked for the money she
asked me how she was going to pay for it.
She had nothing except widow’s benefit.
My sisters and I ended up paying the
bill to get the Co-op off her back.
So no, the Co-op Funeralcare is not
the peoples friend, it is, in my view, a
manipulative cash cow for the senior
management.
Bob Cannell
via Facebook
JANUARY 2018 Connecting, championing, cha lenging
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... W
equal
for home
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Issue #7299
SEPTEMBER 2018
24 | JANUARY 2019
VALUES
Are co-op values
losing ground as
businesses grow?
Plus ... Meet Tamworth
Co-op’s Julian Coles ...
Updates from OPEN 2
... Social Business
Conference: a pr
ISSN 0009-9821
9 77000

9 770009 982010
www.thenews.c
news Issue #7290 DECEMBER 2017
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
news
DECEMBER 2017
TOGETHER
Diversity hailed
at Global ICA
conference
Plus ... How co-ops
help refugees ... A short
history of co-operation
... Why Quakers didn’t
go co-op in business
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
www.thenews.coop
£4.20
news Issue #7289 NOVEMBER 2017
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
NOVEMBER 2017
news
IMPACT
How much do
co-ops give back
to communities?
Plus ... Helping
tea farmers to unite
... Jeremy Corbyn on
co-ops ... Get set
for Christmas
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
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Issue #7299 SEPTEMBER 2018 Connecting, championing, cha lenging
VA
Are co
losing gr
businesses
Plus ... Meet Tamwo
Co-op’s Julian Coles ...
Updates from OPEN 2018
... Social Business Wales
Conference: a preview
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
www.thenews.coop
£4.20
news
Issue #7291
JANUARY 2018
news
LEADERSHIP
Finding the route
to collective
decision-making
Plus ... Helping
Looking ahead to 2018
orking for gender
ity ... Co-housing
less veterans
01
£4.20
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Connecting, championing, cha lenging
MARCH 2018
CREDIT
UNIONS
Are credit unions
ready to embrace
new technology?
Plus ... Helping
Updates from the 6th Ways
Forward conference ...
Financial inclusion... The
Fairtrade Shopper Report ...
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
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sed Member Pioneers ...
International credit union
updates .
news Issue #7294 APRIL 2018
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
APRIL 2018
EDUCATION
Co-op learning:
Principle 5
in action
Plus ... 150 years
of East of England ...
and updates from the
Co-op Retail and Abcul
conferences
ISSN 0009-9821
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so
ISSN 0009-9
Issue #7292
OF WORK
The challenges
facing workers
and co-ops
news
FEBRUARY 2018
FUTURE
news Issue #7298 AUGUST 2018
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
AUGUST 2018
GOING FOR
GROWTH
How to help the
movement thrive
Plus ... 150 years of
Radstock ... Using spoken
word to tell the co-op
story ... Lessons from US
worker co-ops
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
www.thenews.coop
£4.20
news Issue #7296 JUNE 2018
Connecting, championing, cha lenging
JUNE 2018
SUSTAINABILITY
How co-ops are
working towards
the Sustainable
Development Goals
Plus ... Q&A with
fiction writer Cadwell
Turnbull ... and looking
ahead to Congress and
Co-operatives Fortnight
ISSN 0009-9821
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9 770009 982010
www.thenews.coop
£4.20
MAY 2018 Connecting, championing, cha lenging
Plus ... He
Meet new g
chief ...
Fairtr
com
BRUARY 2018 Connecting, champio

Suma Wholefoods launches
new branding that emphasises
its co-operative ethos
A new look has been unveiled by Suma Wholefoods
to freshen up its brand, stress its co-op credentials
and create more consistency across its range.
The worker co-op, based in Elland, East
Yorkshire, brought in London design agency
Pearlfisher to work on its new visual identity after
deciding its packaging was not as slick as that of
its competitors.
“We’ve not looked holistically at our brand
for some time now,” says Suma’s Sheree Hatton.
“We’ve been tweaking it here and there as we’ve
brought out new products, which means it’s
become inconsistent.”
The co-op, which formed in 1977 and now has
around 160 worker-owners and annual revenues
of about £40m, decided to find a new look after
carrying out a brand audit. Consultants from
Pearlfisher visited Suma to speak to its customerfacing
teams, and to old and new staff, to find out
what Suma meant to them and what they thought
of its existing branding.
They also spoke to customers for feedback
on why they shop with Suma and how their
experience could be improved.
“People identified the inconsistency of our
design and packaging,” says Ms Hatton. “They
were not sure what the leaves or petals in our
branding were; there was not as much brand
equity in the logo as we expected.”
In response, Pearlfisher came up with a suite
of shapes which can be used individually but
which also come together to form a logo. The
logo itself features the wording: ‘Co-operative
since 1977’.
“They called it ‘sum of our parts’, which fits in
with the way Suma works,” Ms Hatton explains.
“We work together individually as members and
come together as Suma. It’s not too obscure for
people not looking for a concept, but for people
who are looking for a concept, we can tell them
that story.”
The new look also features a short message
highlighting Suma’s ethos.
It reads: “We are Suma. A co-operative of
ordinary people built on integrity and equality for
more than 40 years. We’re committed to sourcing
the most delicious and sustainable products,
inspiring change for good.”
This refreshes the Suma story for customers,
says Ms Hatton, adding a level of consistency.
“It will be on every product we launch. We will talk
more openly about the provenance of a product,
and we will be more open and strong-minded
about voicing those ethics.”
Although this aspect of the rebranding
emphasises Suma’s worker co-op status, the
team opted not to incorporate the Coop Marque,
created as an internationally recognised logo for
26 | JANUARY 2019

The new design represents the structure of the co-op, with each part coming together to make the entire logo
co-operatives. Ms Hatton said the team wanted to
keep the new look as clear and simple as possible –
and regulations mean Suma already has to include
a lot of food-related information on its packaging.
“Our print material and other supporting
material will include the Coop Marque,” she says,
“But there’s less space on our packaging because
there’s other things that we need to have on there
– and we want to keep it looking clean.”
Suma is keen for the new look to emphasise
its co-op difference as a unique selling point, at
a time when supermarkets, multinationals and
other rivals from the conventional business sector
are developing similar lines, including vegan
and gluten-free ranges. “We’re pushing the co-op
angle to the fore,” she says. “In our brand audit,
not everybody knew we were a co-op, which is a
bit embarrassing.”
Ms Hatton says reaction to the new look has
been “very enthusiastic and positive” among the
co-op’s worker owners, although the lead up to the
launch week (14 Dec) was a very busy one, with
branded T shirts and new business cards being
handed out, and Suma’s website and social media
channels being updated, including the adoption of
a new in-house font, Montserrat.
“As we launch people will see the logo changing
– we will be doing posts around the new change
and the reasons for it. We hope it brings more
colour to our shelves and brings more interest as
it takes our message back into the high streets.
We’ve gone for bringing in more colour, making it
more modern, to stand out.
“We work closely with our suppliers so we’ve
sent them a press release on this - telling them that
they will see us changing.”
Although the launch was in mid-December, the
rollout will be a gradual process because Suma is
keen to keep waste to a bare minimum.
“We’re rolling it out on products as we re-order
them,” Ms Hatton adds. “People received our
new-look price lists in December, and the logo will
be rolled out across our trucks in December and
January. January is when we will start to see it on
products out there.”
JANUARY 2019 | 27

New year,
new co-ops
In March 2018, a report from the Centre for Cities
thinktank highlighted how UK cities in the north
and the Midlands have, since the turn of the
century, been transformed by a period of rapid
regeneration. In that time, population and jobs
growth has far exceeded that of London – as much
as six times faster, in some cases.
When measured by a combination of jobs and
population increase, Manchester saw the fastest
city centre growth in England and Wales in the
period 2002-2015, followed closely by Leeds,
Birmingham and Liverpool. London came 20th.
“This urban renaissance has brought
opportunities for people living across these cities
and their surrounding areas, and it’s vital that it
continues,” says Andrew Carter, chief executive
of Centre for Cities. The focus and conclusion
of the report at the time was on the need for cities
“to take tough decisions on how to sustain the
growth of their commercial centres, while also
providing the homes their residents need”.
But another opportunity for the communities in
these cities is a co-operative one.
During the same period, UK sector body
Co-operatives UK has noticed a significant rise
in the number of co-ops starting up, developing
and growing in communities in Manchester,
Birmingham and Liverpool, which are pioneering
a different way of doing business – one which puts
members at their heart.
This issue, we’re highlighting some of the
co-operative organisations in these areas – and
looking at some newer co-ops working to change
ways of working in other sectors.
28 | JANUARY 2019

Birmingham
Stirchley is a district in the south west
of Birmingham, recently described by the
media as “the most up and coming area in
the city”. It borders boho Kings Heath and
genteel Bournville and, according to those
who live there, has a “relaxed community vibe
and blossoming independent scene”. Part of
the success of this scene is down to the growth
Loaf Bakery
Loaf is a bakery and cookery school in Stirchley,
founded in 2009 and organised as a workers’
co-operative. There are nine members of staff, six
of whom are directors. The co-op aims to promote
real food and healthy living in Birmingham, and
build community through food.
“This means bringing forgotten food skills
and real food back to our kitchens through our
cookery courses, community bakery and popup
events, and helping to restore our local high
street at the same time,” says the co-op. “Any
profit made through these projects is directed
towards furthering Loaf’s social objectives. Loaf
believes everyone has the right to eat real food.”
Any leftovers are distributed to local communities
through the Real Junk Food Project, The Big Issue,
and other charities in Birmingham.
The organisation’s Real Food Manifesto
states that “Real food is food that has a small
environmental impact, is authentic, slow, honest,
traditional, healthy, simple, innovative, and
artisan,” and sets out the co-op's beliefs in the
importance of community, connection, ethics
and change.
Children’s Quarter
Also based in Stirchley is Children’s Quarter.
Founded in 2017, it’s a co-operative of groups which
are committed to creating inclusive opportunities
for children, young people and their families who
are currently socially isolated because of factors
such as disability and mental ill-health. “We want
a society in which including everyone is seen as
the starting point; not as an add-on project,” the
organisation states.
It’s not just formal service providers that can
join the co-op; any group that provides services
to children and young people and are committed
to social inclusion are welcome to join as full
members of the co-op, while individuals who
support its aims are able to join Children’s Quarter
as supporters. Other organisations that support its
aims can join as associates.
of independent co-ops serving different needs
of the local community.
Birmingham Bike Foundry and the
Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative are
both in the area, while Loaf, Glue Collective,
the Old Works, Artisan Essential and Children’s
Quarter have sprung up nearby over the
past decade.
The Old Print Works
Up the road from Stirchley, towards the city
centre, is Badsall Heath, one of Birmingham’s
most deprived areas. It is here that you’ll find
The Old Print Works – a building that is home to
vibrant intercultural community engagement and
sustainable arts practice. Tenants include a cafe,
events spaces, a community garden as well as
studio spaces for ceramicists, carpenters, cabinet
makers, photographers, fashion designers and
arts educators.
In 2016, the building’s tenants wanted to take
over the building to cement the Old Print Works
as a thriving hub for arts engagement, sustainable
living, civic cohesion and job creation. They
applied to Co-operatives UK’s co-op development
project, the Hive, to get support to set up as a
co-operative, including one-to-one advice on the
best structure to pursue.
“Accessing support through the Hive marked
a huge step forward for our newly forming
co-operative,” said Tessa Burwood from
Professional Incredibles, which runs Gaia’s
Garden at the Old Print Works. “By collectivising
through a democratic legal structure, we can
streamline decision-making, really get to grips
with improvements to the Old Print Works and
develop our offer to the neighbourhood.
“It will help us to achieve a real sense of shared
ownership and security for all those who occupy
the space, creating one point of contact, and
strength in numbers. It will also ready us to access
revenue streams specifically geared towards
co-operatives, which will help us to build on this
resilient, agile and talented community.”
Written by
Rebecca Harvey
JANUARY 2019 | 29

Glue Collective
Outside of Stirchley, the Glue Collective is a
group of makers, artists, community workers
and horticulturists who officially became
a co-operative in 2017.
“As a co-operative our objectives for GLUE
are about bringing together a collective
of people seeking to address current and emerging
environmental, social, health and economic
challenges in our local communities,” says
the organisation.
For them, this involves the development
of educational activities, the manufacture
and sale of green products and creating
opportunities for training, volunteering and
employment. One of their current projects is
the Glue Garden, formed when they took over a
wasteland. Now a community garden, it is used
to grow food and run workshops and events
throughout the year. They are also working on
redeveloping an ancient woodland just outside
of Birmingham as a retreat and have set up
an Allotment in a Box scheme helping people
to grow fruit and vegetables all year round in
small spaces.
Manchester
Home of the Co-operative Group’s head office
and a stone’s throw from Rochdale (often hailed
as the birthplace of modern co-operation,
Manchester has also seen new co-ops emerging,
with people and communities take ownership of
their own solutions to different issues. Two new
– but very differing – examples in this city are
the Friends of Stretford Hall and Projekts MCR.
Friends of Stretford Public Hall
The story of Stretford Public Hall is an inspiring
one: a group of people banding together to buy a
derelict building, and along the way rediscovering
the community it was built to serve 150 years ago.
The hall was originally built as a library for the
local Stretford community in 1878 by John Rylands,
a local philanthropist, aka ‘The Cotton King’ and
Manchester’s first multi-millionaire. After decades
of community use, the hall closed in 2012. Then, in
2015, the Friends of Stretford Public Hall (FOSPH)
was formed to take on the ownership and running
of the building for the benefit of the community.
FOSPH is a charitable community benefit society
that is democratically run by its members on a
one-member one-vote basis.
In 2017, FOSPH launched a community share
offer to raise £250,000 to fund the next phase
of refurbishment, transforming the Victorian
ballroom so it could host a range of cultural and
community events – and generate sufficient
income to run the hall sustainably. The offer raised
over £255,000 from more than 800 members, with
the first £100,000 matched by Power to Change.
Today, the ballroom is used for everything
from yoga and a community choir to a cinema,
weddings and creative classes – while the hall
is also home to affordable workspace studios for
artists and a co-working space in the Lofthouse for
creatives and start-ups.
“What we could see in the hall was the real
opportunities it presented to the community, and
the real strength of feeling,” says Dan Williamson,
a founding member and trustee at FOSPH.
“It was a real opportunity for the community
to take control of a significant asset that would
greatly benefit the future of the community and
give the community a real stake in the area.”
The story of Stretford Public Hall was featured
in the Community Business Fix Podcast in
October 2018. Listen at: soundcloud.com/
thecommunitybusinessfix
30 | JANUARY 2019

JANUARY 2019 | 31
JANUARY 2019 | 31

Projekts MCR
At first glance, wasteland under the Mancunian
Way flyover, on the edge of Manchester city
centre, seems an unusual place for a co-op to set
up shop. But that’s exactly what Projekts MCR
did in 2004, with the aim of developing people
and places through skateboarding and other
skatepark activities.
“We managed to transform disused land under
a flyover into a space that is a hive of community
activity,” says chief executive John Haines.
“We’re here to support and care for people and
welcome people regardless of their background.
We set up as a co-operative because it seemed to
be suitable for a group of people that all had a
shared purpose.”
It’s a not-for-profit Co-operative and Community
Benefit Society that is focused on making
skateboarding accessible to under-represented
groups, particularly people living in areas of
high deprivation, girls and women and people
with disabilities. Over the past 14 years the
organisation has used skateboarding to enrich
the lives of over 20,000 people, mainly children
and young people. The skatepark sees over 18,000
visits a year and Projekts MCR now delivers over
20 coaching sessions a week to schools and youth
related groups in Greater Manchester.
In December, the co-op launched a new
crowdfunding community share offer to expand
the skating area, incorporate a cafe and community
area and add in a spectator viewing platform.
Liverpool
Down the M62 from Manchester lies Liverpool,
a city with a proud co-op heritage of its own,
symbolised by the Liver Buildings, built
to house the member-owned Royal Liver
Assurance Group. Today, a new generation of
small community co-ops is springing up, such
as Kitty’s Laundrette – named after a heroine of
the city’s activist history – and Homebaked.
Kitty’s Laundrette
In 1842, Kitty Wilkinson, an Irish immigrant,
helped establish the UK’s first public washhouse,
in the Everton/Anfield area of Liverpool. Fastforward
to 2016, and the idea of an eco-laundrette
named in her honour started to take shape: a
social enterprise providing affordable washing
and drying facilities to the local community.
Over the next two years, a small team of local
residents managed to secure funding to develop
a detailed business plan, enhance the capacity
and skills of the team and secure the building for
its continued use. In 2018, the team launched a
kickstarter to give the project a final push.
“The money generated through this Kickstarter
will go towards renovating the laundry room into
a welcoming, accessible and versatile community
space,” said the co-op, which managed to raise
£20,382 from 366 backers.
“We feel the laundrette has the potential to
create interactions across groups within our
diverse local community. We want to shape an
engaging program of creative and social activities
with local residents and people from the city region
alike. These could be exhibitions, film screenings,
craft clubs, poetry nights, discursive events, social
history projects and more.
“The laundrette will provide affordable,
environmental and essential services to the
community while being the self sustaining
business which underpins all other activity.”
Homebaked
Kitty’s Laundrette has another co-op neighbour:
Homebaked, which is a community land trust and
co-operative bakery, based opposite Liverpool
Football Club.
The project is co-owned and co-produced by
people who live and work in the area.
“Starting from having saved our iconic
neighbourhood bakery from demolition and
developing it into a thriving community-run
business with a beautiful apartment above, we are
proposing to regenerate our high street ‘brick by
brick and loaf by loaf’, using money that is spent in
the neighbourhood to benefit our communities,”
says the co-op.
“This work is based on the simple belief that we
all deserve to live well. For us that means good
jobs, secure homes, great food and welcoming
spaces to meet, share stories, learn and celebrate.”
In April 2018, the organisation finished the
refurbishment of the apartment above the bakery,
and in November received news that Liverpool
City Council would support the CLT's proposal for
bringing the empty houses next to the bakery back
to life.
32 | JANUARY 2019

JANUARY 2019 | 33

Can FairBnB become a platform
for community-powered tourism?
Written by
Anca Voinea
A group of activists is launching an alternative
platform for person-to-person vacation rentals
called FairBnB.
The new platform plans to compete with Airbnb,
the world’s largest accommodation provider, while
promoting community-powered tourism.
At the moment, FairBnB is owned and run by
a worker co-op with eight members including
coders, researchers and designers. One of them
is Sito Veracruz, a 31-year old with a background
in law and urban planning based in Amsterdam.
He says the project was born out of the belief that
vacation rental is an activity that needs to be
properly regulated.
“The idea came up within an advocacy group,
Fair City, a federation of local neighbourhood
associations, working on social housing and
other issues. One of the working groups was about
vacation rent.”
Looking at concerns over existing platforms
regarding data transparency and regulatory
Sito Veracruz (centre) with four other members
of FairBnB in front of their office in Bologna
compliance, the team decided to set up their own
platform, and settled on the co-op model as best
suited to their ethos.
After working on the platform for the past four
years, the group intends to launch it in May, in
five European cities – Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Bologna, Valencia and Venice.
Mr Veracruz says there are several hundred
hosts signed up to the project. “This is a new
approach and there’s a lot of work to do, but we are
very happy with how it’s going.”
Short-term rentals have been criticised for
their impact on affordable housing stock. In
Amsterdam they are limited to 60 days a year
while in Barcelona they require licensing and no
new licences are being issued to keep the longterm
supply of property available to local people.
In recent years, Airbnb has found itself in
disputes with municipal authorities around the
world over tax requirements, rules enforcement or
the advertising of unlicensed properties.
To avoid such issues, FairBnB says it will verify
that every single host is legally allowed to rent out
his or her space according to local law.
“We’re working with communities and the
municipalities on these issues,” says Mr Veracruz.
“We want people to be part of the business.
We are born as a reaction to what is happening
in rentals; we want our users to know we are
committed to legality, we want to apply regulations
to the platform and we take this into consideration
when accepting a host.”
The FairBnB team has several experts on tourism
data and legislation, he adds. “We’re aware of
restrictions in each city and we’re working with
them – we want to stay up to date with regulations
so we can apply them and help cities regulate in
the proper way.”
The co-op is also committing to opening
data and compliance with local and regional
legislation and pledges to pay taxes at local level.
The platform will have a strict one host, one home
policy to prevent any users from listing multiple
properties – a measure already adopted by Airbnb
in certain cities in response to local rules.
FairBnB is also keen to mitigate some of the
effects of tourism and the associated gentrification
on cities.
“We can be a tool against gentrification if used
properly,” says Mr Veracruz, “but citizens and
governments are the ones who can tackle it.
“Local cities can say they if don’t want rentals
or want to limit them. It’s not in our hands – we
34 | JANUARY 2019

can support these measures but it’s really down to
the government.
“I am an urban planner by background so
I understand the effects of vacation rent in
neighbourhoods; I understand that municipalities
need to set limits, and as a platform we will
encourage cities to set plans and be a part of that
– we are part of an anti-gentrification consortium
in Valencia.”
FairBnB also wants to reinvest 50% of profits
in social projects that counter the negative effects
the industry. Locals will vote to support projects
like food co-ops, playgrounds, green projects or
community cafés.
It also plans to open membership of the co-op
to other stakeholders, such as hosts, guests, local
business owners and neighbours to ensure that
everyone has a say in how it is run.
But both these initiatives are made difficult by
existing co-op law, says Mr Veracruz. “In Italy we
can’t, as a co-op, donate 50% of each commission
to local social cause. You can from a foundation or
limited company, but for co-ops it is very difficult.
I’m annoyed about this.
“In Italy and Spain, the regulation of co-ops is
also difficult. You can’t create a multi-stakeholder
from scratch. We are now a worker co-op – it’s
the easiest structure we could find. We would
like others to come in – hosts, neighbours etc –
but unfortunately that will be tricky. The co-op
sector is big and hyper-bureaucratised. It makes
it hard to proceed as a co-op –it would have been
easier to proceed as a limited company and that
is unacceptable. Ideologically it's important and
crucial for us; we don't regret it but we want to
improve it.”
Differences in national co-op law also mean
that all operations across Europe are registered in
Bologna, Italy, and FairBnB is not registered as a
European Co-operative Society, he adds.
Those interested in the platform can pre-register
their accommodation or project at fairbnb.coop.
Above: The co-op is
committing to opening
data and compliance
with local and regional
legislation and pledges to
pay taxes at local level
JANUARY 2019 | 35

Security for contractors through co-operation
Written by
Susan Press
A new co-operative offering security to those
at the sharp end of short-term contracts and
the expanding gig economy launches a unique
opportunity in 2019.
The Contractor Co-operative promises people
the chance to take control of their working lives in
a safe, convenient and community-led way. It will
also offer members something most contractors
lack: the opportunity
for full employment
status including sick
pay, maternity pay and
specialist accounting,
“ Evidence suggests that the
'gig economy' is here to stay
as it suits engagers who take
people on and workers who
want flexibility of employment”
legal and financial
guidance, along with
access to pension
advice and support.
There is another
key difference from its competitors in the
private sector: it pledges to be the antithesis of
other umbrella organisations through being
fully transparent to contractors and fully tax
compliant with the HMRC, ensuring that all
Fiona Webber
amounts paid to employees are fully taxed
and accounted for. And, as well as promising a
valuable resource of expertise and advice, the
co-op says it will provide a democratic platform for
sharing information and resources collectively in
a wide range of professions.
The past 20 years have seen an astonishing sea
change in the nature of work and in the number
of people without a
traditional employer.
According to the Office
of National Statistics,
the proportion of the
UK workforce that is
self-employed rose 26%
since 2001, while the
actual number of selfemployed
workers has
increased by 45%. So the advent of an idea like the
Contractor Co-operative is long overdue.
The idea for the co-op was conceived by
tax specialists WTT Consulting, which offers
contractors support with HMRC issues and
problems resulting from a raft of legislative
changes in recent years. These changes affect tax
liabilities for the growing number of people who
rely on contract and consultancy work – but who
may not understand the complexity of being fully
compliant with the rules.
In a risky field rife with payroll umbrella bodies
and third party agencies often avoiding tax and
making money out of individual contractors, they
decided the co-operative model would offer the
perfect structure to those who wish to remain a
part of the contractor market but avoid the pitfalls
of going it alone and engaging with companies
which often make money at their expense.
CEO of the Contractor Co-operative, Chris
Mattingly, has a wealth of experience in building
and managing successful businesses over the last
18 years, most recently in the insurance industry.
“Evidence suggests that the gig economy is here
to stay – it suits engagers who take people on, and
workers who want flexibility of employment,”
he says. “Accordingly, in an attempt to meet the
needs of their clients given the lack of quality
provision in the contractor market, the directors
of WTT Consulting began to consider whether they
could develop a safe solution.
“It seemed to us that a worker co-operative is
a perfect structure for those who are at the sharp
end of the working revolution. Where it comes into
play is providing a safe environment for them to
36 | JANUARY 2019

contract with clients so they get a fairer and better
deal than they would do at the moment.”
Currently there are two favoured models,
says Mr Mattingly: you can work through a
personal service company, or through a payroll
umbrella company.
“Traditional payroll umbrellas are in business
to make a profit for their shareholders at the
expense of their employees,” he explains. “While
the Contractor Co-operative seeks to be successful
and profitable, it exists first and foremost for the
benefit of its employees and members.
“The basis of how we have come into being is
to provide the individuals who have previously
worked through a payroll or personal service
company a safer way to contract, working in a
company with other like-minded contractors,
with all the benefits of ownership and community
that go with it.
“The individual will still be in charge of their
own destiny in terms of who they work for. However
the co-op is there to help them by entering into an
environment where they join us as an employee
with a supply framework that enables them to
contract with the Contractor Co-operative.”
Under the initiative, a proportion of each
member-contractor’s income will be retained
every month to meet co-operative purposes and
progress future projects. Each contractor will have
a vote at AGMs and have a say in how the business
is run. They will also have opportunity to stand for
the board.
The co-op already has an office up and running
in the Holborn area of London and a threestrong
management board led by Mr Mattingly,
comprising Fiona Webber, Graham Webber and
Rhys Thomas, which is responsible for day-today
operations. Its shareholder board will meet
as required to decide upon the strategic direction
of the business and pass on instructions to the
management board.
There is also an advisory panel of specialists
including WTT Consultants – and Co-operatives
UK, which offered help in setting up and
governance issues and now counts the co-op
among its members. Not-for-profit pension
provider The People’s Pension is also on board to
help members in need of advice.
At the moment it is still very early days for the
co-operative but Chris Mattingly is confident
about the prospects for the year ahead.
“While the idea was conceived at the end of 2017
it has taken us into the middle of this year to get the
correct structure so we can engage with clients,”
he says. “We are only a handful of members
at the moment so the key factor in 2019 for us is
going to be growth and we expect to be engaging
hundreds of contractors as we work towards 2020,
when we are expecting more legislative changes
from HMRC.
“The long game is that we would appeal to
everyone working in a contract situation. However
at the moment we are more likely to attract those
who are particularly targeted by HMRC and are
looking for new ways to contract.”
He adds: “We would like the whole ethos
of the co-operative to be the sense that it is a safe
community for contractors where everyone can be
a member and have a say rather than working for
a corporate body.
“Most contractors are isolated in their own
personal service company. This is giving them
similar benefits on a larger scale using our
community to share knowledge and information
as well as offering benefits like sick pay, holiday
pay and maternity leave. At the moment we expect
to be attracting people like professional project
managers, business analysts, engineers and IT
programmers but in the longer term it would
hopefully be more over-arching and include
people like teachers and healthcare workers.
“In the future we also expect to be very much
involved with apprenticeships. At the moment we
are too small for that but, as we start to grow, we
are looking to start apprenticeships and encourage
young people moving into the contractor
market so they do not make the mistakes others
have done.”
Chris Mattingly
JANUARY 2019 | 37

The Bristol Bike Project celebrates
years of empowering communities
2018 is a milestone year for the Bristol Bike
Project, a co-op that has helped more than 2,000
people from marginalised communities become
independently mobile and gain new skills.
The initiative took off in 2008 when founding
members James Lucas and Colin Fan started
repairing bikes and taking them to the Bristol
Refugee Rights centre, offering people an
affordable alternative to public transport.
A volunteer at the centre, Mr Lucas had
seen the challenges faced by disadvantaged
and marginalised people when trying to be
independently mobile, and he hit on the idea of
the Bike Project during a cycling tour of Norway.
“The seeds were sown during that four-week
trip,” he said, adding that “it became clear quite
quickly that there would be a group of people that
would really benefit from having a bike.”
After putting up posters asking for unwanted
bikes, they received donations from across
the city. The project soon outgrew its original
premises, a back garden in Montpelier and an old
horse stable on the outskirts of Bristol, and moved
into Hamilton House, a community art and social
space located in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol.
They expanded the workshop space, registered
as a Community Interest Company and set up a
trading arm to fund the charitable work. The co-op
now works with over 60 organisations across
the city, including Bristol Refugee Rights, Bristol
Drugs Project, Second Step, Unseen, and the Big
Issue, who refer people for its Earn a Bike scheme.
Participants in the Earn a Bike programme
take part in a one-to-one workshop with a co-op
mechanic to learn basic bike maintenance and
take away a free bike at the end of it. The scheme
includes a young person’s session and a womenonly
Freedom of Movement workshop.
The Women’s Night brings together around 13
people each week to share knowledge and skills in
a friendly atmosphere.
Freedom of Movement workshop attendee
Amintata Coulibali said: “I felt at home. Even
though I knew nothing about the bikes, they took
time to explain everything.”
The co-op gives out as many as eight bicycles
a week, and helps an average 30 people to repair
their bicycles via its Fix-a-Bike and After School
Bikes sessions.
It also runs maintenance courses for the public.
Each week six people can access the service, an
affordable way to learn bike mechanics skills.
Maintenance packages vary from £35 to £75;
a brake service or gear service is £18 while tyre
fitting costs £6. Mechanics are available for hire
via the Dr Bike service, with sessions priced at
£130 for up to four hours. Bikes are also up for sale
from £120. The funds raised support the co-op’s
community work.
Since March 2017, the co-op has been working
with Life Cycle UK to help 10 of its regular
volunteers gain a nationally recognised bike
mechanics qualification, free of charge.
The co-op has 170 members and over 100
volunteers, some of whom end up taking on
more responsibility or even taking jobs with the
38 | JANUARY 2019

organisation. “Almost everyone working here
now volunteered at some point,” says community
coordinator Krysia Williams. The co-op employs
18 people, most of them working part-time.
Members need to have volunteered at the co-op
more than twice a month for two months to
qualify to join. Financial contributions are not
required but current members need to nominate
prospective members.
In collaboration with Hengrove Family Cycling
Centre, the Bristol Bike Project is working with
seven different schools in some of the most
deprived parts of Bristol, delivering six-week bike
mechanics courses.
They also deliver at least 12 Community Dr Bikes
at events in Bristol every summer free of charge,
carrying out safety checks and keeping peoples’
bikes running smoothly.
Caroline Beatty, a former director of Bristol
Refugee Rights, thinks the project “has it all”.
She adds: “It’s a working community that boosts
skills and confidence, enables people to manage
poverty, blurs the line between helper and helped,
increases physical fitness, and reduces landfill
waste and dependence on fossil fuels.”
Sean, who was referred to Earn-a-Bike by Bristol
Drugs Project in 2010 and has remained involved
as a volunteer ever since, says having a bike and
being involved in the Project has changed his life.
“Finding the Project was such an important
part of my recovery,” he adds. “The bike keeps me
clean. But the best thing about this place is that it
is immediately welcoming. Anyone who has been
an addict will know just how important it is to be
accepted in that way.”
The model has inspired other communities
across the UK as well as in other countries. “We
get messages from people all the time asking how
to do the same; we get co-ops asking for advice
and receive inquiries from people who are running
other types of organisations who have seen what
we are doing,” says Ms Williams.
To mark its tenth anniversary, the co-op
released a video telling the story of some of the
volunteers and members involved in the project.
The short film was first shown on 8 November
as part of a celebratory event showcasing their
work. The event also featured an exhibition and
presentations from partner organisations and
people who benefited from the project.
The co-op plans to expand its projects around
young people and gender equality. For now it
is faced with the hurdle of having to find new
premises. “Our biggest priority is searching for
a new home. We would love to find a new space
where we can grow our projects, each programme
can be expanded,” says Ms Williams.
See the anniversary film and other clips at
thebristolbikeproject.org/films
Facing page: Members
of the Bristol Bike
Project celebrate their
anniversary
Above: Team members at
work at the co-op’s HQ
Can you help them find a new home?
Since it formed 10 years ago, the Bristol Bike
Project has been based at Hamilton House, a hub
for community activities run by social enterprise
Coexist. But Coexist has been forced to move, and
the co-op will have to find a new home in 2019.
“We are incredibly sad that we will no longer
be a part of the Coexist family here at Hamilton
House,” said the co-op on its website, “but we have
to see this change as an opportunity to grow the
project and boost our social impact.
“The project has gone from strength to strength,
and we are proud to operate a thriving community
workshop and a busy bike shop. We are determined
to keep serving our local community, but we need
all the help we can get to make sure we find the
best place to do this.”
Bristol Bike Project is looking for suitable spaces
anywhere in Bristol, which must be “accessible,
reasonably central and affordable”, adding it could
be forced to move as early as February and wants a
new site before then to ensure a smooth transition.
Currently its shop and workshop each occupy
approx 750 sq ft (1500 sq ft in total), with approx
900 sq ft externally for bike storage.
The co-op adds: “We are flexible and willing
to be creative with space, for example seeking
separate spaces for the shop and community
workshop) but wouldn’t want to constrain our
social impact or ability to generate revenue with
too small a space.”
Anyone who can help can contact the co-op at
hello@thebristolbikeproject.org
JANUARY 2019 | 39

Innovation, creativity and booming business
– the co-operative way
Written by
Jen Banks
Finding the similarities between the co-op
movement and Doctor Who, helping to give away
hundreds of thousands of pounds and being part
of an international project supporting refugee
children is all in a day’s work for the Creative Coop.
Formed in 2003, this Essex-based creative
agency was officially incorporated as a co-op in
2013. Specialising in branding, design and web
development, the Creative Coop born of a desire
to work within a fairer, more ethical business
model – and strip back the layers of hierarchy
often found in traditional creative agencies.
It’s the same reason creative director Ben Philp
left behind the world of big corporate clients,
struck out on his own and eventually joined the
Creative Coop – finding it a perfect match for
his values and desire to work in a more efficient
and satisfying way.
“Creative Coop works with clients who do
good,” he says. “Primarily, these include social
enterprises, charities, arts, the public sector,
community projects and other co-ops. I’ve also
found people in these organisations are more
enjoyable to work with.
“And having these kinds of clients means I’m
not asked to do things like produce a video putting
a spin on why palm oil ‘isn’t that bad’, as I’ve been
asked to do in the past.”
He adds: “It makes you feel happier in the
work you’re doing. Some agencies try to hide the
fact they work with tobacco companies or animal
testing laboratories. We are proud about what our
clients are trying to achieve and we are passionate
about helping them with creative solutions.”
With four hands-on worker members, and
numerous associates and freelancers, the Creative
Coop is a thriving business that proves ethical
can be profitable too. One thing that frustrated
the team about big agencies was the top-heavy
structure, with multiple layers of project managers
often coming between creatives and clients.
“We feel there’s not always a need to have
heavy project management and we prefer to work
directly with the client,” says Ben. “Depending
on the job, the project manager is often someone
who is working on the project in another capacity.
It’s a more efficient way of working. There are
fewer emails and no middle man.”
He also believes co-ops should be able to
compete on the same scale as private companies
– and that’s exactly what the Creative Coop does.
“We don’t rely on being a co-op, it’s about the
quality of what we produce. But the model can
give us an edge,” he says.
“Usually, we mention we’re a co-op at the start
of a pitch to a prospective client and we give them
40 | JANUARY 2019

some basics about what that means. Either they
understand and get it, or have no idea and ask
questions. Some people aren’t interested at all
– they judge us on the fact that we do good work.”
Save the Children is one of the clients the
Creative Coop has been working with for over a
decade. And it’s something they’re particularly
proud of. “It’s really rewarding to work on,”
says Ben. “We’ve done everything from visual
materials for events to branding, brochures,
online and more.”
Through this work, Ben and his colleagues
have become involved in an international project
– creating a website for the Initiative for Child
Rights in the Global Compacts. The Global
Compacts are two landmark agreements written in
2018 to show how countries from around the world
will aim to work together to support and protect
migrants and refugees.
“It’s about helping children and young people
who are displaced through conflicts and different
problems. They receive five times less education
because they’re refugees. So it’s important work,”
says Ben.
He’s particularly proud of the Creative Coop’s
project for the Shears Foundation. Creating
diagnostic tools is one of the agency’s specialities
and they were able to do this to help the charitable
trust award grants.
“The Shears Foundation was set up in the
North East when Trevor and Lyn Shears sold
their transport company for £20m,” adds Ben.
“Every year, they award £800,000 to local causes.
The application process had previously been by
paper, but we took that online, made an eligibility
checker and designed a usable, accessible site,
which the client really appreciated. It made it
easier for them to give away their money.”
With a solid trading history and reputation
– and a raft of satisfied clients including Big
Lottery, Locality and Social Investment Business,
the Creative Coop has its sights set on growth.
Currently comprising creative director Ben,
technical director Alan Peart, developer John
White and producer Marc De’ath, they are planning
to add a new designer member to the core team.
“We test people out working on a freelance basis
and if that goes well, they become associates and
we use them on a more regular basis,” says Ben
explains. “Then there’s the option for them to
become a member.”
Expanding their co-op client base is another
goal. “We don’t work with as many co-ops as
we’d like and it’s an area we’re keen to expand in.
We exhibited at Co-op Congress for the first time
this year, and joined Cotech,” says Ben.
Cotech is an association for creative technology
co-ops – and Ben and his colleagues are excited
about the new opportunities it presents.
“We can share ideas and experiences and build
connections. As an agency you might need
help from other agencies with different
specialities – and it’s preferable to work with
co-ops with the same values you trust. And we
get to extend our network further and publicise
co-ops as well.”
One co-op they’ve recently worked with
is apex body Co-operatives UK, to create
the branding for Co-op Fortnight 2019. This
involved a workshop that gathered a number
of stakeholders including Co-op News, the
Co-operative College and Rochdale Borough
Housing to look at the Fortnight’s brand identity.
“We went through a number of exercises looking
at brand perception and personality. Some of the
personality comparisons that came up were:
Madonna – edgy and adaptive; Banksy – an
authentic but unknown force, and Doctor Who
– moving with the times and re-inventing itself.”
And which came out as the closest to co-ops?
“Doctor Who,” says Ben, who was subsequently
asked by Co-operatives UK to produce their ‘Proud
to be a Co-op’ poster that was sent out in this
year’s membership packs. It was another project
they relished.
For this, they worked with one of their associates
– an illustrator whose style they knew well – to do
something different. “All the co-op principles are
in the poster. But they’re not in your face,” says
Ben. “It’s something a bit more interesting that
people have to look at closely to see what’s going
on and follow the journey. We wanted to create
something that people feel proud to have on their
wall. And we think we’ve achieved that.”
Clockwise from left:
Creative Coop members;
a poster designed for
Co-operatives UK;
Creative Coop's long
standing client – Save
The Children; the new
Co-op Fortnight branding
which will be rolling out
in preperation for 24 June
JANUARY 2019 | 41

Co-ops can help to secure a future for youth
at risk of exclusion
Written by
Anca Voinea
Co-operators, students, researchers and officials
came together from across Europe at the end of
2018 to discuss the role of co-ops in helping young
people who feel disenfranchised.
The conference was jointly organised by Cecop-
Cicopa Europe – the European confederation of
industrial and service co-operatives – and the
European Youth Forum (YFJ) – the platform of the
national youth councils and international nongovernmental
youth organisations in Europe.
It discussed the benefits of democratic decision
making and looked at how the EU and national
governments can support co-op development.
Keynote speaker Stephanie Beecroft, team
leader for social inclusion at the YFJ, said young
people were the group at greatest risk of poverty
and social exclusion in the EU.
Top: A panel of speakers at the conference; above: Diana Dovgan, secretary general
of Cecop-Cicopa Europe, welcomes delegates to the event
She warned that many of them face “a lack of
full participation in society, a lack of access to their
economic, social and cultural rights. Potentially,
they cannot access their right to education,
employment, social protection”.
She added: “We have seen new forms of work,
non-standard forms of works and age-based
discrimination that makes it even harder for
young people to access social protection. We really
need to see a change in the EU, because building
a society that works behind people is a better
foundation for everyone.”
There was a presentation from Tess Lundgren
and Peter Brannstrom from Swedish co-op
Urkraft, who told how their social enterprise offers
opportunities to people who struggle to find or
keep jobs. The co-op, which has built up contacts
with local social actors, combines theory and
practical experience in its work.
Similarly, Danish worker co-op Hustomrerne
employs 250 workers across the country.
Dating back to 1919, the carpentry business
provides jobs and placements for people from
disadvantaged backgrounds.
In Belgium, Molenbike co-op, set up as a workerfriendly
alternative to delivery giants Deliveroo
and Uber Eats, gives couriers the chance to earn
a fair wage and have a say in how the enterprise
is run. It pays a minimum of three hours at a gross
hourly rate of €22.
Co-operators at the event said the EU needed to
put in place better legal frameworks for co-ops,
and more visibility for the model in its policies.
They also want easier access to capital and better
design of EU funds to tackle social needs.
Amana Ferro, senior policy officer at the
European Anti-Poverty Network, said: “Co-ops
provide a sense of ownership, power, control and
bring back dignity to vulnerable youth.”
Elodie Fazi, team leader on youth unemployment
at the Directorate General on Employment and
Social Inclusion of the European Commission
(DG-EMPL), discussed the EC’s measures to reduce
youth unemployment. She called on civil society
organisations to lobby the member states to fully
implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Sara Fernandez from Ateyavana co-op in Oviedo,
Spain, looked at its work helping young people
with mental health problems find employment by
working with training centres across the area.
And in Italy, social co-op Camelot gives
migrants, refugees and asylum seekers the chance
to learn the language and better integrate.
42 | JANUARY 2019

Delegates also urged policymakers to change
the criteria for public procurement, so that the
emphasis is on quality rather than lowest price, to
protect wages,
Raquel Cortez Herrera, deputy head of the
Unit of Inclusion and Disability at DG-EMPL,
said: “The fight against social exclusion is still
mainly a member state competence. However,
the Commission is very committed to supporting
member states’ efforts in working towards these
objectives. This support comes in two different
forms: policy guidance and financing, through
different funding instruments.”
Nikita Sanaullah, policy officer for social
inclusion at the YFJ, added: “Reaching those most
in need is where we believe co-operatives can
have added value. They can provide young people
with opportunities based on individual interests
and needs. Participating in a co-operative can
help develop young people’s professional skills,
like leadership and entrepreneurship, which
are crucial for their career development. But the
co-op model that is based on democracy and
participation can also help equip young people for
active citizenship in their communities.”
Brando Benifei MEP (Socialists and Democrats,
Italy) urged the co-op movement to do more to
shape the EU’s employment policies. He asked
the sector to support efforts by the European
Parliament on the European Social Fund+, an
initiative to merge the current European Social
Fund with other funds and programmes to
simplify the EU’s tools to fight inequality.
In his closing remarks, Cecop-Cicopa Europe
president Giuseppe Guerini said: “Quite naturally,
co-operatives have a sustainable dimension,
they build capital that will be transferred from
one generation to another. They can also be
an instrument to solve inequality gaps: where
co-operatives are active, inequalities are reduced”.
Co-operative
project tackles youth
loneliness among young
carers in Manchester
Young care leavers gave a drama performance on
how loneliness affects them, in an event hosted by
the Co-operative College and the Co-op Foundation
at the Rochdale Pioneers Museum.
Funded through a £25,000 grant from the #iwill
Fund, the project brought together young care
leavers to create a show combining rap, songs and
a desert island monologue.
According to charity Barnados, young people
leaving care are forced to be independent at a
younger age – 16-18 – than their peers. A lack
of family support means they are under greater
pressure to find a job and their own home.
But a recent government report revealed
that 64% of services for care leavers are judged
inadequate or in need of improvement by Ofsted.
Care leavers also identified isolation, loneliness
and a lack of a reliable social network as key issues
in their late teens and early twenties.
The drama show highlighted these issues – and
also helped those taking part to overcome them.
“It gives you more confidence and makes you more
sociable,” said one. “People are there to support
you and help if you’re feeling a bit down.”
Those who took part will now act as mentors on
future programmes, which will help to create a
supportive community for care leavers.
Simon Parkinson, chief executive and principal
of the Co-operative College, said: “We hope their
inspiring performance will empower other young
care leavers to come forward and talk about how
loneliness affects them too.”
Jim Cooke, head of the Manchester-based
Co-op Foundation, added: “Isolation and
loneliness are real issues for many young care
leavers. By funding projects such as the Youth
Co-operative Action Group, the Co-op Foundation
is helping young people to talk openly about
loneliness, often for the first time.
“We’re delighted young people have been able to
use creative arts to tell their own stories, breaking
down the stigma of loneliness and building their
own skills and confidence.”
The Co-op Foundation is a charity set up
and supported by the Co-op Group to help
disadvantaged communities. Earlier this year it
was awarded a £1m grant from the #iwill fund,
which it will match with an additional £1m to fund
a network of projects to inspire young people to
take action to address loneliness.
Care leavers performing at
the Pioneers Museum
JANUARY 2019 | 43

Setting up community businesses:
lessons from USA social enterprises
Below: Maine Potter’s
Market was set up 25
years ago
Aine Graven, social value co-ordinator at mutual
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), has just
returned from a six-week trip to the USA where she
visited social enterprises, including co-ops.
Funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust, the research aimed to better understand the
social enterprise economy that is developing in the
USA and what co-ops in the UK could learn from
this model.
Aine is writing a report on her visit,
which will be published in partnership with
RBH and the Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust. The report will feed into RBH plans and will
be presented to Greater Manchester partners.
RBH is part of a group of Greater Manchester
housing providers wishing to drive forward the role
social value plays in supporting social outcomes.
This means that companies and organisations
wishing to work with RBH need to show how they
can deliver social value when responding to its
tenders or delivering services for them.
Aine joined RBH in 2018 to lead on the
development of the organisation’s Social Value
Strategy with a focus on maximising the impact
of procurement and employment power for the
benefit of local people and communities. “My
passion for social enterprise comes from a genuine
belief that it can change the world; which is why I
chose to focus my research on this area,” she says.
“I know through my work that there is huge
appetite amongst housing providers in Greater
Manchester to support the social economy to grow
through capacity building and buying social.”
The itinerary was based on the social enterprise
city report, taking her to four cities – Chicago,
Boston, Washington and Nashville.
How are social enterprises in the USA different
from those in the UK? “They are much more
focused on investment,” says Aine, adding that
the USA lacks a social investment market. In the
UK the Public Services Social Values Act requires
people who commission public services to think
about how they can also secure wider social,
economic and environmental benefits.
UK social enterprises also tend to focus on
grant funding. By contrast, in the USA there is no
legislation that requires social goals to be taken
into account. Accelerator programmes teach social
entrepreneurs looking to start a new business to
have strong portfolios and marketing pitches to
attract investment.
“So, in USA there is much more involvement
from the private sector,” she adds.
“Social entrepreneurs there were also interested
in learning how we do things in the UK. Not
everything will be translated here but the focus
there is: get ready for finance.”
“ Everything about this service
is built on customer choice.
People can elect how early to
arrive for their appointments,
how long they stay, where to
sit in the treatment room,
even what they pay.”
One of the social enterprises she visited was
Maine Potters Market, a co-operatively owned
gallery featuring local ceramics. The co-op has
been in existence for 25 years in the historic Old
Port District of Portland, Maine. It is owned and
operated by its members, each of which is a potter
living and working in the state. Members take
turns in running the shop.
44 | JANUARY 2019

“Everywhere I went in Maine there was a co-op,”
says Aine. “I visited art co-ops, small retail co-ops
and organisations promoting fair prices.”
NASHVILLE
In Nashville, Tennessee, co-operative principles
are put in practice at a community acupuncture
clinic. Founder Alexa Hulsey set up East Nashville
Community Acupuncture to provide more
affordable treatments. While private acupuncture
treatment typically costs $65-$150 (£50-£118)
at her clinic everyone pays between $15 and $35
(£11-£27), and customers decide what to pay for
each treatment, based on what’s affordable for
them. Key to keeping costs low is treating people
in a group setting, which goes back to the roots of
how acupuncture has been practiced in Asia for
thousands of years.
“The biggest thing I took away is that this is a
service built on community; acupuncture just
happens to be the delivery mechanism,” says Aine.
“Alexa describes her understanding of social
enterprise as businesses built on relationships
and community bond, rather than chasing sales.
And, in doing so, the business grows organically
without the need to spend a lot of money on flashy
marketing and PR.”
Customer choice is key to the service, she adds.
“People can elect how early to arrive for their
appointments, how long they stay, where to sit in
the treatment room, even what they pay.
“It’s a stark contrast to the regular health system
where patients aren’t really given any freedom –
there is generally a parent-child relationship
between patient and health services, but this
model breaks this down entirely. It’s a totally
different experience and there is a lot that could
be learnt by other health services in adopting
this method. Giving people choice and control
builds their confidence and supports them to help
themselves.”
Aine thinks the business shows how co-op
values can be translated into the social enterprise
model. The clinic is financially sustainable and
is looking at expanding. No marketing is needed
because the clients promote the business.
Aine also visited Project Return, a Nashville
charity supporting ex-offenders. The agency pays
former inmates to obtain certifications so they can
secure jobs in the city. With more than 60% of
ex-offenders still looking for work a year after their
release, the charity works to help them find jobs.
Recidivism rate for Project Return participants is
below 15% – compared to a national rate of 50%.
The charity is operated without a hierarchy
culture, says Aine. “People who have been at
the bottom of a hierarchical system are now on
an equal footing and this is very important to
the success of the programme. This fits in with
the co-op model and the value of equality. No
appointments are required and people can just
turn up and get support from staff.”
Referring to the initial findings, she says
the entrepreneurs she met put huge value on
networks and organisations like the Social
Enterprise Alliance. During conversations with
East Nashville Community Acupuncture (ENCA)
and Electronic Recycling Solutions, both founders
spoke about the importance of operational
networks during the start-up phase. Contact with
similar organisations enabled them to learn how
to run their operations effectively and benefit from
their journeys.
“The networks will look different over time as
the enterprise evolves,” adds Aine. “Later down
the line Alexa from ENCA found that as she was
starting to scale up, her needs changed and she
was looking to tap into a different circle of learning
and contacts. The network she needed access to
was now focused on strategic growth, scale and
challenge rather than operational issues.”
Left: Alexa Hulsey,
founder of East Nashville
Community Acupuncture
Below: Aine Graven (right)
with Bettir Kirkland from
Project Return
JANUARY 2019 | 45

By Paul Gosling
Michael Jary, retiring
chair of the Fairtrade
Foundation’s Board
of Trustees
Dr Mark Hayes, managing
director of Shared Interest
Traidcraft – one of the pathfinders of Fairtrade
commerce in the UK – is in crisis. After completing
a restructuring exercise the organisation will be
employing just 12 staff, down from the current
67. Twenty two staff have chosen voluntary
redundancy, while 45 have been issued formal
redundancy notices.
In a statement, the company says: “Returning
the business to profit will involve a simpler range
of products. The new Traidcraft will establish core
grocery lines; carry fewer craft lines; encourage
communities to buy co-operatively and in bulk,
saving on packaging and benefiting the planet;
[and] deliver discounts through a membership
model for supporters.”
Elsewhere, though, the Fairtrade movement
is doing well. The latest annual report from
the Fairtrade Foundation – for the year ending
December 2017 – quotes independent data from
Kantar Worldpanel as showing that UK retail sales
of Fairtrade products grew 7% last year. This was
supported by strong commitments from a number
of leading retailers, including the Co-op Group,
which became the first UK retailer to 100% source
Fairtrade roses and commit to using Fairtrade cocoa
in all of its own-brand products, and Waitrose,
which moved to 100% Fairtrade tea. “Overall we
have been able to deliver more of the core benefits
of Fairtrade – minimum prices and premium – back
to farmers,” said retiring chair of the Foundation,
Michael Jary.
The principles of Fairtrade International and in
the UK the Fairtrade Foundation are for a larger
proportion of the retail price of commodities
to be returned to farmers and other producers
in the developing nations. Actions last year in
support of these aims included the Co-op Group
building a new community resource centre in
Kenya to support Fairtrade tea farmers. “The
facility will offer 50,000 people across the Fintea
tea-growing community access to educational,
recreational, cultural, health and lifelong
learning opportunities,” explained the Fairtrade
Foundation’s annual report.
The report summarised various research
studies’ conclusions, which showed the positive
impacts of Fairtrade production. Benefits included
improvements to the lives of small producers
and workers; strengthening of managerial and
organisational structures of producer groups;
and better working conditions in plantations,
with a positive knock-on effect on plantations
run by non-Fairtrade producers. There were
also wide-ranging investments in producers’
and workers’ communities arising from
Fairtrade production.
However, there was also an honest recognition
of negatives. In particular, workers employed by
Fairtrade-certified producers are paid less than
workers employed by non-certified farms.
Whether Fairtrade certification has an overall
positive or negative impact was discussed at
a recent debate at the Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven in Belgium. The case against Fairtrade
was made by development economist Dr Peter
Bowbrick – who has also published under the
name Peter Griffiths. He claims that too little of the
sales revenues of Fairtrade products goes to the
farmers they are supposed to be assisting. “Almost
none goes,” he told Co-op News.
Bowbrick continued: “It is extremely profitable
for the supermarkets and the people selling the
products and 99% of the extra they charge they
keep. It seems to be designed to be incredibly
inefficient. You know if you put money in a
collection box that 80% goes to the farmers. But
studies show [with Fairtrade] that 5% to 11% is sent
to the third world and god knows how much gets
to the farmers.”
In published work, Bowbrick has claimed that
there is little evidence that Fairtrade labelling
benefits the farmers who are involved, while
possibly harming those who are not. He also
argues that the Fairtrade bodies fail to be fully
transparent and that the Fairtrade movement
attempts to impose its political views on farmers.
Dr Mark Hayes – a long time supporter of the
Fairtrade Foundation and a founder and former
managing director of financial co-operative
Shared Interest – debated with Bowbrick in
Belgium. He told Co-op News that he believes
Bowbrick’s argument is “wholly misleading”.
Hayes explained: “He is confusing two things –
donations and purchases of products. Historically
it used to be necessary to pay slightly over the odds
for Fairtrade products. But now they are much the
46 | JANUARY 2019

same price, so there is no premium paid by the
consumer. So it’s nonsense to talk of it in the same
way as a donation.”
However, Hayes readily concedes that
demonstrating the provenance of Fairtrade
products and the distribution of income from their
sales are challenges. Consumers now expect to
obtain reassurance about how the money flows
down to workers in developing nations. “There is
a limit to the extent we can audit the whole thing,”
he admits. “If you only deal with people who can
fully audit their operations then you would be
limiting who can qualify [for accreditation].”
One possibility raised by an audience member
at the debate in Belgium was whether blockchain
technology might in the future assist with the audit
process. Blockchain – a web-based distributable
ledger system that sits behind cryptocurrencies
such as Bitcoin – is increasingly used in the food
sector to show the provenance of ingredients and
in the aid sector to demonstrate where donors’
money is going.
But the Fairtrade Foundation says its
standards and audits already provide comparable
levels of assurance. Susannah Henty, senior
communications manager, explained: “To make
sure producer groups receive 100% of these
payments from traders, independent checks and
audits are carried out by a third party organisation,
FLOCERT ... However, we’re always looking at
technology and what it can offer farmers, and
that’s why we launched Fairtrace last year.”
Henty insists that the Foundation is transparent
in terms of its activities and funding. “The
Fairtrade Foundation is a charity, and our
income comes from charitable donations and
license fees, paid for by businesses so they can
use the Fairtrade MARK on Fairtrade products
sold in the UK,” she explained. “In addition to
promoting the market so producers can increase
their Fairtrade sales, the license fee supports
the Fairtrade standards, the audit process and
the networks and staff that support Fairtrade
workers and producers. The Fairtrade Foundation
publishes its accounts annually which give a full
breakdown of their activities. In the Fairtrade
system, Fairtrade-certified producers benefit from
fairer terms of trade which are outlined in the
Fairtrade Standards.
“Fairtrade co-operatives or producer groups
are paid for their commodities directly by buyers
or traders. For the goods they sell under Fairtrade
terms, they receive at least the Fairtrade minimum
price, or the market commodity price if higher,
and the additional Fairtrade Premium (extra
investment) directly from their buyer. In 2016,
premium alone from UK sales generated £32.3m;
globally more than €150m went back to producers
in the seven major product areas.” She added that
the Foundation’s ‘Monitoring the Impact' reports
provide clear information on how producers
benefit from the Fairtrade system.
In short, the Fairtrade Foundation strongly
refutes the charges made by Dr Bowbrick. Given,
though, that his complaints have been widely
circulated, it is unlikely that we –
or the Fairtrade movement –
have heard the last
of them.
Below: Chocolate and
Love Fairtrade certified
Chocolate
Bottom: Teresa Kurgat,
tea farmer and member of
Sireet OEP co-operative,
Kenya. Credit: Simon
Rawles
JANUARY 2019 | 47

BOOKS
Co-operation
in print:
What we’ll
be reading
in 2019
With uncertain climates ahead – politically and
environmentally – authors from every continent are
asking what this means for them, their communities
and society at large. From a co-operative perspective,
this includes working together to ensure community
security and alternatives to the mainstream, and
exploring what education, development and
solidarity will look like in the decades to come.
In this context, three of the books we’re most
looking forward to in 2019 focus on food.
In the summer of 2017, Co-op News interviewed
Jon Steinman, author, broadcaster and member
of the Kootenay Co-op, a consumer food co-op in
Nelson, British Colombia, who was kickstarting a
project to look at how local economies are positively
impacted by community food co-ops.
“If we want to have a long-term grocery store that
supplies communities with good food, the most
resilient model is the co-op model,” he said at the
time. In May 2019, this work is coming together
in Grocery Story (New Society Publishers, 2019),
which will challenge readers to “put the power of
food co-ops on your plate and grow your local food
economy”.
Canadian food co-ops are also the subject of The
Co-op Revolution (Caitlin Press, 2019), in which
author and journalist Jan DeGrass writes about her
journey as a founding member of the Vancouverbased
Collective Resource and Services Workers’ Coop.
In the late 1970s, CRS Co-op became one of the
most successful co-ops in British Colombia, and was
committed to co-operation and worker ownership.
“For some,” she writes, “the co-op movement was
about crushing capitalism; for others it was simply
about buying cheap, wholesome food from people
they trusted and living in communal camaraderie.
No matter the pursuit, co-operation was the answer.”
Case studies exploring the idea of using
conscientious eating, shopping, and selling as tools
for civic activism feature in Maria McGrath’s Food
for Dissent (University of Massachusetts Press,
2019). She charts the growth of the natural foods
movement from its countercultural fringe beginning
to its 21st century ‘food revolution’ ascendance.
Alongside food we’ll be reading about how
the introduction of co-operative societies into
the Irish countryside during the late-19th century
transformed rural society and created an enduring
economic legacy (Civilising Rural Ireland, Patrick
Doyle, Manchester University Press, 2019); how
global trade can be made to serve people not
money (Trading for Good, Christian Felber, Zed
Books, 2019); and the role of co-operative education
(Learning for a co-operative world: Education,
Social Change and the Co-operative College, Ed.
Tom Woodin and Linda Shaw, UCL, 2019) in a book
to be published as part of the Co-operative College’s
centenary celebrations.
48 | JANUARY 2019

The Fall of the Ethical Bank: how a large
group of decision makers believed their own
hype – and got it spectacularly wrong
thenews.coop/fall

DIARY
FROM FAR LEFT: CFCFE Members
Conference will meet in Angel Square in
January; Can co-operative deserts bloom?
is the theme of the 2019 Future Co-ops
conference in February; the ICA’s 2019
General Assembly will be in Kigali, Rwanda
in October; and the Co-operative Retail
Conference is in Cheshire in March.
18 Jan: Co-operation for Credit Unions:
CFCFE Members Conference
The conference themes are Collaboration
(what can the sector learn from
experiences in Ireland and Britain, and
what are its priorities?) and Community
Impact (how can it demonstrate its
role in the community, beyond its
core services?).
WHERE: Angel Square, Manchester
INFO: www.cfcfe.eu
1-2 Feb 2019: Future Coops 2019
– Can co-operative deserts bloom?
Future Co-ops 2019 will explore how the
co-operative sector can grow, addressing
the issue of co-operative deserts and
how new co-ops can be helped to bloom.
Future Co-ops will be working with Central
England Co-operative’s Think:Digital
innovation team, using their new insights
and participatory problem solving
techniques in a fun and effective way.
WHERE: Birmingham
INFO: futures.coop/future-coops-2019
13 Feb-9 Mar: Exploring International
Co-operative Development
A unique course run by the
Co-operative College looking at the role
that co-operatives play in the field of
international development. The course
comprises two webinars (Wed 13 and
Wed 27 Feb, 2-4pm, with a day school in
Manchester on Sat 9 Mar).
WHERE: Online / Manchester
INFO: co-op.ac.uk
8-10 Mar: Co-operative Retail Conference
The Co-operative Retail Conference is the
only annual event designed specifically
for co-operative retailers. It attracts
the leaders, managers and directors
of consumer-owned retail co-operatives
from right across the UK.
WHERE: De Vere Cranage Estate, Cheshire
INFO: uk.coop/co-operative-retailconference
21-22 Jun: Co-op Congress 2019
Congress is the co-operative sector’s
annual conference. A day when members
and directors, activists and CEOs from
co-ops large and small came together.
WHERE: Manchester
INFO: uk.coop/congress
24-27 Jun: 7th EMES International
Research Conference on Social Enterprise
The 7th EMES International Research
Conference on Social Enterprise
aims to be one of the world’s central
meeting places for all researchers
that are involved in social enterprise,
social entrepreneurship and social and
solidarity economy research.
WHERE: Sheffield Hallam University
INFO: s.coop/2atdt
11-13 Oct: The Co-operative Party
annual conference.
The annual conference of the co-op
movement’s political party.
WHERE: Glasgow
INFO: party.coop
12-18 Oct: International Co-operative
Alliance General Assembly
WHERE: Kigali, Rwanda
INFO: tbc
26-28 Nov: Co-operative College
Centenary Conference
Organised by the Co-operative
College,the 2019 conference will be
part of the celebrations of the College’s
centenary year.
WHERE: Rochdale
INFO: co-op.ac.uk/our-centenaryconference
50 | JANUARY 2019

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