REVIEW OF 2018
The Co-operative News Review of 2018
The Co-operative News Review of 2018
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The Review <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Co-operative News<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 1
2 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Contents<br />
Message from the Chair & Executive Editor<br />
Time-line<br />
Most popular stories of <strong>2018</strong><br />
Anniversaries<br />
Obituaries<br />
Q&A – Ed Mayo<br />
Q&A – Ariel Guarco<br />
Sectors<br />
Technology: Polly Robbins<br />
Healthcare: Carlos Zarco<br />
Legal: David Alcock<br />
Politics: Claire McCarthy<br />
Channel Islands: Colin Macleod<br />
Agriculture: Umberto Di Pasquo<br />
Education: Simon Parkinson<br />
Credit Unions: Matt Bland<br />
Worker Co-op: Siôn Whellens<br />
Energy: Mark Luntley & John Malone<br />
Regions<br />
Singapore: Dolly Goh<br />
Wales: Derek Walker<br />
Northern Ireland: Tiziana O’Hara<br />
Africa: Dr Chiyoge Sifa<br />
Australia: Melina Morrison<br />
4 – 5<br />
6 – 8<br />
9 – 11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14 – 15<br />
16 – 17<br />
18 – 27<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
25<br />
26<br />
27<br />
28 – 30<br />
28<br />
29<br />
30<br />
31<br />
31<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 3
A message from the Chair,<br />
Elaine Dean<br />
I believe the UK is facing the biggest political crisis<br />
of my lifetime. Whatever your personal beliefs and<br />
opinions on the matter or your preferred outcome,<br />
Brexit has caused uncertainty and infighting at<br />
a time the country can ill afford it.<br />
One thing that it has brought to light, however, is that<br />
co-operatives can provide an oasis of calm in this storm.<br />
Not only through the work that they do for members,<br />
colleagues, and customers, but also in their very approach<br />
to this work. We are stronger together – and together,<br />
we need to remember that.<br />
This philosophy doesn’t just apply to retailers,<br />
housing co-ops, credit unions or worker co-operatives,<br />
either. Core support agencies – such as your Co-op<br />
News, sector body Co-operatives UK and educational<br />
charity the Co-operative College – have a duty of care<br />
and responsibility to work together for the good of<br />
the wider movement.<br />
Over the last few months Co-op News, Co-operatives<br />
UK and the College have been working jointly to develop<br />
a New Force for Co-operation – a plan of action to make<br />
sure the different pieces of work each organisation does<br />
is as efficient and effective for the wider movement<br />
as possible.<br />
What does the co-operative movement actually want<br />
and need from its support organisations? How can we<br />
fulfil those needs to the best of our abilities, making<br />
the most of our mutual skills, experience and networks?<br />
How can we work better together to make this happen?<br />
Feeding into this and informed by the ongoing New<br />
Force work is our own strategy for the future of<br />
Co-operative Press – the co-operative which publishes<br />
Co-op News. In 2014 we developed a 3-5 year strategy,<br />
prompted by significant changes in the movement;<br />
we are now reviewing that strategy in light of further<br />
changes and renewed expectations of what a modern,<br />
thriving Co-operative Press should look like. How can<br />
we best serve the 21st century co-op movement?<br />
This strategy will explore digital solutions that<br />
are immediate, accessible, personal and sustainable<br />
(from both a financial and environmental perspective).<br />
It will also look at the relationship we have with<br />
our members, providing insight through engaging<br />
our readers in dialogue, building knowledge<br />
and understanding.<br />
<strong>2018</strong> has seen significant changes at Co-op News<br />
– not least a change in executive editor following<br />
the departure of Anthony Murray in the spring,<br />
and the appointment of his successor, Rebecca Harvey.<br />
But as we approach 2021 and our 150th anniversary,<br />
we can look forward with confidence and clarity to<br />
the next 150, and the challenges it will bring long after<br />
Brexit has been and gone.<br />
4 Review <strong>2018</strong>
& the Executive Editor,<br />
Rebecca Harvey<br />
The co-op movement is a strange and wonderful beast,<br />
populated by people doing some quite incredible things.<br />
On 21 December 1844 – nearly 175 years ago – the Rochdale<br />
Pioneers set out to change the status quo by opening the<br />
doors to their co-operative store at 31 Toad Lane; today<br />
that pioneering spirit is still demonstrated in every sector<br />
and on every continent, driven by people doing things to<br />
make a difference.<br />
<strong>2018</strong> has been a year of huge change at Co-op News,<br />
as the organisation settles into new leadership and we,<br />
as a team, strive to work more effectively and efficiently<br />
with other co-operative support agencies. But one thing<br />
that hasn’t changed is our commitment to connect,<br />
champion and challenge the co-ops that make up our<br />
movement around the world.<br />
This includes the people behind them, too. So in<br />
this review of <strong>2018</strong>, we hand a lot of the pages over the<br />
individuals working at the sharp end of co-operation.<br />
The people working in co-operative education and<br />
lobbying, in retail and politics – and in co-operative<br />
communities that are separated by large distances,<br />
but certainly not by their values or principles.<br />
Over the last 12 months our journalists and analysts<br />
have been giving voice to co-op stories around the world<br />
– enabling mutual learning through the sharing of ideas,<br />
information and best practice. Our networks of experts<br />
have been working together to create content that is<br />
relevant to our readers and members, feeding into a<br />
forum of ideas to help grow the co-operative sector<br />
around the world.<br />
We’ll continue to do this in 2019, while we’ll also be<br />
helping the Co-operative College celebrate its centenary.<br />
The year after, in 2020, Co-operatives UK turns 150 and<br />
then in 2021 it is our own 150th anniversary. That will be<br />
a time of celebration as we look forward to the next 150<br />
years, and the huge potential of co-operatives to pioneer<br />
a new way forward.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 5
<strong>2018</strong> Time-line<br />
JAN<br />
A report by the IPPR<br />
Commission on Economic<br />
Justice suggests expanding<br />
employee ownership trusts<br />
to create three million<br />
employee owners by 2030.<br />
The Co-op Group<br />
announces plans for 100<br />
new stores with a £160m<br />
investment, alongside<br />
a £50m put into price<br />
cuts for everyday food<br />
items, which the retailer<br />
said could save shoppers<br />
£120 a year, and a trial<br />
delivery service in Greater<br />
Manchester with Deliveroo.<br />
Bruno Roelants is<br />
appointed director<br />
general of the International<br />
Co-operative Alliance,<br />
following the retirement<br />
of his predecessor<br />
Charles Gould.<br />
FEB<br />
discussions of tech co-ops<br />
and public service mutuals,<br />
and a keynote speech from<br />
shadow business secretary<br />
Rebecca Long-Bailey.<br />
Rabobank National<br />
Association pays<br />
US$360m to settle a<br />
money laundering case.<br />
A subsidiary of the Dutch<br />
financial co-operative,<br />
it pleaded guilty after<br />
an investigation into its<br />
operations in California.<br />
MAR<br />
Student Co-op Homes,<br />
a national body to address<br />
problems in the housing<br />
sector, is launched. It<br />
aims to increase national<br />
capacity from 150 to 10,000<br />
beds in the next five years.<br />
continue, Labour and Co-op<br />
councils sign a charter<br />
committing them to rooting<br />
out exploitation in their<br />
supply chains, at a round<br />
table event with Labour<br />
leader Jeremy Corbyn.<br />
Japan’s co-ops reorganise<br />
into a new federal body,<br />
the Japan Co-operative<br />
Alliance (JCA).<br />
The Association of<br />
British Credit Unions<br />
(Abcul) AGM. Hot topics<br />
include digital marketing<br />
innovation and calls<br />
by Nick Crofts from the<br />
Co-op Group and Greater<br />
Manchester mayor Andy<br />
Burnham for credit unions<br />
to work with co-ops and<br />
local authorities to tackle<br />
economic inequality.<br />
AGM, chief executive Steve<br />
Murrells announces the<br />
“Stronger Co-op, Stronger<br />
Communities” campaign,<br />
which will see the retailer<br />
invest in local community<br />
projects.<br />
The year also sees positive<br />
results for independent<br />
retail co-ops, with Central<br />
England, Scotmid, Heart<br />
of England, Southern, East<br />
of England, Chelmsford Star<br />
and Midcounties among<br />
those reporting surpluses<br />
despite the challenging<br />
retail environment.<br />
The Phone Co-op agrees<br />
a transfer of engagements<br />
to Midcounties Co-op at its<br />
special meeting in Sheffield.<br />
Operations will continue<br />
from its existing office but<br />
the deal brings an end to<br />
the Phone Co-op as<br />
a distinct entity with<br />
a distinct board.<br />
The Phone Co-op holds<br />
its AGM, and finds its<br />
growth strategy – which<br />
involves major investments<br />
– subject to fierce debate.<br />
A special meeting is<br />
scheduled for April.<br />
The Ways Forward 6<br />
Conference is held in<br />
Manchester, with debate on<br />
how the co-op model can be<br />
used to transform the UK<br />
economy. Sessions include<br />
The government<br />
announces a £10m fund<br />
for new forms of farmer<br />
co-operation, as well as<br />
the development of existing<br />
farm co-operatives.<br />
Efforts by the movement to<br />
eradicate modern slavery<br />
APR<br />
The Co-op Group returns<br />
to the black in its annual<br />
results, with a pre-tax<br />
profit of £72m, up from<br />
a £132m loss the year<br />
before. At the Group’s<br />
Phil Ponsonby is named<br />
new group CEO of<br />
Midcounties after the<br />
retirement of Ben Reid<br />
6 Review <strong>2018</strong>
MAY<br />
At its annual conference,<br />
the Co-op College hosts<br />
discussions of issues<br />
around co-op training,<br />
plans for a co-operative<br />
university, and how to<br />
answer the challenges<br />
of the digital age. Keynote<br />
speakers include Ariel<br />
Guarco, president<br />
of the ICA.<br />
Mark Lyonette steps down<br />
as CEO of the Association<br />
of British Credit Unions<br />
(Abcul) to take up a role<br />
in the National Pharmacy<br />
Association (NPA).<br />
There are celebrations at the<br />
Co-operative Party as the<br />
local elections see a record<br />
number of Labour/Co-op<br />
candidates win seats.<br />
Dan Jarvis becomes the<br />
first mayor of the devolved<br />
Sheffield City Region.<br />
JUN<br />
Co-operatives Fortnight<br />
starts on 23 June, with the<br />
launch of the Economy<br />
Report highlighting the<br />
strength of the co-operative<br />
model, and co-ops<br />
encouraged to show how<br />
they make a difference.<br />
Cyprus Co-operative Bank,<br />
which was bailed out by its<br />
government in 2013 after<br />
running into trouble with<br />
bad loans, is sold to the<br />
Hellenic Bank.<br />
JUL<br />
A policy document<br />
from the New Economics<br />
Foundation, commissioned<br />
by the Co-op Party,<br />
is launched at Westminster.<br />
Welcomed by shadow<br />
chancellor John McDonnell,<br />
the report calls for a portion<br />
of large company profits<br />
to be transferred into a<br />
worker-owned trust,<br />
and formeasures to help<br />
businesses transition<br />
to employee-ownership<br />
as their existing<br />
owners retire.<br />
The Community Energy<br />
Conference <strong>2018</strong> in<br />
Manchester brings the<br />
sector together, with a call<br />
to lobby the government<br />
to produces a less hostile<br />
legislative and regulatory<br />
regime for community<br />
renewables.<br />
At Co-operative<br />
Congress in London,<br />
the Co-operatives of the<br />
Year awards go to London<br />
creative co-op The Service,<br />
the Foster Care Co-op,<br />
Midcounties Co-op and<br />
Cardiff Council.<br />
Platform co-ops are<br />
discussed at the<br />
Open <strong>2018</strong> Conference<br />
in London, organised by<br />
the Open Co-operative,<br />
with discussion of co-op<br />
cryptocurrencies and<br />
ways the movement can<br />
encourage grassroots rivals<br />
to online tech giants.<br />
A question mark hangs<br />
over the mutual status<br />
of fan-ownership<br />
organisation Supporters<br />
Direct after it agrees a<br />
merger with the Football<br />
Supporters Federation.<br />
A new council body will<br />
look at options for the new<br />
organisation in early 2019.<br />
AUG<br />
The government releases<br />
its Civil Society Strategy<br />
and a green paper on<br />
social housing, both<br />
of which focus on<br />
community empowerment.<br />
But the documents meet a<br />
mixed reception from the<br />
co-op movement.<br />
The UK Society for Co-op<br />
Studies holds its annual<br />
conference in Sheffield,<br />
reporting positive financial<br />
results and discussing<br />
issues such as the Worker<br />
Co-op Solidarity Fund<br />
and modern slavery.<br />
SEP<br />
The Co-op Group<br />
announces strong interim<br />
results and a return to the<br />
pharmacy sector, with the<br />
purchase of prescriptions<br />
app Dimec. It also beefs<br />
up its ethical policy with<br />
a crackdown on single use<br />
plastics – but also receives<br />
protests from shop workers<br />
over low staffing levels on<br />
evening shifts.<br />
As concern mounts over<br />
climate change, dairy<br />
co-op Arla agrees to<br />
give all of its <strong>2018</strong> profit<br />
to farmers affected by<br />
drought in the <strong>2018</strong><br />
heatwave – while in the US,<br />
electric co-ops scramble to<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 7
u help communities hit by<br />
Hurricane Florence.<br />
Another UK thinktank<br />
issues a report advocating<br />
co-operative policies.<br />
The Institute for Public<br />
Policy Research document<br />
calls for increased worker<br />
representation on company<br />
boards – and comes as the<br />
Labour Party unveils plans<br />
to require all companies<br />
with more than 250 workers<br />
to set up ownership funds.<br />
The Platform Co-op<br />
Conference in Hong Kong<br />
hears stories from tech<br />
co-ops around the<br />
world and calls for the<br />
development of a global<br />
commons, and co-op<br />
hardware to support it.<br />
OCT<br />
The Co-operative Councils<br />
Innovation Network<br />
meets in Croydon to<br />
discuss mutual models of<br />
service delivery and local<br />
democracy, and how these<br />
can be used to meet the<br />
challenges of austerity<br />
and Brexit, and move the<br />
UK towards a co-operative<br />
commonwealth. Similar<br />
ideas to reshape the<br />
economy are discussed<br />
at the Co-op Party<br />
Conference in Bristol and<br />
– at the end of September<br />
– the Social Business<br />
Wales <strong>2018</strong> conference.<br />
Social Saturday, on 13<br />
October, celebrates the<br />
work of social enterprise<br />
in the UK. In Manchester,<br />
actor and comedian Chris<br />
Addison joins the Co-op<br />
Group and Social Enterprise<br />
UK for a tour of social<br />
enterprises in the area.<br />
Lincolnshire Co-operative<br />
reports a 10% increase in<br />
trading surplus in its<br />
full-year results.<br />
On 18 October, the<br />
movement marks Anti<br />
-Slavery Day with more<br />
co-op councils signing up<br />
to the Co-op Party’s charter<br />
on modern slavery and the<br />
Co-op Group continuing<br />
its campaign with national<br />
press ads.<br />
The International<br />
Co-operative Alliance<br />
gathers in Buenos Aires<br />
for its General Assembly,<br />
announcing a US$250,000<br />
fund for young co-operators<br />
and releasing its annual<br />
World Co-operative Monitor,<br />
which reveals the world’s<br />
top 300 co-ops have<br />
a combined turnover<br />
of $2.01tn.<br />
The US co-op movement<br />
holds its annual Co-op<br />
IMPACT conference, as part<br />
of National Co-op Month,<br />
celebrating the role of the<br />
country’s 40,000 co-ops in<br />
creating stable jobs and a<br />
sustainable economy.<br />
NOV<br />
Central England Co-op<br />
appoints Debbie Robinson,<br />
managing director of Spar,<br />
as its new chief executive,<br />
following the retirement<br />
of Martyn Cheatle.<br />
Co-operatives UK hosts<br />
the Practitioners Forum<br />
in Manchester, where<br />
co-operative leaders<br />
discussed digital marketing,<br />
key performance indicators<br />
and youth engagement.<br />
DEC<br />
A deal is struck with<br />
the Internet Corporation<br />
for Assigned Names and<br />
Numbers to renew the<br />
.coop domain. The domain,<br />
an initiative of the National<br />
Cooperative Business<br />
Association and the<br />
International Co-operative<br />
Alliance, will remain the<br />
exclusive domain name<br />
for the movement for<br />
another 10 years.<br />
Suma Wholefoods Co-op<br />
launches new branding<br />
and logo by Pearlfisher<br />
to create a more coherent<br />
visual identity and<br />
emphasise its worker<br />
co-operative credentials.<br />
8 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Most popular stories of the year<br />
From energy drinks to robotic wolves, Co-op News<br />
readers enjoyed a lot of very different stories in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
Several of the most popular focused on activities of<br />
the Co-op Group, but there were a lot of international<br />
stories which were popular, too. Fairtrade, and issues<br />
of climate change and inequality were some of the most<br />
read – while politics, credit unions and the gig economy<br />
also got a look in.<br />
CO-OP GROUP BANS SALE <strong>OF</strong> ENERGY<br />
DRINKS TO CHILDREN<br />
The Co-op Group is to impose a voluntary ban on the<br />
sale of energy drinks to under-16s, amid health concerns.<br />
The age restriction, which will apply to 39 products<br />
containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre,<br />
will come into force in March <strong>2018</strong>. Once the ban is<br />
implemented, customers wishing to buy these products<br />
will need to show appropriate ID.<br />
Michael Fletcher, commercial director at the Group,<br />
said: “There is growing concern about the consumption<br />
of energy drinks among young people and we recognise<br />
that we must act. It’s a balance between offering choice<br />
whilst doing the right thing and we have listened to<br />
parents and teachers who want to limit young peoples’<br />
access to high caffeine drinks.”<br />
The age restriction will be applied in 2,700 Co-op Group<br />
stores and over 1,000 independent co-op society stores.<br />
The move follows growing concern over possible health<br />
risks from the high caffeine and sugar content of energy<br />
drinks. A 2014 report from the World Health Organization<br />
concluded: “As energy drink sales are rarely regulated<br />
by age … and there is a proven negative effect of caffeine<br />
on children, there is the potential for a significant public<br />
health problem in future.”<br />
LONDON TAXI CO-OP LAUNCHES NEW APP<br />
TO CHALLENGE THE GIG ECONOMY<br />
Taxiapp UK, the non-for-profit app run by London’s<br />
black cab drivers, has launched a new and improved app<br />
following a surge of interest in its ethical business model.<br />
The app is the first of its kind, with the stated intention<br />
of “providing a sustainable and socially invested<br />
alternative to the widely scrutinised transport platforms<br />
that continue to shake the foundations of London’s<br />
transport industry”.<br />
The tech, funded and run by a co-operative<br />
of drivers, aims to modernise the black cab sector.<br />
It is fully accredited by Transport for London and uses<br />
black cab drivers fully versed in ‘The Knowledge’, the<br />
famous London taxi test which calls on them to commit<br />
25,000 of the capital’s streets to memory.<br />
Founder member Sean Paul Day said: “This a crucial<br />
time for tech starts-up like Taxiapp, who continue to<br />
prove more self-sufficient than established alternatives.”<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 9
OXFAM REPORT ON GLOBAL INEQUALITY<br />
CRISIS POINTS TO CO-OPERATIVE SOLUTIONS<br />
HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES<br />
FAIRTRADE MAKE?<br />
A key part of Fairtrade is that a minimum price is paid<br />
to certified producers for certified products. Minimum<br />
prices are set and adjusted periodically for specific<br />
regions, based on a methodology estimating the average<br />
cost of sustainable production. They are designed as<br />
a safety net for producers when market prices are low.<br />
But when Fairtrade-certified producers enjoy higher<br />
prices than non-certified farmers, it can be hard to isolate<br />
the factors behind this differential Price mechanism.<br />
Oxfam’s new report, Reward Work, Not Wealth, says<br />
co-ops can offer a solution to the world’s “inequality<br />
crisis”. It shows that last year a new billionaire was<br />
created every two days, with dangerous, poorly paid<br />
work supporting the extreme wealth of the few. 82% of all<br />
wealth created last year went to the top 1%. This amount<br />
was enough to end world poverty seven times over.<br />
Women overwhelmingly experience the worst working<br />
conditions, it says, while nine out of 10 billionaires are<br />
men. But the report adds that co-ops are one of the most<br />
important of the alternative models available for designing<br />
a fair economy.<br />
JOHN MCDONNELL ANNOUNCES<br />
FORMATION <strong>OF</strong> COMMUNITY WEALTH UNIT<br />
The Labour Party is setting up a Community Wealth<br />
Building Unit to support co-operatives and mutuals<br />
as a means of driving local economic growth.<br />
Speaking at an event in Preston, shadow chancellor John<br />
McDonnell said Labour would work with the Co-op Party,<br />
trade unions and thinktanks to implement the community<br />
wealth building model across the UK.<br />
Over the last couple of years, Preston City Council<br />
–inspired by the example of Cleveland in the USA –<br />
has been pioneering the model in the UK, through<br />
collaboration and procurement practices.<br />
DESJARDINS ADOPTS POLICY TO COMBAT<br />
CLIMATE CHANGE<br />
Canadian financial co-op Desjardins Group announced a<br />
series of measures to help it tackle climate change, with a<br />
new set of targets set to go into its team annual report from<br />
<strong>2018</strong> onwards. With assets of CAD $276.3bn, Desjardins is<br />
the country’s largest co-operative financial group and the<br />
largest association of credit unions in North America.<br />
“As a financial co-operative, we can lead by example<br />
and encourage the transition to a greener economy,”<br />
said Guy Cormier, president and chief executive.<br />
10 Review <strong>2018</strong>
US SENATOR STIRS DEBATE OVER TAX<br />
EXEMPTION FOR FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONS<br />
Credit unions in the USA are defending their right<br />
to federal tax exemption, following questions raised<br />
by Senate Finance Committee chair, Orrin Hatch.<br />
Federal credit unions across the country are currently<br />
exempt from federal corporate income tax on the grounds<br />
that they operate on a not for profit basis, are organised<br />
without capital stock, and operate for mutual purposes.<br />
However, state credit unions pay unrelated business<br />
income tax on income from activities not related to<br />
their tax-exempt purpose. The tax exemption is valued<br />
at $2.9bn a year, according to the Joint Committee<br />
on Taxation.<br />
FARM CO-OP USES SOLAR POWERED<br />
‘SUPER MONSTER WOLF’ TO PROTECT CROPS<br />
A robot wolf tested by Japan Agricultural Co-ops as<br />
a way of protecting crops is going into mass production.<br />
The Super Monster Wolf, a 65cm-long, 50cm-tall<br />
animatronic beast, is powered by solar-rechargeable<br />
batteries. With realistic-looking fur, sharp fangs and<br />
glaring red eyes, it was developed to scare wild boar<br />
away from rice and chestnut crops. When it detects an<br />
approaching animal, its eyes start flashing and it lets<br />
out a range of terrifying howls.<br />
COMPETITION MARKET AUTHORITY<br />
OPENS INQUIRY INTO CO-OP GROUP TAKEOVER<br />
<strong>OF</strong> NISA<br />
The Competition Market Authority has started an<br />
investigation into the anticipated acquisition by the<br />
Co-operative Group of Nisa Retail Limited.<br />
Launched on 22 February, the first phase of the inquiry<br />
is an invitation to comment, which will be open until<br />
9 March <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
The regulator is examining whether the transaction,<br />
if carried into effect, would result in the creation of a<br />
relevant merger situation which might cause “substantial<br />
lessening” of competition within the markets. The CMA<br />
will take a decision by 23 April.<br />
Nisa members approved the Co-op Group’s offer to buy<br />
the business for £137.5m in November last year but the<br />
offer requires the approval of CMA.<br />
Nisa is a brand and buying group of independent<br />
retailers and wholesalers in the UK.<br />
The Group became the exclusive bidder for Nisa after<br />
Sainsbury’s dropped out, arguably due to concerns that<br />
CMA could block the acquisition.<br />
Also a mutual, Nisa includes members who own<br />
convenience stores, with their stake based on how many<br />
stores they own. It provides a franchise model for 3,466<br />
convenience stores owned by 1,300 members. At the<br />
time the deal was reached, Nisa chair Peter Hartley said<br />
the Group would add buying power and product range<br />
to the mutual’s offering, while respecting its culture<br />
of independence. The Group would also take on Nisa's<br />
existing debt of £105m.<br />
Last year Nisa reported annual sales totalling £728m<br />
for the 26 weeks to October 2017, up by 12.4% from the<br />
previous year.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 11
Anniversaries<br />
150 YEARS<br />
East of England Co-operative<br />
The retailer can trace its roots to March 1868, when local<br />
people in the region came together to set up a shop selling<br />
quality food at affordable prices.<br />
Today’s society is an amalgamation of smaller societies<br />
from across East Anglia, including the Clacton, Coggeshall<br />
and Maldon societies. Now East of England has over 230<br />
stores and branches across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and<br />
Cambridgeshire, over 4,000 employees and<br />
288,000 members.<br />
Radstock Co-operative<br />
The society traces its roots back to March 1868,<br />
when there was a preliminary meeting at the town’s<br />
Workingman’s Hall to establish the Radstock Co-op<br />
and Industrial Society, to look after the interests<br />
of mining families.<br />
It began trading the following year from a purpose<br />
-built store at 3 Wells Road – still the location of the<br />
current head office.<br />
OTHER NOTABLE MILESTONES<br />
170 YEARS<br />
Burgesses' and Trades' Poor<br />
Box of Anstruther-Easter<br />
Friendly Society<br />
160 YEARS<br />
Kingston Unity Friendly<br />
Society Limited<br />
140 YEARS<br />
Railway Enginemen's<br />
Assurance Society Limited<br />
120 YEARS<br />
Fivemiletown And<br />
Brookeborough Co-op<br />
Agricultural And Dairy<br />
Society Limited<br />
100 YEARS<br />
South Norwood Allotment<br />
Holders Association,<br />
Gwinear Holdings, Graiseley<br />
and District Co-operative<br />
Allotment Society, Coseley<br />
Allotment and Smallholders<br />
Co-operative Society<br />
Limited, Torquay Allotment<br />
Holders' Co-operative<br />
Association, Castleford<br />
and District Allotments<br />
Federation, Dunstable<br />
Victoria Club and Institute,<br />
Hayes Working Men's Club<br />
and Institute Limited<br />
50 YEARS<br />
Mudeford and District<br />
Fishermen's Association,<br />
Warwickshire Country<br />
Markets Limited, Greenwich<br />
Leisure, London Federation<br />
of Housing Co-operatives,<br />
Mzough U Tiv Uk Benevolent<br />
Society, Flamesavers Credit<br />
Union, Calderdale Credit<br />
Union, Tees Credit Union,<br />
Plane Saver Credit<br />
Union, All Flintshire Credit<br />
Union, St John's Hill Credit<br />
Union, First Choice Credit<br />
Union, Castle & Crystal<br />
Credit Union, Partners<br />
Credit Union, Steam<br />
Ahead Credit Union, South<br />
Central Middlesbrough<br />
Credit Union, Irlam and<br />
Cadishead Savings and<br />
Credit Union, Lagan Valley<br />
Credit Union, Lecale Credit<br />
Union, Star Credit Union,<br />
Newtownbutler Credit<br />
Union, South Fermanagh<br />
Credit Union, Muckamore<br />
Credit Union.<br />
12 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Obituaries<br />
BILL HALL, 86<br />
Died on 3 January<br />
Bill Hall served as main<br />
board member of the former<br />
Derby & Burton, East<br />
Midlands, Central Midlands<br />
and Midlands Co-operative<br />
Societies, and was chair<br />
of the Derby Co-operative<br />
Party over several decades.<br />
JACQUI FORSTER, 55<br />
Died on 22 April<br />
A legal practitioner, Jacqui<br />
Forster was a leading light<br />
in the supporters’ trust<br />
movement. A lifelong fan<br />
of Altrincham FC, she<br />
helped set up a supporters’<br />
trust for the club and later<br />
became its vice president.<br />
Her involvement in the<br />
co-op movement started<br />
in 2003, when she joined<br />
Supporters Direct. As<br />
head of casework and<br />
constitutional affairs,<br />
she worked with supporters<br />
to purchase and develop<br />
community-owned clubs.<br />
In December 2015,<br />
she was given just months<br />
to live but continued her<br />
work. In January 2017<br />
she set up Women at the<br />
Game, to bring women fans<br />
together to attend matches.<br />
BRUCE THORDARSON,<br />
69 Died on 1 April<br />
As director general of the<br />
International Co-operative<br />
Alliance from 1988-2001,<br />
Bruce Thordarson played<br />
a leading role in drafting<br />
the Statement on the<br />
Co-operative Identity, which<br />
was released in 1995. He<br />
also served in various in the<br />
Canadian co-op movement.<br />
BURT CROSS, 97<br />
Died on 15 May<br />
Burt Cross joined CWS in<br />
1937, rising through the<br />
ranks from his first role in<br />
the postal department and<br />
taking an economics degree<br />
through a Co-operative<br />
College scholarship.<br />
In 1966 he became head<br />
of marketing for CWS and<br />
was involved in the rollout<br />
of the iconic cloverleaf logo.<br />
LORD THOMAS<br />
<strong>OF</strong> MACCLESFIELD, 80<br />
Died on 1 July<br />
A former managing<br />
director of the Co-op<br />
Bank, he established<br />
a new approach to<br />
banking, committing<br />
the organisation to its<br />
customer-led ethical policy<br />
in 1992. Paul Monaghan,<br />
chief executive of the<br />
Fair Tax Mark and former<br />
head of sustainability at<br />
the Co-op Group, said:<br />
“Before him, the UK’s co-op<br />
movement was shrinking<br />
into irrelevance... but<br />
he demonstrated what<br />
co-operative values and<br />
principles looked like in<br />
a modern context.”<br />
STANLEY MUCHIRI, 72<br />
Died on 6 October<br />
A former president of the<br />
International Co-operative<br />
Alliance’s regional office<br />
for Africa (ICA Africa),<br />
Stanley Muchiri was first<br />
elected in 2003.<br />
Under his mandate,<br />
the ICA held its 2013 Global<br />
Conference and General<br />
Assembly in Cape Town.<br />
It was the first time in the<br />
organisation’s long history<br />
that the event took place on<br />
the continent. At the time<br />
of his death, Mr Muchiri,<br />
who dedicated four decades<br />
of his life to Kenya’s co-op<br />
movement, was attending<br />
the Ministerial Conference<br />
of ICA Africa.<br />
LEO BARCHAM, 96<br />
Died on 6 October<br />
Leo Barcham helped<br />
found Queenslanders Credit<br />
Union in Australia in 1963<br />
after noticing colleagues<br />
struggling with their<br />
finances. His efforts were<br />
later honoured with a<br />
Pioneer Award at the<br />
Australian Credit<br />
Union Convention.<br />
SIR DENNIS LANDAU, 91<br />
Died on 27 October<br />
Sir Dennis joined the CWS<br />
in 1970 as food controller<br />
and was deputy chief<br />
executive from 1974 to 1980<br />
and chief executive from<br />
1980 to 1992. As deputy CEO,<br />
he played a leading role in<br />
the rationalisation<br />
of CWS’s activities in<br />
the 1970s, with efforts to<br />
modernise production and<br />
increase productivity.<br />
As chief executive,<br />
he tried to improve CWS’s<br />
performance by increasing<br />
integration of the its retail<br />
activities, developing closer<br />
links with the retail societies<br />
and renationalising its<br />
production and<br />
distribution activities.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 13
Q&A – Ed Mayo<br />
Co-operatives UK is the umbrella organisation for<br />
the sector, representing Britain’s thousands of co-op<br />
businesses. Ed Mayo has been leading the organisation<br />
since 2009, when he took over from Pauline Green. Prior<br />
to this, he was chief executive of the National Consumer<br />
Council and director of the New Economics Foundation.<br />
Here he examines what 2019 could bring for co-ops<br />
across the country – the challenges posed by Brexit,<br />
as well as potential opportunities for co-ops to present<br />
themselves as alternative business models.<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for Cooperatives UK?<br />
We had a tremendous year with more co-ops than<br />
ever in membership, some important policy wins and<br />
pioneering innovation and growth within the movement.<br />
Together with our members, we’ve helped develop the<br />
UK’s first platform co-ops, launched a new body (Student<br />
Co-op Homes) and supported over 160 groups through our<br />
co-op development programme, The Hive – which this<br />
year received extended support from The Co-operative<br />
Bank until 2020. This is in line with the National<br />
Co-operative Development Strategy.<br />
We influenced farming policy with the creation of a<br />
£10m collaboration fund, safeguarding farmers’ ability<br />
to co-operate through amendments to Brexit legislation.<br />
A commitment was secured from government to review<br />
legal regulations for societies, while our campaigning<br />
resulted in the FCA proposing to abolish annual fees for<br />
societies – with potential savings of up to £495 a year<br />
per society.<br />
Every year Co-operatives UK publishes a report on<br />
the country’s co-operative economy. What did this year’s<br />
report reveal about the state of the sector?<br />
In <strong>2018</strong>, we identified that new co-ops are almost<br />
twice as likely as start-up companies to survive their first<br />
five years. Just 44% of companies survive the difficult early<br />
years while 80% of co-operatives are still going strong.<br />
Co-operatives are resilient and sustainable businesses<br />
and the Co-op Economy data reinforces that view.<br />
The report also showed that the UK’s 7,226 independent<br />
co-operatives contribute £36.1bn a year to the UK economy<br />
and employ 235,000 people. The number of active members<br />
continues to grow, reaching 13.1 million.<br />
How did co-operatives make a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
We’ve seen continued growth in community benefit<br />
societies launching successful community share offers<br />
to save local shops and pubs, finance renewal energy<br />
schemes, transform community facilities, support local<br />
food growing, restore heritage buildings and much more.<br />
In <strong>2018</strong> we were delighted to award the 100th Community<br />
Shares Mark to Eden Rose Community, an organisation<br />
benefiting people with life limiting conditions. We’ve<br />
supported 33 inspiring community groups with nearly<br />
£1m in supplementary investment income through the<br />
Power to Change-funded Booster programme.<br />
What will be the main challenges for co-ops in 2019<br />
and what can they do to prepare for these?<br />
The B word is unavoidable, sorry! Brexit and the<br />
uncertainty it brings will be a challenge for co-ops<br />
– and businesses of all types. We’re now lobbying for<br />
co-ops as government designs the UK’s replacement for<br />
EU funds. As we move into 2019 we’ll be campaigning<br />
alongside partners for more government spending on<br />
programmes which broaden ownership in the economy.<br />
In terms of preparation, the first step for any co-op is<br />
to identify and review key risks to decide what your co-op<br />
should do in a range of scenarios. It’s not all doom and<br />
gloom, as we all know that co-ops often spring up as a<br />
solution to broken markets and there is an opportunity<br />
to ‘do it ourselves’ in 2019.<br />
14 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Credit: Co-operatives UK
Q&A – Ariel Guarco<br />
Ariel Guarco took over as president of the International<br />
Co-operative Alliance following his election at the<br />
organisation's General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur<br />
in November 2017. He has been a board member<br />
of the Alliance since 2013 and is also president<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for you and for the global co-operative<br />
sector more generally?<br />
We are at the end of a very positive year in which<br />
we were able to carry out many of the actions we had<br />
set out to do. I am very satisfied with the performance<br />
of the Alliance’s staff headed by its director general<br />
Bruno Roelants.<br />
In the same sense, we are achieving the desired synergy<br />
between the board, the regions and the sectors. Through<br />
a meeting that took place during the first months of the<br />
year we were able to get a clear picture of the issues and<br />
needs of our members and we are laying the groundwork<br />
for elaborating a ten-year strategy. Furthermore, we have<br />
increased our membership, going from 305 to 313 members<br />
spread across 110 countries and 5 continents – and have<br />
been in contact with many of them. Personally, I travelled<br />
to 20 countries, sharing with colleagues the vision of the<br />
role we need to play as a global movement. I also met with<br />
leaders of other organisations, such as the ILO, the FAO<br />
and IFAD. This helped us position ourselves more clearly<br />
within the framework of the 2030 agenda of the United<br />
Nations and become a key figure in the Global Sustainable<br />
Development Alliance.<br />
What were the most important events for<br />
co-operatives in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
There were numerous events and we value each<br />
meeting that will enable us to strengthen the integration<br />
and presence of co-operatives at local, regional and global<br />
levels. Personally, I was touched by participating in the<br />
International Day of Co-operatives celebration at the<br />
United Nations again, along with the Committee for the<br />
Advancement and Promotion of Co-operatives (Copac).<br />
This, along with other exchanges, confirmed that the<br />
International Co-operative Alliance is valued and listened<br />
to at the United Nations.<br />
We also arranged four board meetings in Brussels, Paris,<br />
Birmingham and Buenos Aires, which were very important<br />
for generating action plans within the framework of the<br />
of Cooperar, the Co-operative Confederation<br />
of Argentina. Co-op News caught up with him to<br />
find out how his first year in this role was and what<br />
the movement should look forward to in 2019.<br />
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and setting<br />
out a strategy for the next decade. I would like to also<br />
highlight that in Buenos Aires we brought together some<br />
of the strongest co-operatives and co-operative groups from<br />
across the world to launch the International Co-operative<br />
Entrepreneurship Think Tank. Finally, I shared many good<br />
moments with colleagues from many countries I was able<br />
to visit, such as Nepal, India, Germany, the UK, France,<br />
Spain, Italy, Denmark, the USA, Brazil, El Salvador, Puerto<br />
Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Dominican<br />
Republic, Ecuador and Bolivia, among others. Next<br />
year, we will organise our General Assembly in Rwanda,<br />
Africa, which will be a great opportunity to showcase the<br />
continent’s co-operatives and help to position the African<br />
co-operative movement on the global scene.<br />
What will be the main challenges for co-ops in 2019?<br />
Co-operatives exist within the same world as<br />
other enterprises and suffer the same consequences.<br />
But how they face these challenges is what sets them<br />
apart. Intercooperation and creating strategic partnerships<br />
are perhaps the greatest challenges as a movement.<br />
Could you give us any details about the Alliance’s<br />
projects for 2019?<br />
Efforts to increase the visibility of co-ops as sustainable<br />
development goals (SDG) actors will be central to our work<br />
in 2019. It is something our members have asked for in the<br />
survey we carried out at the beginning of this year and we<br />
have taken that into account. The ICA team is working on<br />
building a multi-year campaign until 2030 focused on this<br />
theme. And in June we will organise a conference in Geneva<br />
with the ILO, which will be themed around The Future<br />
of Work, within the framework of the centenary of the<br />
Alliance. A few days after, on 6 July, all co-operators will<br />
celebrate the International Day of Co-operatives. Guests<br />
are invited! In October we will be in Kigali for our Global<br />
Conference and General Assembly, which will be focused<br />
on sustainable development.<br />
16 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Credit: The Co-operative College
Technology: Polly Robbins<br />
Co-working space and events manager at tech worker co-operative Outlandish<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your co-op and the tech co-op<br />
sector in general?<br />
Good for collaborations: our CoTech network<br />
continues to grow and we are able to take on bigger and<br />
more complex projects by teaming up with other co-ops<br />
with different specialisms. Collaborations this year include<br />
new iterations of washdata.org and schoolcuts.org.uk<br />
Travel abroad: one of our members spoke at the UN in<br />
Istanbul about a technology we are using; another spoke<br />
in Norway to share learning about how the co-operative<br />
model works.<br />
We have faced a serious challenge around banking,<br />
though – we have struggled to find a bank that<br />
understands our co-op structure. The Co-op Bank itself<br />
only recently started catering for organisations with<br />
our particular legal structure, and still then is not very<br />
confident dealing with it. We are also struggling to find<br />
accountants who understand the company and the logic<br />
behind it!<br />
While the CoTech network has a lot of potential,<br />
it's also challenging as few of the co-ops have enough<br />
work or financial growth to put the money and/or time<br />
into growing the initiative.<br />
we can continue to provide low and no-cost space to<br />
people who need it).<br />
Getting ready for an election, particularly with the<br />
campaign sites that we win. We're talking to the Labour<br />
Party and policy makers about what co-ops are, and why<br />
they support the economy, so that when there is a new<br />
government co-ops will be supported to grow.<br />
How did your co-op make a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
We grew Space4, our co-working and events space.<br />
We have brought more than 500 people to the space<br />
through events and workshops, all of whom have learnt<br />
about what co-ops are, and that the tech co-op sector<br />
exists. This initiative has also supported the development<br />
of four new co-ops, which are given free space, plus<br />
advice and support to become a co-op.<br />
London Tech-Week – we hosted a big event with<br />
publicity alongside it. This attracted people from the<br />
UK government, international governments and the<br />
corporate tech sector. We showed them that co-ops are<br />
capable of creating amazing technology and services.<br />
How is your co-operative preparing for the<br />
challenges ahead?<br />
Continuing collaborations, so that we draw on<br />
the strengths of the whole co-operative sector.<br />
Looking into alternative funding for Space4, so that<br />
we're not reliant on sales in order to grow (meaning<br />
An event held by Outlandish. Credit: Soda Visual<br />
18 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Healthcare: Carlos Zarco<br />
President of the International Health Co-operative Organisation (IHCO)<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for IHCO and the global health<br />
co-operative sector?<br />
It has been an important year for the health co-op<br />
sector. The study we did in collaboration with Euricse<br />
confirmed that around 100 million places across the<br />
world have access to health services through co-ops<br />
and over the past 30 years the sector consolidated in<br />
response to the difficulties faced by health systems,<br />
having to come with an increase in demand and<br />
health expenses.<br />
We have examples such as Unimed in Brazil, which<br />
boasts 345 health co-ops and 114,000 doctors, which this<br />
year alone has served 38% of the country’s population.<br />
Another relevant case study is in the Philippines,<br />
where 1Coop Health reached an agreement with a network<br />
of health centres to provide affordable health plans and<br />
services, which facilitates the access to health services<br />
for more and more people.<br />
Health co-operatives share a strong presence in<br />
Europe as well. In Spain, which according to a report<br />
by Bloomberg has the most efficient health system on<br />
the continent, more than 2.2 million people have benefited<br />
from healthcare from a co-operative. This helps ease<br />
pressure on public services, which in turn benefits<br />
the general public.<br />
Could you give us any details about IHCO’s<br />
projects for 2019?<br />
In our working plan for 2019 we have included<br />
actions to reinforce collaboration with international<br />
bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO),<br />
the International Labour Organization (ILO), the G20<br />
and B20 and the Alliance for Health Promotion, with the<br />
objective of improving the visibility of the values of health<br />
co-operatives. We want to be present and participate in<br />
the relevant forums to ensure the IHCO and its members<br />
are well represented.<br />
We also want to raise awareness about the role<br />
health co-operatives play in the UN’s Agenda for 2030<br />
and their contribution to attaining universal health<br />
coverage. More specifically, we are working with the ILO<br />
and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation<br />
to create a platform to raise awareness about health<br />
co-operatives, which will include case studies of good<br />
practices and training tools as well as a database on<br />
health co-ops, which can bring their experience in the<br />
development of co-operative healthcare in low and<br />
middle income countries.<br />
What will be the main challenges for health<br />
co-operatives in 2019?<br />
Health co-operatives must use their full potential<br />
to position the co-operative model on the agenda<br />
of governments as an important tool in dealing with<br />
issues such as an ageing population, the chronification<br />
of diseases and the sustainability of healthcare systems.<br />
Health co-operatives are an enterprise model that are<br />
economically viable, which compete on the market to the<br />
same extent if not more than other types of enterprises,<br />
and which are also socially responsible and have a<br />
long-term perspective, which favours sustainability.<br />
For decades, health co-operatives have proven their<br />
ability to adapt to different socio-economic contexts,<br />
to respond to the new necessities that emerge in society<br />
and bring resources that would otherwise not be allocated<br />
to health and wellbeing.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 19
Legal: David Alcock<br />
Partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your organisation and the co-op<br />
sector in general?<br />
For Anthony Collins Solicitors, <strong>2018</strong> was a good year;<br />
we are opening an office in Manchester, which we are very<br />
excited about. It’s the first time we’ve had a base outside<br />
Birmingham and represents a real step change. We were<br />
also delighted to get the Co-operatives UK legal surgery<br />
contract this year – it’s already meant that we’ve been<br />
able to support many more co-ops.<br />
For the sector in general, I think it’s a really mixed<br />
picture. Trading conditions are tricky for all sorts<br />
of organisations and while co-ops are very resilient,<br />
I think it’s been a challenging time. But there’s been<br />
lots of interest in mutuality and better ways of doing<br />
business, so that’s great.<br />
What were the key legal issues co-ops have<br />
campaigned for this year?<br />
It’s been an interesting year from that perspective.<br />
Particular sectors have been very busy; co-operative<br />
and community-led housing organisations have been<br />
successful in lobbying for the Community Housing<br />
Fund, which is very significant for that movement<br />
and gives some real opportunities in the next two<br />
years. It’s a short timescale but worth a go!<br />
More generally, it was good to see Co-operatives<br />
UK talking to the sector about possible legal changes<br />
across the board. At ACS we have argued strongly for<br />
the introduction of an “indivisible reserve” for societies,<br />
ensuring that part of the value generated from a co-op’s<br />
work can be held for the growth of the movement or<br />
particular initiatives.<br />
With Brexit due to take place next year, what<br />
challenges will co-ops face in terms of legislation?<br />
I think the immediate implications (depending on<br />
what kind of deal we get) are practical rather than legal.<br />
All we know for certain is that the legal framework itself<br />
will not change on 1 April 2019, as the EU Withdrawal<br />
Act takes EU law just before we exit and applies it to<br />
our law the following day – just so the law doesn’t<br />
fall off a cliff.<br />
Beyond that, as the change starts to take effect, we<br />
will see very major changes in agricultural policy and<br />
subsidy, which will significantly affect co-ops in that<br />
sector. We’re also likely to see changes in consumer<br />
protection law and policy, employment law, and<br />
many other areas where EU involvement has been<br />
very significant. Essentially – watch this space.<br />
It’s going to be an interesting ride.<br />
20 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Politics: Claire McCarthy<br />
General secretary of the Co-operative Party<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for the Co-operative Party?<br />
The Co-operative Party had another busy and<br />
successful year. We continue to grow our membership<br />
and our impact.<br />
We have continued to drive forward on the growth<br />
agenda. We were delighted to commission the New<br />
Economics Foundation to write an independent report<br />
on what steps it would take to double the size of the<br />
co-operative sector. Co-ops Unleashed sets out an exciting<br />
blueprint for future action. Our implementation group has<br />
begun consulting the movement on the proposals in the<br />
report, not least what a co-operative development agency<br />
for England would look like.<br />
We made another big step forward in our work in<br />
local government this year. A record number of Labour<br />
& Co-operative councillors were elected across England<br />
in May – including more than 200 in London, where we<br />
now have more Councillors than the Lib Dems. The Labour<br />
& Co-operative Metro Mayors – Andy Burnham and Dan<br />
Jarvis – have both begun work to investigate the full<br />
potential of co-operation in their city regions.<br />
More than 70 local authorities across Britain have<br />
signed up to the Party’s charter against modern slavery<br />
ensuring that there is no place to hide for exploitation<br />
in council supply chains. This includes councils run<br />
by the Conservatives and the SNP and in many cases<br />
approval for the charter has been passed unanimously<br />
in council chambers.<br />
government, led by Co-operative politicians, including<br />
the London Assembly, Welsh Assembly, Scottish<br />
Parliament, Westminster and the European Parliament.<br />
What are the main challenges ahead for 2019<br />
and how is the Party preparing for them?<br />
It’s hard to look ahead without mentioning Brexit.<br />
The Party is working with the movement to make the case<br />
against a damaging No Deal Brexit; as well as working to<br />
ensure co-operation can play a bigger role going forward,<br />
most recently in the passage of the Agriculture and<br />
Fisheries Bills.<br />
Beyond Brexit, there is important work to do that we<br />
won’t neglect. One focus will be working with our newest<br />
organisational member – Usdaw – and the retail societies<br />
on strengthening the protections for shopworkers that are<br />
threatened or attacked during the course of their work.<br />
Shopworkers do an important job for us all in enforcing<br />
the law and we must collectively have their backs.<br />
What were the key issues Co-op Party MPs have<br />
campaigned for this year?<br />
Labour & Co-operative MPs, peers, Welsh Assembly<br />
Members (AMs) and Members of the Scottish Parliament<br />
(MSPs) were active across a wide range of issues of<br />
importance to the movement including community<br />
energy, the expansion of credit unions, the regulatory<br />
environment for co-ops, support for employee ownership<br />
and employee share ownership, the contribution of the<br />
co-op sector to the British economy and Fairtrade.<br />
In addition, they have played a key role in our<br />
campaigns on tackling modern slavery and, in just the<br />
last few weeks, on tackling violence against shopworkers.<br />
During our month of action against modern slavery<br />
in the autumn there was activity at every level of<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 21
Channel Islands: Colin Macleod<br />
Chief executive of the Channel Islands Co-operative Society<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your co-op and your sector?<br />
Despite challenging trading conditions and the<br />
introduction of Morrisons to the islands we are fortunate<br />
to have had another year of solid progress. Our food and<br />
travel businesses delivered a strong uplift in sales and<br />
our care businesses (medical, pharmacy and funeral)<br />
continue to grow.<br />
We opened two new convenience stores, Locale<br />
Charing Cross in Jersey and Locale The Bridge in<br />
Guernsey, and we continue to invest in our society<br />
to ensure that our range of services are relevant and<br />
appealing to our pan-island members.<br />
How did your co-op make a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
In early <strong>2018</strong> we launched our ‘Belonging is<br />
everything campaign’. Believing in the value of belonging<br />
has shaped our society since opening our first store in<br />
the Channel Islands in 1919 and making a difference to<br />
the communities we serve is at the heart of everything<br />
we do.<br />
In <strong>2018</strong> we:<br />
• returned £8m to local member owners in dividend<br />
• purchased £11m worth of goods from over 40<br />
local producers<br />
• donated £230,000 to over 500 local community projects<br />
• have phased out the use of single-use plastic carrier bags<br />
and, are working alongside the Co-op Group and local<br />
suppliers to reduce the amount of plastic usage<br />
and increase recycling opportunities.<br />
How is your co-operative preparing for the<br />
challenges ahead?<br />
Following a significant strategic planning exercise<br />
in <strong>2018</strong> we are very much looking forward to bringing<br />
our Belonging message to life. Next year, significant<br />
investment in transformation will start to yield benefits<br />
as we become far better equipped with insight. We believe<br />
we have a clear and compelling view on how to build<br />
emotional connection with our owners in the digital<br />
age and we are excited about the future.<br />
22 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Agriculture: Umberto Di Pasquo<br />
Senior policy advisor at European agri-cooperatives and farmers apex body Copa-Cogeca<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your organisation and European<br />
agri co-ops in general?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was a productive and dynamic year here.<br />
Together with our members, staff worked with dedication<br />
and ambition to keep EU agri-co-operatives and farmers<br />
informed and their positions heard and represented.<br />
We have continued pushing for a strong and sustainable<br />
future CAP that benefits our farmers, their co-operatives<br />
and consumers, ensuring vibrant rural areas across the<br />
EU. In particular, we have advocated for a truly common<br />
CAP with a strong budget, because EU farming can make<br />
a significant contribution to combating climate<br />
change – but only if we can ensure the economic<br />
viability of farmers. The use of new technologies, better<br />
functioning agri-food value chain and investments to<br />
ensure competitiveness of the sector in the eyes of the<br />
young are just some elements that we are focusing on<br />
in this regard. Additionally, we are also encouraging<br />
the creation and development of professional, well-run<br />
and competitive processing and distribution structures<br />
operated by producers and their co-operatives.<br />
Recognising the specificities of the agricultural sector<br />
and allowing farmers to work collectively to pursue their<br />
economic objectives are two essential preconditions for<br />
strengthening farmers’ position in the food supply chain<br />
and thus improving their bargaining power.<br />
We succeeded with our advocacy for EU legislation<br />
to counter Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) in the Food<br />
Supply Chain, while another focus was on the opening of<br />
new markets and promoting our high European standards<br />
of production abroad. In the secretariat during the past<br />
year we have actively<br />
followed and contributed<br />
to all EU trade negotiations<br />
and engaged in talks with<br />
our respective counterparts<br />
across the world.<br />
Finally, Brexit has<br />
certainly been one of the<br />
main topics on the Brussels<br />
agenda this past year and<br />
in Copa and Cogeca it<br />
was no different. The UK<br />
represents a significant<br />
part of the EU single market. Additionally, besides the<br />
many international European agri-co-operatives that have<br />
proceeded with classical foreign investment strategies in<br />
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (exporting, licensing<br />
and franchising, strategic alliances, joint ventures and<br />
FDI), some agri-co-operatives have established either<br />
supplier relations or even co-operative member relations<br />
with British farmers in the UK. Several transnational<br />
co-ops have mother companies in Northwest Europe,<br />
particularly in the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands<br />
and Denmark. The combination of small home markets<br />
and high market integration with neighbouring UK<br />
has often driven the internationalisation strategies<br />
of these organisations. Economic ties between the UK<br />
and continental EU are strong. European farmers and agri<br />
co-operatives from the EU and the UK will be hit hard by<br />
Brexit. We have been following the developments very<br />
closely and met the EU chief negotiator Michael Barnier<br />
and his team on numerous occasions to be fully informed<br />
about the negotiation process and to raise our concerns.<br />
How did agri co-ops make a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
Agri-co-operatives are businesses that survive or fail<br />
based on their ability to provide services or goods to their<br />
farmer members, who own the enterprises.<br />
They are entrepreneurial and must compete with other<br />
forms of business. They have ensured the sustainability<br />
and competitiveness of the sector, by serving farmer<br />
members and understanding consumer demand, by<br />
supporting farmers in rebalancing their position in the<br />
food chain, by pooling existing processing assets and<br />
keeping them in the hands of their farmer members,<br />
by moving the sector from resilience to anti-fragility,<br />
by creating job and boosting growth in rural areas.<br />
How can co-ops prepare for the challenges ahead?<br />
Agri-cooperatives should focus their strategic<br />
operational priorities on: a) continuing to empower farmer<br />
members by providing tools to thrive in a circular, resilient<br />
and innovative agricultural economy; b) going beyond<br />
resilience or robustness and learning how to gain from<br />
unexpected stress or from volatility; c) creating value<br />
-added economies of scale, increased market position<br />
and consolidation.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 23
Education: Simon Parkinson<br />
Principal and chief executive of the Co-operative College<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your organisation and your sector?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was an exciting year for the Co-operative College.<br />
We extended our charitable registration to Scotland<br />
and have expanded our UK project base throughout<br />
the year. We have also re-positioned and re-established<br />
our accredited learning offer and have delivered a<br />
number of new courses in the UK and internationally.<br />
In a year where there were serious concerns raised about<br />
the practices at a number of international development<br />
NGOs, we have worked with other members of the<br />
European Co-operative Development Platform (ECDP)<br />
and the International Co-operative Development<br />
Platform (ICDP) to demonstrate the benefits a co-op<br />
approach to can bring. Education has been at the core<br />
of all our activities throughout <strong>2018</strong> and we’re determined<br />
to change things for the better. We believe that the funding<br />
model for higher education in the UK is broken and we’re<br />
committed to doing something about it. That’s why we’re<br />
working on developing a Co-operative University that<br />
places students right at its heart, and we’ve made huge<br />
strides so far. We want to challenge the current status<br />
quo, shake up the sector and offer something that’s<br />
truly unique.<br />
How has the College made a difference?<br />
As the education charity of the UK movement,<br />
our impact is clear, with project work that transforms<br />
the lives of individuals here in the UK and across the<br />
globe. Our work with young care leavers and young<br />
people with learning disabilities has seen the confidence<br />
of all those involved improve drastically, offering<br />
them new opportunities that not only transform their<br />
lives but also have a hugely positive effect on their<br />
local communities. Our established programme of<br />
international work also continues to yield incredible<br />
results, as highlighted by our Co-operative Pathways<br />
project in Malawi. Since 2012 we have now directly helped<br />
over 30,000 people as they establish or improve their<br />
own co-operative enterprises, a stunning impact that’s<br />
transformed communities right across the country.<br />
What are you most looking forward to in 2019?<br />
Founded in 1919, next year marks our 100th birthday,<br />
a landmark moment in our history. We have a series<br />
of events planned, all building towards our Centenary<br />
Conference at Rochdale Town Hall in November. We want<br />
to use our centenary to build on existing relationships and<br />
partnerships, while establishing new relationships across<br />
the UK and internationally. We need the support of the UK<br />
co-operative movement more than ever in our 100th year<br />
and there are a huge number of ways to get involved. From<br />
joining us as an individual or organisational membership<br />
to attending one of our new accredited courses, there has<br />
never been a better time to join our fight in building a<br />
fairer world for everyone.<br />
Can you tell us more about any of the College's<br />
upcoming projects?<br />
Our Together Enterprise project in Scotland starts<br />
early next year and will transform the lives of young<br />
people in some of the most deprived areas of the country.<br />
We will also be launching an Anglo/German partnership<br />
with DGRV (the apex association of German co-operatives)<br />
to expand our work in Malawi. Our strong partnerships<br />
with organisations such as the Co-operative Foundation<br />
and the Potterspury Lodge Trust will also ensure that<br />
our charitable work goes from strength to strength,<br />
however we will need the support of the co-operative<br />
movement and beyond to ensure we can continue<br />
empowering people to make a real positive difference<br />
in their communities.<br />
24 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Credit unions: Matt Bland<br />
Head of policy and communications at the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (Abcul)<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your organisation and your sector?<br />
It’s fair to say that <strong>2018</strong> has been a challenging<br />
year for the credit union sector. Though credit unions<br />
continue to grow and strengthen overall, very sadly<br />
there has been a higher than usual number of failed credit<br />
unions. This demonstrates the challenging environment<br />
credit unions are operating in as regulatory burdens<br />
increase, the expectations of consumers expand and<br />
technological innovation becomes ever more imperative.<br />
For Abcul it has been a year of change as we<br />
welcomed a new chief executive (Robert Kelly) and a<br />
new president of the association’s board (Karen Bennett).<br />
With new leadership there are new ideas about how to<br />
take the sector forward and there are exciting<br />
opportunities on the horizon.<br />
How did British credit unions make a difference<br />
in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
Credit unions continue to be the primary vehicle<br />
for the delivery of inclusive financial services in the<br />
country. We have conducted analysis this year on those<br />
credit unions that use our subsidiary’s ALD credit decision<br />
tool which demonstrates the depth and breadth of credit<br />
unions’ lending to those at the margins of the financial<br />
system. Credit unions are lending heavily, for instance,<br />
into all of the 10 most deprived communities according<br />
to the indices of multiple deprivation and consider loans<br />
that few other lenders would in terms of amount or<br />
applicants’ credit scores while charging considerably<br />
less than any other lender to these groups. We also see<br />
patterns of improvement among the credit profiles<br />
of credit union borrowers.<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was an exciting year given the profile and<br />
prominence of issues of financial exclusion and<br />
over-indebtedness from government, the regulatory<br />
authorities and people like Michael Sheen and<br />
his new End High Cost Credit Alliance. There is a<br />
groundswell of support for action to promote the likes<br />
of credit unions and we are keen to see the warm words<br />
and rhetoric of <strong>2018</strong> turn into concrete action in 2019.<br />
What are the key challenges for credit unions in 2019<br />
and how can they prepare for these?<br />
Credit unions’ big challenge is that of relevance.<br />
We know that credit unions’ values resonate with<br />
millennial consumers but today too many credit unions<br />
fall short of that generation’s expectations in terms of<br />
digital accessibility and convenience. Transforming the<br />
way that credit unions can be accessed by their members<br />
will be critical to securing their future. But there are<br />
lots of exciting developments in the fintech space which<br />
present opportunities for credit unions to tackle this<br />
head on.<br />
For Abcul we have some ambitions in the policy space<br />
to provide an environment in which credit unions can<br />
flourish and we are hopeful 2019 will be a year of progress<br />
in that respect. We’d like to see government legislate to<br />
enable credit union innovation in lending, the Bank of<br />
England review its upper capital requirements to unlock<br />
latent growth in the sector and the proposed new Financial<br />
Inclusion Organisation to begin investing in ambitious,<br />
growing credit unions.<br />
Credit unions have much to be optimistic about despite<br />
the many challenges they face. Abcul will be launching<br />
a major town hall consultation at our annual conference<br />
in March to set the vision for the next five years of our<br />
movement and to provide clarity of purpose in terms of the<br />
sector’s ambition, our shared strategy for achieving it and<br />
the ways in which those with a stake in our future<br />
can support us to get there.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 25
Worker co-op: Siôn Whellens<br />
Member of Calverts design and print co-operative<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your co-operative and your sector?<br />
Exciting and a bit nervous-making! We’ve done some<br />
great creative work, including designing and producing<br />
Co-operatives UK’s strategy pack. The mood among our<br />
members is upbeat. There are big challenges, because<br />
the market for high-end print – one half of our business<br />
– has shrunk so much. Few of our local competitors are<br />
left, so we’re up against businesses outside London and<br />
elsewhere in Europe. We’re still very much a ‘movement’<br />
communication design and production house. We’re doing<br />
less with charities and campaigns, which have switched<br />
their investment towards web-based communication.<br />
On the other hand, we’re increasingly working<br />
with niche brands in sectors like fashion and jewellery.<br />
We’re also doing more in the higher education and<br />
radical publishing sectors.<br />
Calverts is a contributing member of the Worker<br />
Co-op Solidarity Fund. How has the fund made<br />
a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
Solidfund proved it’s possible for co-operators to<br />
generate resources for development using web-based tools.<br />
The new Principle 6 platform was inspired by it. Secondly,<br />
it increased the confidence and autonomy of the worker<br />
co-op network. Over 600 members have generated more<br />
than £110,000 – all individuals, not co-ops, which is<br />
significant. And not all Solidfund supporters are worker<br />
co-operators, so it’s shown that there’s wider support<br />
for industrial democracy and worker self-management.<br />
Solidfund supported a number of projects in <strong>2018</strong>,<br />
including the Barefoot Coop Developer days aimed<br />
at creating a new generation<br />
of worker co-op organisers.<br />
It also supported<br />
individuals to attend<br />
trainings and conferences<br />
such as Open:<strong>2018</strong>, and<br />
made small but important<br />
donations to underresourced<br />
co-ops or<br />
startups like Creative<br />
Workers Coop in Belfast,<br />
and Kitty’s Laundrette<br />
in Liverpool – a workercommunity<br />
co-op which is creating a social and arts<br />
space, as well as a decent eco-laundry, in a deprived<br />
part of the city.<br />
How is Calverts preparing for the challenges ahead?<br />
We’ve mainly focused on improving our strategic<br />
marketing focus and activity. We built a completely new,<br />
and rather fantastic, website that we think articulates<br />
Calverts’ values and commercial proposition in exactly<br />
the right way, with a strong focus on visual content<br />
and a design that embodies our claim to be a creative,<br />
authoritative and expert resource for our clients.<br />
In October we recruited Sarah Jackson, a brilliant<br />
marketing communicator, to lead on Calverts’ new<br />
business strategy, and we’re always looking to bring in<br />
new ideas and talent – both as a succession strategy and<br />
to be able to think sideways about how we not just survive<br />
but thrive in a very competitive industry.<br />
Left: Sion Whellens, above: Paper Doll printed by Calverts<br />
26 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Energy: Mark Luntley & John Malone<br />
Director and development director at Energy4All, an umbrella body facilitating new energy co-ops<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for you and your sector?<br />
The whole energy sector is undergoing massive shifts<br />
as technology allows societies to change from dirty fossil<br />
-fuelled power generation to clean green energy.<br />
The pace of that transition is accelerating.<br />
There are now 228 active community energy<br />
organisations in England, Wales and NI – which is<br />
great news. However the growth of community energy<br />
groups has stalled in the UK, largely because of a less<br />
supportive government framework.<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was also an incredibly busy year at Energy4All.<br />
We’ve raised over £4.6m in capital in the last two years.<br />
We have a series of projects in Scotland where the national<br />
government is more supportive of community energy.<br />
In spite of the hostile government framework there’s<br />
a real sense of enthusiasm and entrepreneurialism among<br />
our existing and new co-operatives. We’ve developed two<br />
hydro schemes, and refinanced a key scheme at Mean<br />
Moor. We’ve also been elected to the board of European<br />
co-ops and have been supporting their work.<br />
How did renewable energy co-ops make a difference<br />
in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
Community Energy England highlight that in 2017,<br />
community energy capacity in England, Wales and NI<br />
totalled around 169MW – with 33.5MW added in the<br />
year. That’s enough to power 67,000 homes.<br />
But co-operatives make more difference than the<br />
energy generated: co-operatively owned community<br />
projects put people, typically local people, in genuine<br />
control of how their money is used to create democratically<br />
controlled energy. This is in sharp contrast to the<br />
existing models which seek to relegate citizens to the<br />
role of passive, uninformed consumers. We believe that<br />
community ownership is creating a growing band of<br />
people informed about how their energy is generated,<br />
and interested in making other changes in their lives<br />
as a result. We are supporting independent academic<br />
research to establish just how strong this relationship<br />
is among the Energy4All co-ops and their members.<br />
Renewable energy is one of the most popular ways<br />
of generating electricity and community projects are<br />
even more popular. If we want more projects to go<br />
ahead, one key way of achieving this is to make sure<br />
they are genuinely community owned.<br />
How can renewable energy co-ops prepare for<br />
the challenges ahead?<br />
Putting individuals at the heart of the energy<br />
transition is key. Umbrella organisations like<br />
Energy4All help individuals and communities to<br />
take control of energy generation by sharing skills<br />
and expertise.<br />
One opportunity is that the grid is becoming smarter<br />
and energy storage is becoming cheaper. If we want<br />
the public to embrace these technologies, we should<br />
put communities – through co-operatives – at the heart<br />
of these changes, as is happening in several other<br />
European countries.<br />
John Malone, and Mark Luntley<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 27
Singapore: Dolly Goh<br />
Chief executive of the Singapore National Consumer Federation (SNCF)<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for you and your organisation?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> has been a year of changes. The Singapore<br />
National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), through<br />
discussions with its affiliates, provided feedback to<br />
the regulator which impacted the final outcome of the<br />
amended Co-operative Societies Act which came into<br />
operation in April. Some of the positive outcomes are that<br />
the number of individuals needed to set up a co-op has<br />
been reduced from 10 to five; and outdated membership<br />
prohibitions and rules were amended to help facilitate<br />
development of the co-operatives to encourage formation<br />
of new co-ops.<br />
SNCF has also been steadily nurturing Singapore’s<br />
youths in understanding co-operatives and that the<br />
co-operative path is a viable and fulfilling one. Our<br />
youth programmes – such as co-op clubs, Learning<br />
Journey to Co-ops, SCOOP Trail – help foster students’<br />
interests. In <strong>2018</strong> we reached out to over 40,000 youths.<br />
In 2019, Singapore will commemorate its bicentennial.<br />
As part of the celebrations, SNCF is organising a series<br />
of activities themed Coming Together As One Through Art,<br />
from September <strong>2018</strong> to October 2019. This will show how<br />
the man in the street has benefited from the social and<br />
economic impact that co-operatives have created. It will<br />
also promote co-ops as an alternative you can turn to in<br />
times of need, and inspire people, particular youth, to use<br />
the co-operative model in doing well. SNCF worked with<br />
our credit affiliates to launch the first pop-up art event<br />
in September <strong>2018</strong> which focused on the topic of money<br />
and the social issues related to it, such as money-lending<br />
and financial inclusion. The event drew more than 7,000<br />
people – 10% posted their visit on Instagram.<br />
How did co-ops in Singapore make a difference<br />
in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
In <strong>2018</strong>, co-operatives provided job opportunities for<br />
more than 18,000 people in Singapore, and they continue<br />
to deliver social impact. SNCF, together with some of the<br />
affiliates from the credit sector, celebrated International<br />
Credit Union Day by volunteering at NTUC Health<br />
Co-operative’s Nursing Home. SNCF also worked with<br />
other affiliates to support Silver Caregivers Co-operative<br />
(SCCL) in its first Caregivers Carnival in November <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
SSBEC launched their first ever community outreach<br />
initiative, “Giving Back to the Society” in September <strong>2018</strong>,<br />
and NTUC FairPrice Co-operative donated S$1.2m to the<br />
FairPrice Food Voucher scheme to help more than 20,000<br />
needy families alleviate their daily cost of living in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
How are co-ops preparing for the challenges ahead?<br />
Challenges will continue to plague businesses,<br />
more so for those who serve social needs of communities.<br />
Social needs evolve over generations so while co-ops<br />
prepare themselves to overcome business challenges,<br />
they also need to be in touch with the changing social<br />
needs of communities and keep connected, adaptable and<br />
possess the political will to ensure co-operatives are kept<br />
relevant to run sustainable businesses for social good.<br />
Co-operatives in Singapore will continue to drive<br />
support for the Sustainable Development Goals,<br />
will explore regional and international collaboration<br />
and use technology for efficiency and increased<br />
productivity. This will help co-operatives serve their<br />
members more effectively especially with a younger<br />
generation of membership.<br />
Therefore, SNCF and its affiliates will focus more on<br />
more effective use of social media to reach out to<br />
create awareness.<br />
28 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Wales: Derek Walker<br />
Chief executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for your organisation and<br />
co-operatives in Wales?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was a good year for the co-op movement in<br />
Wales. Highlights include an emerging strategy for the<br />
future growth of co-operatives to deliver social care.<br />
In addition there has been excellent progress in taking<br />
forward the concept of a community bank of Wales to be<br />
owned by its members, on a one-member, one-vote basis,<br />
offering current accounts and making funds available<br />
locally to small businesses.<br />
Programmes delivered by the Wales Co-operative<br />
Centre continued to do well and to attract support.<br />
Over the past 12 months we have helped create a more<br />
prosperous Wales through the expert support we give<br />
to co-ops and social businesses. This year we were<br />
instrumental in managing the conversion of national<br />
TV Production company, Cwmni Da, to an employeeowned<br />
trust. The managing director wanted to ensure<br />
Cwmni Da remained in the hands of the 50 strong<br />
workforce who have all contributed to its success.<br />
Wales is also more equal as a result of our<br />
pioneering work to end digital and financial exclusion.<br />
Our communities are more cohesive because we bring<br />
people together to tackle the issues that matter to them,<br />
from building new housing to keeping open their local<br />
pub, shop or leisure centre. You can find out more about<br />
our work in our latest Impact Report.<br />
from the Welsh Assembly Commission. Transport for Wales<br />
has also stipulated the use of this factory for their signage<br />
requirements, and meetings are currently underway for<br />
opportunities during the mobilisation stage of the new<br />
train operator contract.<br />
What are the challenges ahead?<br />
In 2019 the Wales Co-operative Centre will be working<br />
with partners to develop a vision for the sector for the next<br />
10 years. We believe there is a need for a new vision and<br />
an action plan to unite and steer the social economy sector<br />
in Wales to address challenges, seize opportunities and to<br />
foresee and capitalise on future trends. We want to create<br />
a positive vision for Wales’ future, clearly demonstrating<br />
where and how the social economy can contribute.<br />
The timing is good as Wales has a new first minister,<br />
Mark Drakeford. In his leadership manifesto he stated he<br />
believes “our most radical days are ahead of us”. On the<br />
economy he has nailed his colours to the mast and has<br />
firmly committed to building a socially just economy and<br />
a common partnership for inclusive growth. He has also<br />
made a firm commitment to stepping up efforts to promote<br />
co-operative provision in social care. So 2019 promises to<br />
be a year of opportunity for the co-operative sector<br />
in Wales.<br />
What were the key issues you have campaigned<br />
for this year?<br />
One of the campaigns we have stepped up this year<br />
has been about persuading public sector bodies to buy<br />
from social enterprises and co-operatives. The Wellbeing<br />
of Future Generations Act has created much more<br />
enthusiasm from Welsh public bodies to ‘buy social’.<br />
Watch out for a new initiative to launch in spring.<br />
EBO Signs is an example of this greater appetite for<br />
social value from public bodies. EBO Signs is a social<br />
enterprise in Ebbw Vale that employs local people with<br />
disabilities. It produces traffic and commercial signage<br />
such as highway signs, street nameplates, safety signs<br />
and hoarding boards. Extra demand for their products<br />
has already resulted in orders placed with the factory<br />
from two local authority main contractors as well as<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 29
Northern Ireland: Tiziana O’Hara<br />
Founder member of Co-operative Alternatives<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for co-ops in Northern Ireland?<br />
This year Ballymacash Sports Academy, a community<br />
benefit society, and Loveworks Co-operative, a worker<br />
co-operative, have both raised the profile of co-operatives<br />
at the Northern Ireland Social Enterprise Awards <strong>2018</strong>,<br />
one of the largest events in the region. The co-operatives<br />
have been recognised respectively in the newly<br />
established category for the innovative way in which<br />
they raised share capital and in the education, training<br />
and jobs category for offering dignified and sustainable<br />
jobs within worker owned enterprises. The established<br />
Coalisland Credit Union was also recognised, being<br />
named credit union of the year.<br />
Supporting Emerging Co-operatives, the five-year<br />
progress report published by Co-operative Alternatives,<br />
helped to provide a clearer picture on how co-operatives<br />
have sprung up in a variety of sectors and the needs that<br />
they now have to continue to prosper and develop. This<br />
also confirmed the view that a co-operative development<br />
agency in Northern Ireland is essential to the emerging<br />
co-operative sector.<br />
of Ireland, replaced the previously existing single<br />
market SEM and went live on 1 October <strong>2018</strong>. On one<br />
hand, this will have undefined consequences on<br />
market linked electricity prices under a Brexit scenario,<br />
but on the other hand, this is a decision motivated by<br />
the necessity for sharing and optimising resources<br />
between north and south with the view of benefiting<br />
the economies of both subregions despite the looming<br />
events. The farming sector is also concerned about what<br />
would be our future relationship with Europe in general<br />
and not only for the cross-border activities that they<br />
perform daily. However, the biggest impact in <strong>2018</strong> in<br />
Northern Ireland on the co-operative sector has been<br />
the absence of a national executive; without a devolved<br />
Assembly in Northern Ireland for almost two years,<br />
important decisions on budgets and priorities for the<br />
economy of the region have not been taken.<br />
What were the key issues co-ops have campaigned<br />
for this year?<br />
The main event for co-ops in Northern Ireland has<br />
been the migration of the registration function, until<br />
now performed within the local Department for the<br />
Economy, to the Financial Conduct Authority in London.<br />
This brought the introduction of an annual fee based on<br />
assets (which was beforehand balanced out by higher<br />
administration and registration fees compared to the rest<br />
of the UK) but also triggered the long-waited final updates<br />
to the Co-operatives and Community Benefit Society Act<br />
(2016) Northern Ireland.<br />
With Brexit due to take place next year, how<br />
can co-ops in Northern Ireland prepare for the<br />
challenges ahead?<br />
Great uncertainty is dominating the years ahead.<br />
Brexit will undoubtedly change trading and relationships<br />
on this island. The situation on the ground is complex<br />
and interdependent. For instance, the new electricity<br />
market I-SEM or Integrated Single Electricity Market,<br />
the wholesale market for electricity for the island<br />
30 Review <strong>2018</strong>
Africa: Dr Chiyoge Sifa<br />
Regional director, International Co-operative Alliance-Africa<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for you and your organisation?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was a year of mixed feelings, both to me<br />
personally and for our organisation. We started the year<br />
on a high note emanating from good results – both<br />
financial and benefits-wise – to our members, which<br />
resulted in increased membership for the region. We<br />
also had a new chairperson for our Africa Ministerial<br />
Co-operative Conference and for the regional board.<br />
However, three days after the by-elections which saw our<br />
long serving regional board chairperson, Stanley Muchiri,<br />
retire, he passed on. This was a big loss both to our<br />
organisation and to myself as we lost a great co-operator<br />
and wonderful mentor.<br />
How did co-ops in the Africa region make<br />
a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
The big difference they made was to serve their<br />
members better with limited resources and renewed<br />
impetus. As we offered<br />
more knowledge-sharing<br />
experiences and capacity<br />
building to our members,<br />
this in turn was translated<br />
into improved services.<br />
How are co-ops<br />
preparing for the<br />
challenges ahead?<br />
We have learned a lot<br />
through these past years.<br />
We have a new vision<br />
anchored in our Abuja <strong>2018</strong> Declaration and we do<br />
believe that the conclusions and recommendations from<br />
our Regional Assembly and Africa Ministerial Co-operative<br />
Conference are robust and able to make final strides to our<br />
turnaround strategy for the continent.<br />
Australia: Melina Morrison<br />
Chief executive of the Australian Business Council for Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM)<br />
How was <strong>2018</strong> for co-ops and mutuals in Australia?<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was a great year for co-operative and mutual<br />
businesses in Australia. After 2017, which saw the<br />
demutualisation of Murray Goulburn, one of our largest<br />
co-ops, the sector has seen a resurgence in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
We have seen significant progress in the flagship<br />
project to implement legislative reform allowing mutual<br />
businesses to raise external capital. We came tantalisingly<br />
close to seeing the legislation enter parliament this year,<br />
and hope that this will be finalised in early 2019.<br />
In another first, the BCCM developed the first set<br />
of bespoke governance principles for Australian co-ops<br />
and mutuals.<br />
How did co-ops make a difference in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
There has been a resurgence in interest in the<br />
business model to support regional and rural<br />
communities, especially in the delivery of local jobs,<br />
a sustainable local economy and provision of health<br />
and other vital services in thinner markets. Organisations<br />
working in social services have also continued to thrive to<br />
support vulnerable people. Co-operatives have emerged<br />
as a new business model for consumers trying to exercise<br />
choice and control with personalised budgets for disability<br />
and aged care.<br />
How can co-ops prepare<br />
for the challenges ahead?<br />
Co-operative and<br />
mutual businesses are<br />
ideally placed to address<br />
future challenges. As a<br />
business model that takes<br />
a long-term, sustainable<br />
view, they will be able<br />
to weather challenges in<br />
the domestic and global<br />
economic environments.<br />
Review <strong>2018</strong> 31
32 Review <strong>2018</strong>