Coop News January 2022

THIS ISSUE
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
MPs call on Treasury minister to support
co-ops (p6-7); Glanbia Co-op to take full
ownership of Glanbia Ireland (p16); Global
youth launch cooperative toolkit (p26-27);
South Korean president addresses Congress
delegates in Seoul (p30-31); SEWA founder
Ela Bhatt's keynote speech at Congress (p38)
24-25 INTERVIEW: ARIEL GUARCO
The ICA President gives his views on the
World Cooperative Congress
26-27 SUMMARY: PRE-CONGRESS
EVENTS
28-29 SUMMARY: RESEARCH
CONFERENCE AND LAW FORUM
30-31 MOON JAE-IN OPENS CONGRESS
The President of the Republic of Korea
opens the World Cooperative Congress
32-33 EXAMINING OUR COOPERATIVE
IDENTITY
A call on co-operatives to work together to
share knowledge and information
34 GUY RYDER, ILO DIRECTOR GENERAL
'Co-operatives must be seen as critical
partners in the long term'
39-41 COMMITTING TO OUR
COOPERATIVE IDENTITY
Tackling global problems through fairness,
inclusion and innovation
42-44 LIVING OUR COOPERATIVE
IDENTITY
How do co-operatives offer effective
approaches to living sustainably?
45-46 HISTORIC GLOBAL ROUND TABLE
Governmental authorities meet to discuss
the promotion of co-operatives
47 CLOSING CEREMONY
'Congress marked just the beginning of a
dialogue on the co-operative identity'
48-49 INTERVIEW: ROB HARRISON
35-37 STRENGTHENING OUR
COOPERATIVE IDENTITY
How can the co-operative identity be a
COVER: Congress special competitive advantage?
Delegates met in Seoul, Republic
of Korea, and on line for the 33rd 38 ELA BHATT
World Cooperative Congress The SEWA founder on a new economy of
Read more: from p24 nurturers based on 100 mile communities
REGULARS
5-13
14-21
22
22-23
UK news
Global news
Letters
Obituaries
50 Events
4 I JANUARY 2022

us navigate what was a difficult time making
publishing work."
Things have come a long way since 1989
and Ethical Consumer has played a key role in
raising awareness, campaigning and advising
businesses. As more and more businesses
started to look at acting ethically in markets, the
need for education and training on the topic also
increased.
Mr Harrison's latest book, The Handbook of
Ethical Purchasing: Principles and Practice,
aims to help businesses operate ethically. The
book covers a range of issues, from how to set
up ethical supply chains to how to sell to ethical
consumers. It also includes practical examples,
some of these from the co-op sector.
"The co-op movement itself has played a role
in nurturing the creation of this book," adds
Mr Harrison, explaining that the book could be
useful to those running or managing a co-op.
"Although the co-op movement has Principle
Six (co-operation among co-ops) which
encourages buying from other co-ops, we know
that co-operatives do actually think a lot more
about their supply chains than just this."
The book touches on the link between co-ops
and the support for the fair trade movement in
some European countries.
Co-ops have helped to increase the market
share of Fairtrade products, particularly in
now the more mature ethical markets, where
sometimes S0o/o of all products are Fairtrade,
such as bananas in Switzerland.
Co-ops are also mentioned in the book in the
context of their business model.
"They're not always trying to maximise their
profitability. So they're often quite good at
incorporating ethical issues, because they're not
always thinking 'I need to pay the shareholders',"
he says.
Mr Harrison thinks co-ops and other
businesses should also measure and track the
positive impact they have on supply chains on
a regular basis: "It's about talking about the
positive impacts you can do from purchasing if
you get it right".
He adds: "We worry a lot about palm oil,
modern slavery and child labour, and all
those things that are part of the current
ethical consumption discourse. If as a
business your supply chain is ethical, then
you need to measure the impacts of that
because sometimes institutions forget why
they're doing something - because everyone's
always measuring the bottom line, which
is money.
"When someone comes in and says, 'Oh, we
could cut the cost here', if you're not measuring
your positive social impacts as well, then when
pressure to cut costs does come along, you
haven't always got concrete arguments to why
that might not be such a good idea. So I'm really
into encouraging buyers to measure and record
their positive social impact."
As to where ethical businesses will be
in 10 years, he thinks it will become even
more mainstream as climate change will put
increasing pressure on businesses to operate in
a more environmentally friendly manner.
"The advantage that co-ops have is not having
that shareholder primacy," says Mr Harrison.
"This gives them the edge because it really is
unhelpful to have a single minded focus on
profit if you're trying to run an ethical business."
The Handbook of Ethical Purchasing:
Principles and Practice can be bought online
at rout/edge.com
Rob Harrison,
Co-founder of Ethical
Consumer
JANUARY 2022 I 49

Do you have a co-operative
event - taking place in
person, online, or as a
hybrid - to be featured?
Tell us at:
events@thenews.coop
Webinar: The Co-ops Revolution: History
of Cooperative Housing in New York
27 December (full replay available for one
week)
(Online)
When co-operative housing debuted
in New York in 1881, it was called a
"revolution" - after all, the idea that
people could not only live in apartments,
but also have a say in their residential
buildings' policies and politics, was a
novel one. This webinar by the New York
Adventure Club is led by writer, historian,
and New York City tour guide Lucie Levine.
c-:> bit.ly/3H2Q3ed
Basics of Platform Cooperativism
23 January (multiple dates available)
(Online)
Organised by the Ledgerback Digital
Commons Research Cooperative, this
introduction to platform co-operativism
will cover platform ecosystems, with a focus
on platform governance, co-operatives as
an institutional form, extractive business
models, and a short overview of platform
co-operatives and digital labour issues.
This session will last about two hours.
c-:> bit.ly/3GXSm1X
Co-operative Retail Conference 2022
11-13 March
(In-person, Wychwood Park Hotel, Crewe)
The Co-operative Retail Conference is the
only annual event designed specifically
for co-operative retailers. It attracts over
80 leaders, managers and directors of
consumer owned retail co-operatives
from right across the UK. With a global
pandemic, uncertain times ahead and
a tough economic climate we remain
in challenging times. The Co-operative
Retail Conference represents a unique
opportunity for those involved in cooperative
retail to learn from experts,
meet with peers and discuss how their
businesses are responding to challenges.
With keynote presentations from industry
specialists and best practice from retailers,
the conference is an unrivalled learning
and networking opportunity.
bit.ly/3pb623y
Decent Work and Democracy
20-21 May 2022
(In-person, Wortley Hall, Nr. Sheffield)
A conference on union co-ops, with
discussions on: What can union activists
do to fight for decent work and democracy?
How can workers get control over our daily
working lives? What can we do to promote
democracy in the workplace? Do we have
to accept the gig economy and precarity?
And more.
c-:> Email: unioncoopsuk@gmail.com
ICA General Assembly 2022
20 June 2022
(In-person, Seville, Spain)
The event will be hosted by the Spanish
Confederation of Worker Cooperatives
(COCETA) and include the election of the
ICA Presidency and Board of Directors
C-:> bit.ly/3DVpypZ
Playground for the New Economy Festival
12-14 July
Selgars Mill, Devon
Stir to Action's Playground for the New
Economy Festival takes place in July at
the New Economy Centre at Selgars Mill.
In 2021, 200 people joined the festival
for a unique three days of provocative
conversations, live podcasts, interactive
workshops, idea surgeries, sustainable
food, wood-fired sauna, games, craft beer,
and live music. The 2022 line-up will be
announced early in the year.
C-:> stirtoaction.com/festiva/
50 I JANUARY 2022