Co-op News, May 2022
The May edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at how co-operation is communicated around the world - with an interview from co-ops on the frontline in Ukraine as well as sector leaders in Canada, Iran and Singapore. There's a look at Cwmpas – the new branding for the Wales Co-operative Centre as it enters its 40th year – and how Yorkshire County Cricket Club restructured its member-led model in the wake of the racism scandal. Plus a report from the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society conference, where co-op farmers looked at ways to improve their own messaging around sustainability, an interview with the Building Societies Association, and a look a the co-op response to typhoons in the Philippines. Plus a look at Co-op Group's annual results.
The May edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at how co-operation is communicated around the world - with an interview from co-ops on the frontline in Ukraine as well as sector leaders in Canada, Iran and Singapore. There's a look at Cwmpas – the new branding for the Wales Co-operative Centre as it enters its 40th year – and how Yorkshire County Cricket Club restructured its member-led model in the wake of the racism scandal. Plus a report from the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society conference, where co-op farmers looked at ways to improve their own messaging around sustainability, an interview with the Building Societies Association, and a look a the co-op response to typhoons in the Philippines. Plus a look at Co-op Group's annual results.
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MAY <strong>2022</strong><br />
A NEW DIRECTION<br />
FOR THE WALES<br />
CO-OPERATIVE CENTRE<br />
Plus … Solidarity in times<br />
of war: interview with <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Ukraine’s Illia Gorokhovsky<br />
...How is co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
communicated in different<br />
countries? ... The co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
summer camp experience<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
770009 982010<br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong>
In the run up to their AGM, members<br />
of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Group will again<br />
be asked to vote on continuing the<br />
partnership with the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Party.<br />
For over 100 years, the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Party and the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement<br />
have worked in partnership to build a<br />
society where power and wealth are<br />
shared. We are the political voice of<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement, taking co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
policies and principles from<br />
the sh<strong>op</strong> floor to the places where<br />
laws are made.<br />
We are your voice at decision-making<br />
tables across the country: working<br />
together we have promoted new<br />
protections for sh<strong>op</strong>workers, food<br />
justice, protection of community assets<br />
and fairtrade. But for that work to<br />
continue, we need your vote.<br />
To keep this historic and powerful link<br />
and to continue the amazing successes<br />
we’ve achieved together, Vote Yes to<br />
Motion 9 at the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s AGM.<br />
Since last year’s vote, we have:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Supported sh<strong>op</strong>workers facing skyrocketing levels of<br />
violence, threats and abuse by winning further legal<br />
protections for sh<strong>op</strong>workers. In Westminster, our campaign<br />
had a massive win with tougher penalties for assaulting<br />
public-facing workers like sh<strong>op</strong>workers. In Scotland, the<br />
Protection of Workers Act came into force, which saw 300<br />
offences reported in just the first three months.<br />
Fought for food justice by helping to increase the uptake of<br />
Healthy Start food vouchers in every area of England and<br />
Wales; backing local food poverty solutions such as Food<br />
Champions, food partnerships and community fridges;<br />
supporting the expansion of Free School Meals; and<br />
leading a national conversation on a legal Right to Food.<br />
Protected the co-<strong>op</strong>erative and mutual movement by<br />
standing against the takeover of historic mutual insurer LV=<br />
and helping to prevent its sell-off to an American venture<br />
capital firm.<br />
Tackled the scandal of tax avoidance by winning on<br />
campaigns such as bringing in a register of overseas<br />
owners, backing the Biden Plan for a global minimum<br />
corporation tax and supporting councils to increase<br />
tax transparency. The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Group and the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Party continue to both be accredited by the Fair<br />
Tax Foundation, because our movement will always be<br />
proud to pay our fair share.<br />
Put co-<strong>op</strong>eration in power across the country by having<br />
our most successful set of elections yet in 2021, which saw<br />
our representation grow to over 900 councillors, 11 MSPs,<br />
16 MSs and 5 Metro <strong>May</strong>ors, alongside our 25 MPs and 16<br />
Peers in Westminster.<br />
Am I eligible to vote?<br />
If you are eligible, you should have received your ballot by email or post. Check<br />
your inbox for an email from vote@agm.co<strong>op</strong>.co.uk, or check your eligibility<br />
online at membership.co<strong>op</strong>.co.uk/eligibility-to-vote.<br />
You have until midday on Monday 16th <strong>May</strong> to cast your vote.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party Limited is a registered Society under the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative and <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Benefit Societies Act 2014. Registered no.<br />
30027R. Promoted by Joe Fortune on behalf of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party, both at Unit 13, 83 Crampton Street, London SE17 3BQ.
<strong>Co</strong>mmunicating the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
difference<br />
CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND<br />
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP<br />
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871<br />
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DIRECTORS<br />
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Green; Tim Hartley; Phil Hartwell;<br />
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Secretary: Richard Bickle<br />
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@co<strong>op</strong>news<br />
co<strong>op</strong>erativenews<br />
CBP009222<br />
To those involved in the movement, that co-<strong>op</strong>s have a different<br />
approach to running a business is well-known. But how can this be<br />
communicated to those outside the movement? The International<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance recently launched a global survey of co-<strong>op</strong>erators,<br />
asking how well the co-<strong>op</strong> identity is defined and understood. The findings<br />
will inform the work of its <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Identity Advisory Group (p29).<br />
An important element of communication is engaging youth. The Singapore<br />
National <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Federation is doing this via its social media channels,<br />
and we speak to its marketing executive Sng Ler Jun to find out how the<br />
apex changes its language to suit its target audience (p40-41). Another<br />
example of youth engagement is the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Leadership Camp, run by<br />
the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>uncil of North Carolina (p32-33).<br />
In a big, diverse country like Canada, communicating the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
difference goes hand in hand with working with regional co-<strong>op</strong> federations.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and Mutuals Canada runs several national campaigns to<br />
promote the sector while engaging with senior government officials to raise<br />
awareness about the role of co-<strong>op</strong>s in providing essential services (p30-31).<br />
Meanwhile, Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre has rebranded; we speak to CEO<br />
Derek Walker to find out the reasons behind the move (p42-43). Branding<br />
is important, because communicating co-<strong>op</strong> values can bring market<br />
advantage – our coverage of the SAOS conference looks at how farm co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
can gain leverage through industry-wide marketing initiatives (p26-27).<br />
There is also room for co-<strong>op</strong>s to work with other organisations to spread<br />
the word about mutuals. “Mutuals across a range of different businesses<br />
including co-<strong>op</strong>s and friendly societies can work together on the challenge<br />
around helping pe<strong>op</strong>le understand the mutual difference,” says Hilary<br />
McVitty of the Building Societies Association (p38-39).<br />
And while there are many good co-<strong>op</strong>erative stories to tell, such as ICMIF’s<br />
centenary (p36-37) or <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Ukraine’s efforts to serve its communities<br />
despite the Russian invasion (p22-23), co-<strong>op</strong>s are not immune to scandals.<br />
We look at how Yorkshire <strong>Co</strong>unty Cricket Club handled its recent racism<br />
scandal, changing the structure of its co-<strong>op</strong> governance (p34-35).<br />
ANCA VOINEA - INTERNATIONAL EDITOR<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong> is printed using vegetable oil-based inks<br />
on 80% recycled paper (with 60% from post-consumer waste)<br />
with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC certified<br />
sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 3
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 770009 982010<br />
01<br />
THIS ISSUE<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:<br />
Shirine Khoury-Haq, interim CEO of the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Group, presides over this year’s annual<br />
results (p5; 48-49); Scotland’s farm co-<strong>op</strong><br />
body SAOS holds its annual conference<br />
(p26-27); Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Centre rebrands as<br />
Cwmpas (p42-43); the US tradition of co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
youth camps (p32-33); Ukraine’s<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s keep up the war effort (p46-47)<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong><br />
A NEW DIRECTION<br />
FOR THE WALES<br />
CO-OPERATIVE CENTRE<br />
Plus … Solidarity in times<br />
of war: interview with <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Ukraine’s Illia Gorokhovsky<br />
...How is co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
communicated in different<br />
countries? ... The co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
summer camp experience<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
COVER: CWMPAS LAUNCH<br />
Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre, the UK’s<br />
biggest co-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment agency, is<br />
rebranding after 40 years, taking the<br />
name Cwmpas to reflect its national<br />
heritage and its “next chapter as<br />
a devel<strong>op</strong>ment agency working for<br />
economic and social change”<br />
Read more: p42-43<br />
22-23 MEET ... BAHMAN ABDOLLAHI<br />
Insights from the president of the Iran<br />
Chamber of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
24 RIGHT TO SAVE<br />
Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP Gareth Thomas wants a<br />
law to help pe<strong>op</strong>le save with credit unions<br />
26-47 COMMUNICATING CO-OPERATION<br />
26-27 SAOS CONFERENCE<br />
Scottish farm co-<strong>op</strong>s discuss ways to<br />
market sustainability and collaboration,<br />
all through the supply chain<br />
29 FROM THE SAME HYMN SHEET?Does<br />
the movement have a common<br />
understanding for co-<strong>op</strong> messaging?<br />
30-31 NORTHERN STARS<br />
How <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s and Mutuals Canada ties a<br />
complex national movement together<br />
32-33 MOVEMENT’S FUTURE TENTS US<br />
and Canadian co-<strong>op</strong> put their own spin<br />
on the summer youth camp<br />
34-35 PUTTING ON A CO-OP SPIN<br />
With clubs in debt and the shock of the<br />
Yorkshire racism scandal, can the county<br />
cricket co-<strong>op</strong>s save the game through<br />
values of equity and membership?<br />
36-37 MUTUAL MILESTONE<br />
ICMIF celebrates its centenary<br />
38-39 MUTUAL BENEFIT<br />
Helen McVitty of the Building Societies<br />
Association on its co-<strong>op</strong> values<br />
40-41 SCALING UP<br />
Ler Jun Sng, from Singapore’s co-<strong>op</strong><br />
apex, on its multi-channel messaging<br />
42-43 MORAL CWMPAS<br />
New brand, new name for the Wales<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre<br />
44-45 RECOVERY WORK<br />
How co-<strong>op</strong> values have driven disaster<br />
relief –from 19th century famine to 21st<br />
century typhoons<br />
46-47 VOICE FROM UKRAINE Interview<br />
from the war zone with Illia<br />
Gorokhovskyi, chair of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Ukraine<br />
48-49 NUMBER CRUNCHING<br />
Leigh Sparks on the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group results<br />
REGULARS<br />
5-13 UK news<br />
14-21 Global news<br />
22-25 Meet, comment, letters<br />
50 Events<br />
4 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
NEWS<br />
RETAIL<br />
Aftermath of <strong>Co</strong>vid crisis hits profits at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group<br />
Supply chain disruption and the fallout<br />
from the pandemic have seen pre-tax<br />
profits at the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group dr<strong>op</strong> £70m to<br />
£57m (2021: £127m), although the figure is<br />
up from the pre-<strong>Co</strong>vid 2019 figure of £24m.<br />
Group chair Allan Leighton said: “The<br />
economic headwinds look stark and will<br />
be tricky to navigate, but through our<br />
continued planned strategic investments,<br />
our <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is well placed to ride out the<br />
storm and prosper beyond.”<br />
Underlying <strong>op</strong>erating profit in 2021 was<br />
£100m (2020: £235m, 2019: £173m) and<br />
the Group reported an underlying loss<br />
before tax of £32m compared to a £100m<br />
profit in 2020 (2019: £35m profit).<br />
A tax charge of £25m meant the Group<br />
recorded an overall profit of £32m from<br />
continuing <strong>op</strong>erations in 2021 (2020: £72m<br />
and 2019: £49m).<br />
Net debt stands at £920m, (2019: £695m,<br />
2020: £550m) “reflecting various factors,<br />
including increased capital expenditure,<br />
investment in stock during supply chain<br />
disruption, negative cash flow timings<br />
and furlough repayment”. The Group adds<br />
that net debt “has improved significantly<br />
since year-end”.<br />
The figures, in the Group’s annual report<br />
for the year ended 1 January <strong>2022</strong>, come as<br />
the UK faces a tough economic outlook,<br />
hit by the disruptions of <strong>Co</strong>vid-19, Brexit,<br />
the Ukraine conflict and a worsening costof-living<br />
crisis.<br />
Interim CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq said:<br />
“The difficult <strong>op</strong>erating environment<br />
dispr<strong>op</strong>ortionately impacted our food<br />
business, given its focus on the community<br />
convenience market, with an <strong>op</strong>erating<br />
model that is more reliant on flexibility in<br />
the supply chain.”<br />
But she said the Group is “a business<br />
designed for the long term”, adding:<br />
“We have a platform of businesses in the<br />
right markets to drive change and get<br />
closer to our members, customers and<br />
communities. The significant investment<br />
we have made in recent years now<br />
provides the basis for us to move forwards<br />
in a more efficient manner.”<br />
She said the Group would focus on<br />
accelerating growth in its food business,<br />
expanding its funeralcare, legal services<br />
and insurance arms, and ensuring value<br />
p Shirine Khoury-Haq, who last month stepped up as interim CEO<br />
and affordability as household budgets<br />
come under pressure.<br />
Total sales across food and wholesale<br />
were £9.1bn, up from a pre-pandemic<br />
£8.9bn for 2019: £8.9bn, and down from<br />
2020, when the £9.3bn had a boost from<br />
extra lockdown trade.<br />
For funeralcare, overall revenue is<br />
slightly down on the prior year by £8m<br />
to £264m (2020: £272m), reflecting lower<br />
death rate after the peak of the pandemic.<br />
In the insurance business, a “new<br />
capital-light and customer-centric<br />
business model has driven return to<br />
profitability”. New business sales have<br />
risen to £34m (2020: £6m).<br />
Legal services lifted profit, with overall<br />
revenue up 9% to £39m (2020: £37m).<br />
More new members were recruited<br />
than in the previous two years – 517,000<br />
(2019: 470,000; 2020: 445,000). And 39%<br />
of those new members were aged 35 and<br />
under. Rewards shared to members and<br />
communities totalled £42m (through 2%<br />
returned to members and 2% given to<br />
community groups on purchases of ownbrand<br />
products), and members saved an<br />
additional £10m through digital offers. In<br />
the previous year, members earned £58m<br />
through the 2% + 2% community and<br />
member rewards (2019: £70m; prior to<br />
October 2020 rewards were earned at 1%<br />
(community) and 5% (members)).<br />
Key investments include £140m in the<br />
food store estate, with 50 new stores; 87<br />
store refits; 25 relocations and 15 store<br />
extensions. Supply chain investment,<br />
including the Group’s new depot,<br />
totalled £39m and £20m was invested<br />
on an annualised basis to align frontline<br />
colleague pay to the Real Living Wage.<br />
The Group continued its <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erating<br />
for a Fairer World strategy, including<br />
measures for the cost of living crisis,<br />
with £8.7m investment across 102 Honest<br />
Value products, “absorption of supplier<br />
inflation on key products” in Food, and<br />
holding prices in Funeralcare.<br />
The Group reached a milestone of £100m<br />
of funds shared with local communities,<br />
causes and charity partners over the last<br />
five years. More than 1 million members<br />
selected a Local <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Fund cause<br />
in the last round of funding and the Group<br />
raised more than £4.5m in 2021 through<br />
partnerships with Mind, Inspire and the<br />
Scottish Association for Mental Health,<br />
helping over 8,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le.<br />
Two “major new colleague policies”<br />
were launched on domestic violence and<br />
pregnancy loss and the Group continued<br />
its training and tech investment as it<br />
battled an ongoing problem of sh<strong>op</strong>lifting<br />
and attacks on store workers.<br />
And it launched its 10-point climate<br />
plan, with significant commitments<br />
including reaching net zero by 2040 and<br />
becoming the world’s first food retailer to<br />
produce carbon-neutral own-brand food<br />
and drink by 2025.<br />
u More Group news and society results p6-7<br />
u Analysis p48-49<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 5
RETAIL<br />
First deliveries roll out from Group’s new £45m depot<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s new regional<br />
distribution depot in Biggleswade,<br />
Bedfordshire, is gearing up to serve<br />
communities with the first deliveries<br />
under way to stores across the south east.<br />
The depot has started delivering<br />
frozen, fresh and ambient groceries to the<br />
convenience retailer’s stores, with the site<br />
set to serve over 600 <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group stores<br />
when it becomes fully <strong>op</strong>erational later<br />
this year.<br />
At 661,000 sq ft, the new £45m depot –<br />
located just off the A1, less than 30 miles<br />
north of the M25 – will become the Group’s<br />
largest regional distribution centre.<br />
The depot has a base build constructed<br />
to BREEAM Excellent and expects to use<br />
100% renewable energy to power the site<br />
which is set to include solar PV designed<br />
into the roof.<br />
It also embraces adaptable and<br />
innovative spaces, both indoor and<br />
outdoor, that focus on wellbeing and<br />
mindfulness for the up to 1,000 colleagues<br />
working at the site. This includes a<br />
contemplation area, outside green space<br />
bordered by a living wall, and its awardwinning<br />
initiative to support and promote<br />
better sleep, diet and mental health in the<br />
industry, known as Night Club.<br />
Supply chain and logistics director Andy<br />
Perry said: “Our new Biggleswade depot<br />
represents a significant investment in our<br />
logistic <strong>op</strong>erations, bringing thousands of<br />
products closer to communities across the<br />
south east.<br />
p The new depot at Biggleswade (Photo: Richard Grange / United National Photographers)<br />
“Serving our members and customers<br />
however and wherever they choose to<br />
sh<strong>op</strong> with us is at the very heart of what<br />
we do. Whether sh<strong>op</strong>pers choose to p<strong>op</strong><br />
into their local <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, or sh<strong>op</strong> online –<br />
where groceries are picked fresh in the<br />
local store – our depots work to serve and<br />
support our communities and <strong>op</strong>erations.<br />
Our investment in our new Biggleswade<br />
depot forms part of plans to ensure we<br />
have the right distribution facilities in<br />
place to serve our communities, both now,<br />
and in the future.”<br />
In other news from the Group, it has<br />
extended its partnership with the Natasha<br />
Allergy Research Foundation, to mark<br />
Allergy Awareness Week (26-30 April).<br />
The retailer is donating 10% of all sales<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> ‘Free From’ products for three<br />
weeks, from 13 April to 3 <strong>May</strong>.<br />
Retail co-<strong>op</strong>s bag Queen’s Award for sustainability work<br />
The partnership, which started in 2021,<br />
is part of the Group’s commitment to raise<br />
£100k for the Natasha Allergy Research<br />
Foundation by 2023.<br />
The foundation was formed in 2019<br />
following the death of 15-year-old<br />
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who suffered<br />
a fatal allergic reaction to an undeclared<br />
ingredient in a baguette from a fast-food<br />
outlet. The charity focuses on medical<br />
research as well as education and raising<br />
awareness of food allergies.<br />
Natasha’s parents, Tanya and Nadim,<br />
said: “Once again, we are incredibly<br />
grateful to the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> who are helping us<br />
in our mission to make a real difference to<br />
families with food allergies.”<br />
The Group’s Free From range is available<br />
in <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> and NISA stores and online, and<br />
includes breads and breakfast cereals.<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group and Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> are<br />
among the winners in the sustainable<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment category for this year’s<br />
Queens Awards for Enterprise.<br />
The awards, which involve a rigorous<br />
application process, recognised 31<br />
businesses in the sustainable devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
category, and 232 businesses overall.<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group has led a number<br />
of sustainability initiatives, notably<br />
its 10-point plan on climate change.<br />
Achievements include achieving<br />
<strong>op</strong>erational carbon-neutral status for<br />
all 2,600 of its food stores and 800<br />
Funeralcare homes and introducing a<br />
soft plastic in-store recycling scheme to<br />
make all its own brand food and drink<br />
packaging easily recyclable.<br />
CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “We<br />
are absolutely delighted to receive this<br />
honour, which is recognition of the<br />
great work and achievements of our<br />
colleagues. Sustainability, climate action<br />
and reducing our business impacts are<br />
embedded into the heart of what we do.<br />
“Our approach is to make a sustainable<br />
difference to society and we acknowledge<br />
there is much progress still to be achieved<br />
and we know we can’t do it alone. <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erating<br />
with our partners, suppliers,<br />
farmers and fellow UK businesses will<br />
make a lasting positive change.”<br />
Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> CEO Mark Smith said:<br />
“We are honoured to have been awarded<br />
this significant and well-respected title.<br />
“Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> was originally set<br />
up nearly 150 years ago in response to<br />
the societal challenges of that time –<br />
exploitation, inequality and poverty.<br />
“Many of these challenges sadly still<br />
exist today, alongside environmental<br />
challenges like climate change, declining<br />
natural resources and threatened wildlife/<br />
habitats. We all need to continue working<br />
together to tackle these issues.”<br />
Southern is currently working towards<br />
ambitious science-based targets to cut its<br />
climate emissions.<br />
6 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
RETAIL<br />
Central England hails ‘solid performance’ but warns of challenges to come<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> reported a “solid”<br />
performance for the year to 22 January<br />
<strong>2022</strong> with a trading profit of £19.9m.<br />
The figure is down 29% on last year<br />
when lockdown sales lifted profits to<br />
£28m, but is up 13.2% on a two-year basis,<br />
says the society in its annual report.<br />
Gross sales from continuing <strong>op</strong>erations<br />
(excluding VAT) grew by 0.7% year on year<br />
to £875.0m (2021: £869.0m) and were up<br />
3.7% on a two-year basis.<br />
Operating profit of £23.2m was up<br />
9.9% year on year (2021: £21.1m). Cash<br />
generation from <strong>op</strong>erating activities stood<br />
at £36.8m, down 26.9% year on year but<br />
up 10.6% on a two-year basis.<br />
Capital expenditure of £21.5m (2021:<br />
£21.2m) saw the society <strong>op</strong>en three new<br />
stores, relocate one other and regenerate<br />
41 sites. The society’s net assets show an<br />
improved position of £275.4m compared<br />
to last year (2021: £208.1m), largely due to<br />
the reduction in the pension deficit.<br />
Food sales were £667.6m (2021: £691.2m)<br />
and funeral gross sales were £43.9m (2021:<br />
£40.7m). The funeral division also took<br />
in 248 new colleagues, 50 new funeral<br />
p Debbie Robinson<br />
homes and two vehicle logistics centres<br />
following the transfer of the funeral<br />
business belonging to Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>lleagues received a £963,000 share<br />
from the annual profit; another reward<br />
included an extra day paid leave to<br />
celebrate the society winning Leading <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
of the Year in the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
of the Year Awards.<br />
During 2021, the society awarded<br />
£170,000 in <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Dividend Fund<br />
grants to 136 local causes.<br />
CEO Debbie Robinson said: “As<br />
restrictions eased, we saw a more<br />
challenging second half of the financial<br />
year. We responded to this challenge by<br />
improving our local product offerings<br />
and increasing the number of concession<br />
partners such as Nutmeg clothing and the<br />
Original Factory Sh<strong>op</strong>.”<br />
Looking ahead, she said there are more<br />
challenges to come for the convenience<br />
sector, “including new rules governing the<br />
way we market items to customers that are<br />
high in fat, sugar and salt … This is a real<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity to encourage and support<br />
customers to eat better.<br />
“The sector will face increases in<br />
corporation tax from 2023, and disruption<br />
to supply chains continue due to the<br />
impact of Brexit. Inflation has reached<br />
a 30-year high, which will impact on<br />
our cost base and households will face<br />
considerable increases in the cost of<br />
living. We expect to see a significant threat<br />
to household spending and profitability.”<br />
Scotmid announces £5.7m trading profit for 2021<br />
Scotmid <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has announced a £5.7m<br />
trading profit in its annual report for<br />
the 52 weeks to January 29 – down from<br />
£6.4m for the 53-week period for the<br />
previous year.<br />
Turnover was £403m, down £6m on the<br />
year before, but net assets increased by<br />
nearly £10m to a record £112.7m and net<br />
debt was cut by £7.4m, to £17m.<br />
Major store refits were completed at<br />
Prestonpans, Barnton, Menstrie and<br />
Barlanark, and a new store was acquired<br />
in Perth. And the co-<strong>op</strong> relaunched<br />
its <strong>Co</strong>mmunity <strong>Co</strong>nnect Scheme with<br />
£84,000 shared between 12 good causes;<br />
it also raised £220,000 for its charity of the<br />
year partners.<br />
Chief executive John Brodie said the<br />
impact of the pandemic on the society’s<br />
businesses has “unwound” as the country<br />
emerges from the crisis.<br />
Scotmid’s food convenience stores<br />
saw trade fall off from the peaks of the<br />
lockdown in early 2020, he added, but<br />
its health and beauty chain Semichem<br />
“made significant progress on the journey<br />
to recovery”.<br />
Semichem had faced significant<br />
challenges during the pandemic and in<br />
April 2021 Scotmid announced the closure<br />
of several branches. The end of lockdown<br />
helped Semichem turn things around, said<br />
Mr Brodie, with stores fully <strong>op</strong>en over the<br />
last 12 months and “a steady improvement<br />
in sales as the year progressed”.<br />
But Scotmid’s food stores – in line with<br />
the wider convenience sector – “had a<br />
reduced local sh<strong>op</strong>ping benefit compared<br />
to the lockdown periods in 2020.<br />
“The business also faced challenges in<br />
supply chain and record sickness levels<br />
from the Omicron variant. Our pr<strong>op</strong>erty<br />
business had a resilient performance<br />
coming out of the pandemic and Scotmid<br />
Funerals saw a return of demand for full<br />
service traditional funerals.”<br />
p John Brodie<br />
Mr Brodie said planning uncertainty<br />
had continued to affect business, with<br />
major challenges in the grocery supply<br />
chain, with factors including Brexit and<br />
the shortage of HGV drivers. There are<br />
still inflationary cost pressures to come,<br />
he warned.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 7
EDUCATION<br />
Tuition platform <strong>op</strong>ens<br />
£300k fundraising drive<br />
Platform co-<strong>op</strong> My<strong>Co</strong>olClass has launched<br />
a share offer to raise £300,000 and grow<br />
its business.<br />
The teachers’ co-<strong>op</strong>, which launched<br />
last year, h<strong>op</strong>es the funds will leave it<br />
better placed to benefit from the soaring<br />
revenues in the UK’s online education<br />
and training sector – which are expected<br />
to reach £3.8bn in 2021.<br />
Anyone in the world can invest in the<br />
offer, and UK investors can seek up to 50%<br />
tax relief. Individuals can invest between<br />
£100 and £25,000, while organisations<br />
can invest a maximum of £100,000.<br />
Interest of 5% will be paid annually from<br />
year one onwards.<br />
“We need the money to be able to market<br />
and compete and drive the students to the<br />
platform,” said co-founder John Hayes.<br />
My<strong>Co</strong>olClass will have three types of<br />
members – teachers (user members),<br />
worker members, and investor members.<br />
UK investors will be able to invest in the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> via Ethex while those in other<br />
countries will be able to invest directly via<br />
the share offer on the co-<strong>op</strong>’s website. UK<br />
investors will get a 50% tax break on their<br />
investment.<br />
Since its launch last June, My<strong>Co</strong>olClass<br />
has enrolled over 300 teachers who have<br />
delivered over 700 classes via its online<br />
platform. The co-<strong>op</strong> also hired 20 staff to<br />
deal with the admin side of the business.<br />
“Most of our teachers knew nothing<br />
about co-<strong>op</strong>s,” said Mr Hayes. “We’re<br />
trying to get the point across that we’re<br />
not backed by venture capital. A lot of<br />
them have the expectations of us as a large<br />
company, and that’s unrealistic right now.”<br />
In addition to the share offer, the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
is raising money via a loan stock issued<br />
in January <strong>2022</strong> to help sustain <strong>op</strong>eration<br />
costs until the launch of the share offer.<br />
My<strong>Co</strong>olClass receives donations from<br />
individuals and co-<strong>op</strong>erative support<br />
organisations and has received a £5,000<br />
grant from Solidfund to help fund<br />
marketing and purchase business grade<br />
Cloudflare and Encrypted Cloud Storage.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> worked with Dave Boyle<br />
from the <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Shares <strong>Co</strong>mpany<br />
to devel<strong>op</strong> its share offer, as well as<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative organiser Siôn Whellens. It<br />
also had support from the Hive, the co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment programme run<br />
by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, through which it<br />
covered consulting costs associated with<br />
launching a community share offer.<br />
Teachers will be able to pitch courses<br />
to the co-<strong>op</strong>’s in-house curriculum team.<br />
If approved, teachers will earn royalties<br />
from sales of their course.<br />
RESEARCH<br />
UKSCS calls for papers as it prepares to revive in-person conference<br />
The UK Society for <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Studies<br />
(UKSCS) is back with an in-person<br />
conference for <strong>2022</strong>, to be held from 26--28<br />
August at the University of Lincoln.<br />
A call for presentations, papers and<br />
panels has gone out, with a focus on<br />
consumer co-<strong>op</strong>eratives – past, present<br />
and future. Pr<strong>op</strong>osals can be oriented<br />
towards generating debates and engaging<br />
members, facilitating experiential<br />
learning activities or reporting the<br />
findings of research studies.<br />
Organisers say that they are particularly<br />
welcoming contributions by practitioners<br />
who wish to share devel<strong>op</strong>ments within<br />
their co-<strong>op</strong>erative enterprise and/<br />
or network on the emergence of new<br />
thinking.<br />
This includes how now thinking has<br />
been applied to accounting, management,<br />
marketing, governance and other issues<br />
in co-<strong>op</strong>eratives; how new practices<br />
have impacted on consumer co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
members but also on members of producer<br />
and worker co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, and other<br />
organisations who organise as societies<br />
for mutual benefit.<br />
UKSCS also welcomes contributions on<br />
the position/contribution of consumer<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration in the wider co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement at regional, national or<br />
international level.<br />
The conference will follow four tracks:<br />
T1 – The context of consumer co<strong>op</strong>eration,<br />
looking at issues such as the<br />
policies and politics of consumer co<strong>op</strong>eration,<br />
the response of consumer<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to the changing nature of<br />
work, the issue of capital accumulation<br />
in consumer co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, and interco<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
structures.<br />
T2 – <strong>Co</strong>nsumer co-<strong>op</strong>eratives across<br />
time, space and sectors, looking at<br />
consumer co-<strong>op</strong>s across regions and/or<br />
countries; across economic sectors; in<br />
historical accounts and in terms of future<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ments.<br />
T3 – Lessons learnt: what works in a<br />
consumer co-<strong>op</strong>erative, focusing on the<br />
identification of effective co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
practices, including: best practice and<br />
how to attract young co-<strong>op</strong>erators to form<br />
start-ups.<br />
T4 – Open Track: Pr<strong>op</strong>osals for<br />
presentations, paper panels or practical<br />
activities that do not fit naturally into one<br />
of the above tracks/themes.<br />
u For more information and submission<br />
guidance, visit bit.ly/3EU3ahM<br />
8 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
BANKING<br />
Ecology appoints new CEO as annual report hails assets milestone<br />
Ecology Building Society has appointed<br />
Gareth Griffiths as its new chief executive,<br />
replacing Paul Ellis who is standing down<br />
after 27 years in the role.<br />
Mr Griffiths, who takes up the next<br />
month, subject to regulatory approval,<br />
joins from Triodos Bank where he is head<br />
of retail banking. Prior to that he held<br />
leadership roles at RAC and HSBC after<br />
beginning his banking career with former<br />
mutual, Bradford and Bingley.<br />
Louise Pryor, chair-designate at Ecology,<br />
led the selection process. She said: “He<br />
emerged as the outstanding candidate to<br />
lead the society, demonstrating a deep<br />
commitment to ethical finance, ensuring<br />
money has a positive impact on pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
and planet, combined with significant<br />
banking experience.<br />
“In my new role as chair of Ecology I look<br />
forward to working with Gareth to build<br />
on the society’s excellent performance to<br />
accelerate our mission to build a greener<br />
society while enhancing the services we<br />
provide to our members.”<br />
Mr Griffiths said: “It is an honour to be<br />
joining Ecology Building Society, which<br />
was founded to make better use of natural<br />
resources and reverse environmental<br />
degradation. Forty years on, Ecology’s<br />
p New CEO Gareth Griffiths<br />
mission has never been more relevant,<br />
with the need to address the climate crisis,<br />
deepening financial inequalities and<br />
transforming the UK’s housing stock at<br />
the heart of the sustainability challenge.<br />
“I will be agitating for change in a broken<br />
financial system, which has invested over<br />
£150bn into fossil fuels since the 2015<br />
Paris Climate Accord. At the same time<br />
my focus will be dedicated to supporting<br />
Ecology’s excellent team to continue<br />
delivering award-wining service.”<br />
Alongside Mr Griffiths’ appointment,,<br />
Ecology released its results for the year to<br />
31 December 2021, with a 13.4% increase<br />
in total assets taking it past £250m for the<br />
first time.<br />
The mutual also reported a record<br />
77% increase in new mortgage lending,<br />
enabled by a 15% increase in the number<br />
of members saving with the society. Profit<br />
after tax rose to £1.019m, from £0.524m.<br />
During the year, Ecology says it lent<br />
over £69.4m, supporting 371 sustainable<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>erties and projects, and ended the<br />
year with a 22.3% growth in mortgage<br />
assets. This growth was supported by the<br />
society’s enhanced capital position as a<br />
result of the core capital deferred shares<br />
(CCDS) capital raise in 2020.<br />
Outgoing CEO Paul Ellis, who steps<br />
down after 27 years in the role, and 40<br />
years with the society, said: “These results<br />
mark an outstanding year of sustainable<br />
growth for Ecology demonstrating, more<br />
than ever, the strength of our lending<br />
model and the importance of finance<br />
that has a positive impact for pe<strong>op</strong>le and<br />
our planet.<br />
“I am departing Ecology well assured<br />
that I will be leaving the society in the<br />
very capable hands of those who are<br />
determined to build on its legacy as a<br />
leading example of the transformative<br />
power of ethical finance.”<br />
ENERGY<br />
Egni brings the sunshine for Welsh government<br />
Three schools, a care home and a<br />
crematorium in Newport will be among<br />
the first buildings to have rooft<strong>op</strong> solar<br />
installed under a Welsh government<br />
scheme to expand community renewables.<br />
The panels, which will produce 2MWof<br />
electricity, will be installed by solar<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> Egni, which has been awarded<br />
nearly £2.35m in funding.<br />
The Welsh government says it is<br />
committed to expanding renewable<br />
energy generation by public bodies and<br />
community groups in Wales by over 100<br />
megawatts by 2026.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>ming in response to the climate<br />
emergency and concerns over escalating<br />
living costs and global energy security, the<br />
overall government project is projected to<br />
save 3,700 tonnes of carbon and realise<br />
significant savings on bills.<br />
Teaching on climate is mandatory in<br />
Wales’ new school curriculum – and Egni<br />
has pledged to reinvest surplus money<br />
from energy sold back to the grid into<br />
further climate change education.<br />
Caerleon <strong>Co</strong>mprehensive School<br />
is already benefiting from an Egni<br />
installation. Speaking on a visit there,<br />
deputy climate change minister Lee<br />
Waters MS said: “Our vision is clear, we<br />
want Wales to generate renewable energy<br />
to at least fully meet our energy needs<br />
and use surplus generation to tackle the<br />
nature and climate emergencies.<br />
“With each IPCC report, the reality of<br />
the climate emergency hits home and we<br />
want Wales to play its part in the global<br />
response by hitting Net Zero by 2050.”<br />
Egni, which will own and manage<br />
the panels, has already connected solar<br />
Photo: iStock<br />
panels producing 4.3MW of energy to<br />
almost 90 buildings in Wales, and last<br />
year became the biggest rooft<strong>op</strong> solar co<strong>op</strong><br />
in the UK.<br />
Dan McCallum from Egni <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
said: “We are delighted with this Welsh<br />
government support.<br />
“Egni is already the largest rooft<strong>op</strong><br />
solar co-<strong>op</strong> in the UK which shows how a<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative approach can enable Wales<br />
to achieve great things. It’s vital that co-<strong>op</strong><br />
based renewable energy scales up rapidly.<br />
Renewables are our energy of freedom and<br />
Welsh pe<strong>op</strong>le deserve a future free from<br />
fossil fuels.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 9
ECONOMY<br />
Credit unions sound the alarm on cost of living crisis<br />
With soaring energy bills and food<br />
inflation continuing to drive a squeeze<br />
on household budgets, credit unions are<br />
warning of increased pressure on their<br />
members’ finances.<br />
Wales’ Cambrian Credit Union has<br />
told ITV Wales that it has seen a surge in<br />
loan applications – not to pay for one-off<br />
projects, but to cover the cost of everyday<br />
essentials and household bills.<br />
General manager Ann Francis told<br />
ITV: “Pe<strong>op</strong>le are finding just paying for<br />
food is much more of a stretch on their<br />
budget, they’re really concerned about the<br />
increase of gas and electric. A lot of our<br />
members have had the uplift in Universal<br />
Credit taken away ... and they are very<br />
concerned about how they are going to<br />
make ends meet.”<br />
This is particularly acute in the lowincome<br />
areas covered by Cambrian, she<br />
added. “Their affordability is limited<br />
anyway. And it just erodes any kind of<br />
disposable income that they have … They<br />
are literally asking for loans just to survive.”<br />
As well as t<strong>op</strong>-up loans to pay for<br />
household costs, members are looking for<br />
consolidation loans to free up disposable<br />
income and help them keep up with all<br />
their payments.<br />
In Northern Ireland, Ballymena and<br />
Causeway Credit Union has responded<br />
to surging prices – with the cost of home<br />
heating oil doubling in some places – by<br />
dr<strong>op</strong>ping the interest rate on its loans.<br />
Marketing manager Julie Martin told<br />
Belfast <strong>News</strong> Letter: “We always would<br />
have had a home heating loan in place<br />
at a lower rate, which is only for home<br />
heating. We know that times are tough for<br />
everyone at the moment.”<br />
“Our normal rate is 8% and we’ve<br />
lowered it to 4.9%. It was done as a<br />
goodwill gesture, really, to help pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
and let them know that we are here.”<br />
She continued: “Pe<strong>op</strong>le are struggling.<br />
We would even find that we’ve had a<br />
few pe<strong>op</strong>le contact us to say that they’re<br />
struggling with the repayments on their<br />
loans, because of the cost of everything at<br />
the minute. Our home heating loans have<br />
almost doubled in the last month.<br />
“The average member would have taken<br />
out £300 before the increase and now the<br />
average is £570.”<br />
In England, Leeds Credit Union (LCU)<br />
has also raised its concerns. Last month<br />
CEO Paul Kaye warned that chancellor<br />
Rishi Sunak’s spring budget did not go far<br />
enough to help pe<strong>op</strong>le through the price<br />
squeeze. “Some policies in the spring<br />
statement certainly offer some short term<br />
help,” he said. “However it’s impossible<br />
to believe the new measures alone will<br />
alleviate the negative impact that the<br />
ever-increasing cost of living is having on<br />
ordinary, hard-working families.<br />
“For society’s most financially unstable,<br />
there is still the very real possibility that<br />
they will be forced to choose between<br />
eating or heating which, in <strong>2022</strong>, clearly<br />
should not be the case. As a credit union,<br />
one of our greatest concerns is that those<br />
most at risk of falling between the cracks<br />
will be tempted to <strong>op</strong>t for a short-term<br />
cash injection to help pay their bills and<br />
borrow from high cost lenders or, worse<br />
still, loan sharks. Needless to say, this is<br />
not a route anyone should go down.”<br />
Mr Kaye said pe<strong>op</strong>le need better<br />
financial education to help them manage<br />
their money, adding that the government<br />
must to do more to support businesses<br />
and help pe<strong>op</strong>le into work.<br />
Last week a survey of its members by<br />
LCU revealed that, of 2,111 respondents,<br />
28% expect to save no money in the next<br />
12 months, and 43% expect to save less<br />
than they did last year. And 41% said their<br />
financial situation has worsened over<br />
the last 12 months, with 13% saying their<br />
position is much worse.<br />
Almost half (47%) expect their<br />
household economic situation to worsen<br />
and 15% fear it will get ‘much worse’. Only<br />
27% expect things to improve.<br />
Stephen Porter, head of member<br />
experience, said: “While the results aren’t<br />
surprising given the ongoing cost of living<br />
crisis, they are deeply worrying.<br />
“The fact that 28% of respondents said<br />
they don’t expect to save a single penny<br />
over the next 12 months is heartbreaking.<br />
As a credit union, we know only too well<br />
the impact that money worries and a lack<br />
of financial resilience can have on pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
and their mental health. Frankly, it is<br />
unconscionable that so many pe<strong>op</strong>le find<br />
themselves in this position.<br />
“The fact that many ordinary<br />
households are simply planning to st<strong>op</strong><br />
spending in order to mitigate skyrocketing<br />
prices is a huge cause for concern too as<br />
it is likely to see any economic growth<br />
struggle to gain momentum.”<br />
For those in trouble, Ms Francis at<br />
Cambrian suggests going to the CAB for<br />
advice or visiting the local credit union.<br />
LCU also highlighted the value of<br />
credit unions. Paul Kaye said: “I would<br />
encourage anyone facing financial<br />
hardship – regardless of their level of<br />
income – to contact their local credit<br />
union, who can offer them the affordable<br />
loans, access to savings accounts, advice<br />
and support they need to make it through<br />
this period of economic uncertainty.<br />
“By helping vulnerable households<br />
plan their finances and assessing their<br />
debts, affordable borrowing can help<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le make their money go further at a<br />
time when prudence has never been more<br />
important.”<br />
10 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
CREDIT UNIONS<br />
Serve CEO Paul Norgrove appointed Abcul president<br />
The board of the Association of British<br />
Credit Unions (Abcul) has appointed Paul<br />
Norgrove president of the association.<br />
He takes over from Karen Bennett who<br />
has served as president of Abcul for the<br />
past four years.<br />
Mr Norgrove thanked Ms Bennett “for<br />
all she has done to move the association<br />
and the sector forward in her time on the<br />
board,” adding: “I owe Karen a deep debt<br />
of gratitude for her leadership, vision and<br />
determination to put members’ interests<br />
first at all times.”<br />
Abcul is the main trade association<br />
for credit unions in Britain, representing<br />
the majority of British credit unions<br />
to governments, policy makers and<br />
the media. It is governed by a board of<br />
volunteer directors who appoint officers,<br />
such as the president, vice president,<br />
treasurer and secretary from members of<br />
the board.<br />
“I am truly honoured and proud to<br />
be elected by the Abcul board,” said Mr<br />
Norgrove. “I will do my best to lead the<br />
board in the exciting times ahead and<br />
always seek to improve our service to<br />
members.”<br />
Mr Norgrove’s experience in the credit<br />
union sector spans a decade, and prior<br />
to this he worked in non-profits. He is<br />
currently chief executive of Serve and<br />
Protect Credit Union, which provides<br />
financial services to police, prison,<br />
military, fire and health service personnel<br />
and their families in the UK.<br />
He received the World Young<br />
Credit Union Professionals (WYCUP)<br />
scholarship in 2014 and serves on the<br />
WYCUP Steering <strong>Co</strong>mmittee. He is cofounder<br />
and former chair of the Abcul<br />
Young Professionals Network.<br />
“Through my experience in the sector,<br />
I have gained a greater sense of the<br />
challenges and <strong>op</strong>portunities facing<br />
credit unions,” said Mr Norgrove. “I am<br />
very thankful and looking forward to<br />
continuing to work amongst industry<br />
leaders, hear new perspectives and<br />
provide my voice and vision.<br />
“I look forward to leading the board<br />
and working with member credit<br />
unions in the months and years ahead.<br />
Challenges remain in place for the sector<br />
to navigate but we also have hugely<br />
exciting <strong>op</strong>portunities in front of us.<br />
Let’s grasp those <strong>op</strong>portunities and work<br />
collaboratively to deliver real change.”<br />
INSURANCE<br />
UK mutuals pay out more than £34m in income protection claims<br />
Members of the Association of Financial<br />
Mutuals (AFM) that offer income protection<br />
paid out 94.1% of claims received in 2021,<br />
up from 93.9% the previous year, figures<br />
reveal.<br />
In total, AFM says its providers paid<br />
out around £34m in claims to 10,300<br />
policyholders in 2021 (including nearly<br />
8,200 new claimants). There had been a<br />
spike in new claims in 2020, and the 2021<br />
volume represents a 17% fall, although<br />
the figure is still 5% higher than before the<br />
pandemic.<br />
Despite the reduction in the number<br />
of claims, <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 continued to have a<br />
prominent effect, with claims related to<br />
the virus accounting for 20% of all claims<br />
– compared to around 25% in 2020.<br />
While the volume of new claims fell<br />
17%, the actual value paid fell only by 7%,<br />
indicating that there was a larger volume<br />
of long-term payments in the year, and<br />
that the costs of claims are rising.<br />
Musculoskeletal problems were the<br />
most common reason for claiming,<br />
amounting to 31% of claims in 2021, with<br />
<strong>Co</strong>vid claims (20%) and mental health<br />
(9%), the other most frequent reasons.<br />
The relatively small number of claims<br />
rejected were typically as a result of not<br />
disclosing key information at the point of<br />
application or claim (39%), or for a claim<br />
that is either for an excluded condition, or<br />
is outside the sc<strong>op</strong>e of the policy (37%).<br />
This highlights the need for customers and<br />
intermediaries to provide full and frank<br />
information as early as possible when<br />
completing an application or submitting a<br />
claim, says AFM.<br />
While 5.9% of claims were rejected<br />
overall, only 3% of <strong>Co</strong>vid claims were<br />
not paid, which AFM says shows “the<br />
particular value of a friendly society<br />
provider, as many of their policies will<br />
cover short-term illnesses”.<br />
Mutuals may have a deferred period<br />
of one day or one week, compared to<br />
typically three months or more for a nonmutual,<br />
it adds.<br />
AFM says the mutual product is<br />
particularly important if the illness means<br />
there is no early way to return to work; in<br />
2021, the average claim on a full income<br />
protection policy ran for 29 weeks, though<br />
many claims ran for considerably longer: in<br />
2020, one in seven claims ran for more than<br />
two years. This means that families that<br />
would otherwise be forced to rely on State<br />
support only, can maintain their standard<br />
of living during a protracted illness.<br />
Martin Shaw, chief executive of AFM,<br />
added: “The cost of living crisis, fuelled by<br />
rising bills and high levels of inflation, is a<br />
source of concern for every family. There<br />
has also been a steep rise in the number<br />
of working-age pe<strong>op</strong>le suffering long-term<br />
illness in the last two years (more than a<br />
third of workers according to the Office for<br />
National Statistics).<br />
“Together, these forces are encouraging<br />
more pe<strong>op</strong>le to consider buying an income<br />
protection policy. Our latest statistics<br />
show mutual providers can best support<br />
you, in both the short- and the long-term,<br />
as they pay the vast majority of claims.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 11
BUSINESS<br />
110-year-old Welsh wool mill becomes employee owned<br />
A woollen mill, sh<strong>op</strong> and cafe on the<br />
Pembrokeshire coast has transitioned to<br />
an employee ownership trust (EOT) after<br />
being run by the same family since it was<br />
established 110 years ago.<br />
For the past 35 years Melin Tregwynt has<br />
been run by Amanda and Eifion Griffiths,<br />
who have chosen to step back from the<br />
firm, favouring an employee ownership<br />
model over selling to an outside buyer.<br />
Mr Griffiths said an EOT provided<br />
“the perfect solution” for ensuring the<br />
business remained viable and rooted<br />
in the local community. “We will guide<br />
the new management board through the<br />
transition,” he added. “Most importantly<br />
the 42-strong workforce will keep their<br />
jobs and skills and knowledge will remain<br />
here and be kept alive.”<br />
He added: “We are still very much a<br />
family business. Many employees have<br />
worked here for decades, and we even had<br />
three generations of one family as part of<br />
our team. I am proud to be passing on the<br />
company to the new employee board who<br />
I know will take the business to new levels<br />
of growth.”<br />
Melin Tregwynt received support from<br />
the Social Business Wales programme,<br />
funded by the Welsh government and the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Regional Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Fund.<br />
The programme is delivered by Wales<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre (now Cwmpas, see<br />
p42-43), whose CEO Derek Walker said:<br />
“It is wonderful to see an EOT being used<br />
to safeguard not only jobs, but also the<br />
heritage. It is a great way to pass thriving<br />
companies onto the next generation and<br />
is why we want to encourage more soon<br />
to be retiring founders and employees to<br />
consider it as an <strong>op</strong>tion.”<br />
Louise Clarke, Melin Tregwynt’s retail<br />
manager, said: “Melin Tregwynt has such<br />
a strong base here in West Wales it would<br />
have been a tragedy to see it bought out by<br />
another company and possibly changed<br />
forever, so we are honoured that the<br />
Griffiths family has chosen to trust us as<br />
employees with their family business. I<br />
can’t wait to see what the future holds for<br />
us at Melin Tregwynt.”<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
Manchester recycler Emerge launches a community share offer<br />
Emerge Recycling, a community benefit<br />
society providing waste recycling<br />
and reuse services for business and<br />
organisations across Greater Manchester,<br />
has launched a community share offer to<br />
devel<strong>op</strong> its <strong>op</strong>erations.<br />
The social enterprise, which offers<br />
services such as ISO9001 accredited<br />
confidential shredding, waste electrical<br />
goods processing, wood waste collections<br />
and kerbside collections, wants the funds<br />
to devel<strong>op</strong> a new depot, grow its team and<br />
make its <strong>op</strong>erations more sustainable.<br />
It says it is “excited to offer the local<br />
community and the general public an<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity to join us in pioneering reuse<br />
and recycling for social good by helping<br />
us to devel<strong>op</strong> our longstanding business<br />
and deliver a revitalised business plan<br />
over the next three years.<br />
“We’re looking for kind and<br />
compassionate investors, who want<br />
to make a difference and help their<br />
community in devel<strong>op</strong>ing a more<br />
sustainable future.”<br />
The share offer will help to fund a<br />
number of initiatives, including:<br />
• a new depot inside <strong>May</strong>nard House<br />
• recruitment<br />
• greener vehicles<br />
• solar energy and biodiversity<br />
• digitisation devel<strong>op</strong>ment to enable<br />
greater <strong>op</strong>erational efficiency<br />
• beginning the process of securing<br />
ISO27001.<br />
The minimum target for the share offer<br />
is £140,000 and the maximum target<br />
is £300,000; the minimum investment<br />
permitted is £200 and the maximum<br />
investment is £30,000.<br />
Emerge added: “We are looking to<br />
attract investor members who support the<br />
purpose of Emerge Recycling rather than<br />
those seeking financial returns. As such,<br />
the level of return is designed to be the<br />
minimum sufficient to attract and retain<br />
the investment.<br />
“Our financial modelling indicates that<br />
we will be able to pay up to 4% interest on<br />
members’ shares from the financial year<br />
2024/5.”<br />
The shares will qualify for social<br />
investment tax relief (SITR), which means<br />
individuals can benefit from 30% income<br />
tax relief on the amount invested (subject<br />
to your personal tax position).<br />
12 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
ENERGY<br />
Edinburgh solar co-<strong>op</strong><br />
re-<strong>op</strong>ens its community<br />
benefit scheme<br />
Edinburgh <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Solar <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has re<strong>op</strong>ened<br />
its benefit scheme to applications<br />
for grant funding from community<br />
focused organisations in the city.<br />
The energy co-<strong>op</strong> raises capital from the<br />
public to place solar panel installations<br />
on City of Edinburgh <strong>Co</strong>uncil buildings<br />
(schools, leisure centres and other council<br />
owned buildings). As well as paying<br />
annual returns to investors, it allocates<br />
part of the profits to community causes<br />
that benefit the pe<strong>op</strong>le of Edinburgh.<br />
In the latest round of this community<br />
funding, applicants can apply for a<br />
minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of<br />
£5,000. Eligible organisations can apply<br />
for the full cost of a project or a smaller<br />
contribution to a larger project. The<br />
average grant is likely to be in the region<br />
of £1,500.<br />
Funds for larger projects will not<br />
be released until the applicant can<br />
demonstrate that they have the remainder<br />
of the funds in place.<br />
Applications are now <strong>op</strong>en with a<br />
closing date of 30 June <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Eligible organisations include schools<br />
and leisure centres, sports clubs,<br />
registered charities or community<br />
organisations with a focus on: children<br />
and young pe<strong>op</strong>le; the environment and<br />
sustainability; and outdoor education.<br />
• Suitable projects would focus on:<br />
• Environment/sustainability education<br />
• Environmental improvements to<br />
buildings used by communities<br />
• Health, wellbeing and inclusion (for<br />
example community gardens, healthy<br />
eating programmes, or improved access<br />
to facilities for pe<strong>op</strong>le with additional<br />
mobility needs)<br />
• Small-scale renewables/activities that<br />
reduce carbon<br />
• Initiatives that address fuel poverty.<br />
Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> to hold quiet hours for autism<br />
Channel Islands <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is to hold quiet<br />
hours in its stores to help customers with<br />
autism. The hour, devel<strong>op</strong>ed with charities<br />
Autism Jersey and Autism Guernsey, runs<br />
every Monday from 3-4pm at the St Helier,<br />
St Peter, St Martin and St Sampson stores.<br />
Measures include dimmed lights, turning<br />
off music and tannoys, and quiet tills.<br />
Scotmid <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> begins search for new charity partner<br />
Charities are being invited by independent<br />
retail co-<strong>op</strong> Scotmid to become its new<br />
charity partner for <strong>2022</strong>/23.<br />
The society says it is looking for an<br />
organisation that shares its values and<br />
passion for supporting local communities<br />
and would like to build a creative partnership<br />
to encourage participation and fundraising<br />
from staff, members and customers.<br />
Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> backs nature project on the Isle of Wight<br />
Work to help nature recover in Portsmouth<br />
is being extended to the Isle of Wight,<br />
thanks to funding from independent retail<br />
society Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust<br />
h<strong>op</strong>es to replicate the success of its ‘Wilder<br />
Portsmouth’ project – also supported by<br />
Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> and which has helped<br />
build a nature recovery network across<br />
the city – on the island.<br />
Lincolnshire <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> rewards colleagues with awards week<br />
<strong>Co</strong>lleagues at Lincolnshire <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> have<br />
been recognised with awards for providing<br />
valued services to their communities and<br />
making a positive difference.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>lleagues Awards Week <strong>2022</strong> sees the<br />
overall Branches of the Year celebrated<br />
as well as individuals and teams given<br />
awards for going the extra mile.<br />
Thieves target Heart of England store defibrillators<br />
Heart of England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is to lock away the<br />
public defibrillators at its stores outside of<br />
trading hours, following a spate of thefts.<br />
Thieves have been using crowbars to<br />
remove the life-saving devices from several<br />
of the society’s sites. In response, the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
will have to lock the surviving defibrillators<br />
away and the public will only be able to<br />
access them during <strong>op</strong>ening hours.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 13
GLOBAL UPDATES<br />
GLOBAL<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s mentioned in ILO report on SSE<br />
The International Labour Organization<br />
has published a report on Decent Work<br />
and the Social and Solidarity Economy,<br />
which highlights the sector’s contribution<br />
to empowering workers around the world.<br />
The report mentions how the SSE – which<br />
includes co-<strong>op</strong>s, mutuals, associations,<br />
foundations, social enterprises and selfhelp<br />
groups – promotes international<br />
labour standards and compliance with<br />
the fundamental principles and rights in<br />
the workplace .<br />
The document mentions some of the<br />
contributions of the SSE to decent work,<br />
such as facilitating access to social<br />
protection for their members, empowering<br />
informal workers, fostering social<br />
dialogue, promoting gender equality and<br />
enabling women take leadership roles.<br />
Furthermore, the report explains that<br />
the SSE can also create jobs through<br />
worker-owned enterprises such as worker<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, which, it adds, “can<br />
be an effective strategy for generating<br />
employment and supporting livelihoods,<br />
especially among informal workers”.<br />
There is a still a problem, the report<br />
adds, because the term SSE lacks universal<br />
acceptance. Other closely associated terms<br />
include “social economy”, “third sector”,<br />
“social enterprise”, “non-profit sector”,<br />
”solidarity economy”, “alternative<br />
economy” and “p<strong>op</strong>ular economy.<br />
The report tries to help define the SSE<br />
by providing a set of values distinguishing<br />
it from other subsets of the economy:<br />
social or public purpose; prohibition<br />
or limitation of profit distribution;<br />
democratic and participatory governance;<br />
voluntary co<strong>op</strong>eration; and autonomy<br />
and independence.<br />
In terms of challenges for the<br />
sector, the report adds that despite the<br />
growing momentum around the SSE,<br />
several barriers continue to restrict its<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment. It suggests devel<strong>op</strong>ing an<br />
enabling environment for the SSE through<br />
tripartite participation with representative<br />
organisations of employers and workers,<br />
as well as in consultation with other<br />
relevant and representative organisations<br />
of persons concerned.<br />
Recommendations in the report include<br />
ensuring a conducive environment to<br />
ensure a level playing field for SSE and<br />
other enterprises and ad<strong>op</strong>ting SSE<br />
legislation that explicitly recognises SSE<br />
values and principles provides a strong<br />
basis for promoting the SSE.<br />
The report was produced for the 110th<br />
session of the International Labour<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference in Geneva, in June <strong>2022</strong>, which<br />
will focus on Decent Work and the Social<br />
and Solidarity Economy.<br />
CANADA<br />
Federal<br />
government launches<br />
biggest co-<strong>op</strong> housing<br />
drive in 30 years<br />
Canada’s federal <strong>2022</strong> budget pledges<br />
to allocate new funding to expand the<br />
country’s co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing sector.<br />
The Canadian government’s budget<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>oses to reallocate CA$500m of<br />
funding on a cash basis from the National<br />
Housing <strong>Co</strong>-Investment Fund to launch a<br />
new <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Housing Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Program. National sector apex the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Housing Federation will codesign<br />
the programme with involvement<br />
from the co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing sector.<br />
The budget also pledges to allocate CA<br />
$1bn in loans to be reallocated from the<br />
Rental <strong>Co</strong>nstruction Financing Initiative<br />
to support co-<strong>op</strong> housing projects.<br />
“For generations, co-<strong>op</strong>s have offered<br />
quality, affordable housing to Canadians,<br />
while empowering their members through<br />
inclusion, personal devel<strong>op</strong>ment,<br />
and security of tenure through their<br />
community-oriented model of housing,”<br />
read a government statement. “While co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are home to approximately a quarter<br />
of a million Canadians, not enough have<br />
been built in recent years.”<br />
The government estimates that 6,000<br />
units will be constructed under the<br />
scheme, making it the largest investment<br />
in building new co-<strong>op</strong> housing for more<br />
than 30 years.<br />
Reacting to the budget, the executive<br />
director of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Housing<br />
Federation of Canada (CHF Canada), Tim<br />
Ross, said: “Today’s federal budget is<br />
a turning point, as it acknowledges the<br />
unique value of co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing and<br />
commits to its expansion.<br />
“Starting with 6,000 new homes over<br />
the next five years, we are <strong>op</strong>timistic the<br />
new <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Housing Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Program will kick-start the devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
of the next generation of co-<strong>op</strong> housing<br />
at a scale that will help solve the housing<br />
crisis. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> housing is affordable, secure<br />
and enables the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of strong,<br />
inclusive communities, all of which we<br />
need more than ever.”<br />
The government is also carrying out<br />
a programme of repairs, refurbishment,<br />
and climate-friendly retrofits on existing<br />
housing co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
14 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
EUROPE<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s Eur<strong>op</strong>e’s response to the EC’s Social Economy Action Plan<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e has released<br />
a position paper on the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission’s Action Plan for the Social<br />
Economy, which was released in 2021.<br />
The apex, which represents co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
enterprises across the continent, made a<br />
series of recommendations while raising<br />
concerns about certain aspects of the plan.<br />
This includes the need for a common<br />
understanding of the social economy so<br />
that a coherent set of initiatives can be<br />
built. <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s Eur<strong>op</strong>e says the <strong>Co</strong>mmission<br />
should establish clear guidelines<br />
common to all EU member states to<br />
avoid differences in implementation, or<br />
implementation “in silos” across actors.<br />
Its paper adds that the need for<br />
clarification also applies to the<br />
definition of some entities, especially<br />
social enterprises, whose method of<br />
organisation and ownership is described<br />
as “democratic or participatory”.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s Eur<strong>op</strong>e argues that the<br />
governance pillar is just as important as<br />
the objectives or missions in other forms<br />
of enterprises.<br />
When it comes to legal frameworks,<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Eur<strong>op</strong>e says there are vast<br />
inequalities among member states,<br />
which remained unaddressed. Member<br />
states should therefore be encouraged<br />
to promote all types of co-<strong>op</strong>, in all<br />
sectors of the economy, through adequate<br />
legal frameworks, policy support, and<br />
financial support.<br />
The apex also raises concerns about<br />
the lack of common understanding of the<br />
social economy, labels and certifications,<br />
which, it says, could create confusion<br />
when implemented nationally.<br />
While the use of social clauses in the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission’s own tendering procedures<br />
can help grow the sector, <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s Eur<strong>op</strong>e<br />
says “a more binding and ambitious<br />
approach was expected with specific<br />
targets and benchmarks”. And the apex<br />
praises the <strong>Co</strong>mmission’s efforts to boost<br />
the social economy in regions and rural<br />
areas but says this should also include<br />
allocating resources to well-established<br />
rural businesses in rural areas, such as<br />
agri co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The Action Plan does not pay enough<br />
attention to international co-<strong>op</strong>eration,<br />
the apex warns, adding: “The actions<br />
foreseen by the <strong>Co</strong>mmission are limited<br />
in sc<strong>op</strong>e – to social enterprises – and<br />
in space to the western Balkans, the<br />
southern neighbourhood, and the eastern<br />
partnership”.<br />
As such, it calls for actions related to<br />
international co-<strong>op</strong>eration to go beyond<br />
these regions and encourages the<br />
ad<strong>op</strong>tion of concrete measures.<br />
CZECH REPUBLIC<br />
Automation rolls<br />
on with unmanned <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
store in Strakonice<br />
Czech retail chain <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> has <strong>op</strong>ened a new<br />
concept store in Strakonice city centre,<br />
where customers can sh<strong>op</strong> 24/7.<br />
To sh<strong>op</strong> outside of standard <strong>op</strong>ening<br />
hours customers, need to install an app on<br />
their devices, which after the first log-in via<br />
their bank identity will generate a unique<br />
QR code each time they visit the store,<br />
enabling them to enter. Payment is made<br />
by card through self-service cash registers.<br />
“We want these stores to be for everyone”<br />
said Lukáš Nemcík, devel<strong>op</strong>ment and<br />
marketing director, who <strong>op</strong>ened the store.<br />
“Of course, within the standard <strong>op</strong>ening<br />
hours, the store will continue to be staffed,<br />
but outside this time it will <strong>op</strong>erate in<br />
automatic mode.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>, which plans a second store of this<br />
format in Ceský Krumlov in the coming<br />
months, was inspired by Scandinavian co<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
which <strong>op</strong>erate similar format stores.<br />
“We think that the concept of automated<br />
stores has the greatest potential in small<br />
and medium-sized cities due to the<br />
changing structure of customers, most of<br />
whom require the most flexible services,”<br />
said Mr Nemcík.<br />
“In addition, in these localities,<br />
for example, only large sh<strong>op</strong>s on the<br />
outskirts, which are often only accessible<br />
by car, are often <strong>op</strong>en in the early evening<br />
or on weekends. For fast sh<strong>op</strong>ping, a<br />
constantly <strong>op</strong>en automatic store within<br />
walking distance is an ideal solution.”<br />
These types of stores are particularly<br />
suitable for customers wishing to make<br />
small purchases.<br />
“We also consider our focus on regional<br />
food to be important. For example, we sell<br />
bread from local bakeries or cold cuts from<br />
local butchers. It does not make sense for<br />
this type of goods to be difficult to travel<br />
around the country, as is the case with<br />
multinational chains,” added Mr Nemcík.<br />
“Every visitor to the store will be<br />
uniquely identified thanks to this system,<br />
so it is not a problem, for example, if they<br />
buy more than one customer at a time,”<br />
said Pavel Kozler from Knowinstore, the<br />
firm which devel<strong>op</strong>ed the technology used<br />
in the store. “The customer will be able<br />
to leave the store with the purchase only<br />
after verification of payment.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 15
IRELAND<br />
Irish minister<br />
visits north of England<br />
credit unions<br />
Seán Fleming, the Irish minister of state<br />
with responsibility for financial services,<br />
credit unions and insurance, paid a visit<br />
to the north of England on 15 March where<br />
he met with representatives of British<br />
credit unions.<br />
The exchange was organised by the<br />
Swoboda Research Centre (formerly<br />
<strong>op</strong>erating as the Centre for <strong>Co</strong>mmunity<br />
Finance Eur<strong>op</strong>e), which was set up in<br />
2017 to produce, facilitate and stimulate<br />
action-orientated research that supports<br />
the credit union movement.<br />
Along with colleagues from the Ministry<br />
of Finance and the Irish <strong>Co</strong>nsulate<br />
overseas trade teams, the minister heard<br />
about the similarities and differences<br />
between the Irish and the British credit<br />
union movements, as well as the Swoboda<br />
Research Centre’s thoughts on issues<br />
around green lending.<br />
p Nick Money (Swoboda), Christine Moore (Manchester Credit Union), Caroline Domanski (No1<br />
<strong>Co</strong>pperPot Credit Union and Swoboda), John Haslam (Abcul), minister Seán Fleming and Paul A.<br />
Jones (Swoboda)<br />
Mr Fleming, who is also Assembly<br />
delegate for the constituency of Laois<br />
Offaly, met CEOs of Swoboda members<br />
Manchester Credit Union and No1<br />
<strong>Co</strong>pperPot Credit Union, Christine Moore<br />
and Caroline Domanski.<br />
They discussed their credit unions’<br />
high loan-to-savings ratios relative to the<br />
average in Ireland, and mortgage lending.<br />
John Haslam from the Association of<br />
British Credit Unions Limited (Abcul)<br />
also joined the meeting for a conversation<br />
on strategic mergers.<br />
“I enjoyed meeting members of the<br />
British credit union movement,” said Mr<br />
Fleming, as he thanking the meetings<br />
organisers, hosts and participants.<br />
“It’s important we share our learnings<br />
and experience to build relationships<br />
and grow.”<br />
FINLAND<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> banking<br />
figure to represent<br />
industry on Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
sustainability board<br />
In March the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Financial<br />
Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)<br />
set up a new Sustainability Reporting<br />
Board, which provides technical advice<br />
to the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission on draft EU<br />
Sustainability Reporting Standards.<br />
One of the members of the newly<br />
created board is Annina Tanhuanpää<br />
of the Finnish co-<strong>op</strong>erative bank, OP<br />
Financial Group, who was nominated by<br />
the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Association of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Banks (EACB), the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Banking<br />
Federation (EBF) and the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Saving<br />
Banks Group (ESBG).<br />
OP is Finland’s largest financial services<br />
group, with 121 OP co-<strong>op</strong>erative banks,<br />
two million customer-owners, 13,000<br />
employees, and a 38% retail and corporate<br />
banking market share.<br />
Ms Tanhuanpää told EACB: “I am<br />
excited and honoured to join EFRAG’s new<br />
Sustainability Reporting Board. Together<br />
with the wide range of experts of the<br />
Technical Expert Group (TEG), the board<br />
will be building the EU Sustainability<br />
Reporting Standards, which will<br />
subsequently be ad<strong>op</strong>ted by the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission (EC) via delegated acts”.<br />
EACB CEO Nina Schindler said:<br />
“The EACB warmly welcomes Annina’s<br />
appointment and is proud that the co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
banking networks could present<br />
such a high-level leadership profile.<br />
“We are convinced Annina is an<br />
excellent choice: her profile combines indepth<br />
knowledge of ESG reporting and<br />
of the banking business with political<br />
awareness. I wish Annina and the new<br />
EFRAG board much success in achieving<br />
the EU targets under a tight timeframe.”<br />
The EFRAG Sustainability Reporting<br />
Board brings together representatives<br />
from Eur<strong>op</strong>ean stakeholders, national<br />
organisations and civil society<br />
organisations.<br />
16 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
KENYA<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Bank of Kenya reports record profit<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Bank of Kenya increased<br />
its profit by 59% in 2021.<br />
The bank reported a Kshs 22.6bn (£150m)<br />
profit before tax last year, up from Kshs<br />
14.3bn (£95m) in 2020. Meanwhile, its posttax<br />
profit was Kshs 16.5bn (£109m) in 2021<br />
compared to Kshs 10.8bn (£71m) in 2020.<br />
The value of the bank’s assets also<br />
increased by 8% to Kshs 579.8 bn (£3.85bn)<br />
in 2021 while its total <strong>op</strong>erating income<br />
grew by 12% to Kshs 60.4 bn (£401m). The<br />
bank served over nine million account<br />
holders in 2021.<br />
Other 2021 highlights included moving<br />
94% of all customer transactions to<br />
alternative delivery channels including<br />
Internet, mobile banking and e-wallets,<br />
and expanding its 24-hour contact centre.<br />
Since 2018 the bank has also been offering<br />
packages for micro, small and medium<br />
sized enterprises (MSMEs). Over 144,000<br />
customers have taken up the MSME<br />
packages since 2018 and 19,963 have been<br />
trained on business management skills.<br />
Since launching its ECredit solution, the<br />
bank has disbursed Kshs 42.5bn (£282m)<br />
to MSMEs.<br />
Meanwhile the bank’s Foundation<br />
provided over 650 scholarships in 2021,<br />
which included fully paid secondary<br />
education, tuition fees for university<br />
education and internships.<br />
Group managing director and CEO Dr<br />
Gideon Muriuki said: “The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Bank Group continues to execute a proactive<br />
growth strategy anchored on a strong<br />
enterprise risk management framework,<br />
and deepening of our market dominance.<br />
Credit: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Bank of Kenya<br />
We shall, riding on the unique synergies<br />
in the over 15 million-member co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement that is the largest in Africa,<br />
continue to pursue strategic initiatives<br />
that focus on resilience and growth in the<br />
various sectors of the economy.”<br />
Dr Muriuki received the Best Bank CEO<br />
in Africa Award at 2021 EMEA Awards,<br />
where the bank was praised for sustaining<br />
the same level of dividend payments to<br />
shareholders despite the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 crisis.<br />
GLOBAL<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> insurers beat their local markets for growth, ICMIF figures reveal<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> insurers have been bucking local<br />
trends for market growth over the last<br />
financial year, according to figures from<br />
the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative and Mutual<br />
Insurance Federation (ICMIF).<br />
The latest edition of the ICMIF Members:<br />
Key Statistics <strong>2022</strong> report shows that 70%<br />
of ICMIF members exceeded their local<br />
market’s annual growth.<br />
These results follow positive findings<br />
from the ICMIF Members Sustainable<br />
Investment Report 2021, where 80%<br />
of ICMIF members named in the study<br />
exceeded the total market’s annual<br />
premium growth for last year.<br />
The ICMIF Members: Key Statistics <strong>2022</strong><br />
report provides analysis of the collective<br />
performance of the 200 members that<br />
make up ICMIF today and how they<br />
perform against the wider market in both<br />
long-term and short-term comparisons.<br />
Key findings:<br />
• US$247bn (£190bn) in premium income<br />
• US$2tn (£1.5tn) in total assets<br />
• Over 226,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le employed by<br />
member organisations<br />
• 356 million members/policyholders<br />
served<br />
• 70.3% of ICMIF members exceeded their<br />
local market’s annual growth<br />
In 2020, ICMIF members wrote an<br />
aggregate of US$247bn in insurance<br />
premiums, of which 45% – US$112bn<br />
(£86bn) was in life insurance and 55%<br />
– US$35bn (£27bn) was in non-life<br />
(including health) insurance.<br />
ICMIF members, as a collective, saw<br />
their held assets surpass U$2tn for the<br />
first time in the Federation’s history.<br />
CEO Shaun Tarbuck said: “The findings<br />
of the new ICMIF Members: Key Statistics<br />
report are hugely encouraging and we<br />
can clearly see that the mutual and co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
insurance sector is continuing<br />
to grow, with 70.3% of ICMIF members<br />
outperforming their local markets. The 200<br />
member companies of ICMIF have recorded<br />
US$247bn in premium income and they<br />
serve 356 million member/policyholders.<br />
“In <strong>2022</strong>, ICMIF is celebrating its<br />
centenary year and to do so knowing that<br />
our members’ held assets have surpassed<br />
US$2tn for the first time in our 100-year<br />
history is an additional reason for us to<br />
celebrate.”<br />
Also included in ICMIF Members:<br />
Key Statistics <strong>2022</strong> is analysis of ICMIF<br />
members based on legal structure,<br />
location, and affinity group, as well as a<br />
list of ICMIF’s 50 largest members today.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 17
EUROPE<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s demand<br />
more action on food<br />
sustainability<br />
Euro <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>, the voice of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
retailers in Eur<strong>op</strong>e, has called the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission (EC) to continue<br />
implementing its Farm to Fork strategy to<br />
drive sustainability in the food sector.<br />
In a recent article, the apex argued that<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives can offer higher guarantees<br />
of worker rights, shared benefits, equality<br />
and holistic sustainability “because the<br />
core business <strong>op</strong>erations are based on<br />
principles and led by values, thereby<br />
maximising benefits for the individual<br />
consumer-members (who are the owners<br />
of the business) and their communities,<br />
while being economically viable”.<br />
Urging the EC to step up its Farm to<br />
Fork strategy during the current crisis by<br />
increasing its sustainability ambitions, it<br />
said consumer co-<strong>op</strong>s have led the way<br />
in sustainable practices and have been<br />
“steps ahead of the strict legislation<br />
requirements on food safety and<br />
sustainability”.<br />
“Being owned by consumers, co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
have a direct and strong interest in<br />
ensuring food safety and sustainability,”<br />
the article says. “This is why Euro<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> strongly supports the call for the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission to keep on track and ensure<br />
the EU food production resilience by<br />
raising sustainability ambitions even<br />
further in a crisis period which exposes<br />
our Bloc’s vulnerabilities.”<br />
Euro <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> expressed concerns over<br />
the EC’s delay in updating the law on the<br />
sustainable use of pesticides and nature<br />
restoration, which is part of Farm to Fork.<br />
The EC blamed the delay on the Ukraine<br />
crisis, which has affected cereal cr<strong>op</strong>s –<br />
especially wheat – in Russia and Ukraine,<br />
which is an important global producer.<br />
The apex also warned of the<br />
consequences of unsustainable food<br />
production, such as climate emissions,<br />
water depletion, soil degradation, water<br />
and air pollution and habitat loss.<br />
Cheaper goods produced in this way<br />
mean sustainable farmers face unfair<br />
competition, says Euro <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>, which wants a<br />
number of measures implemented to<br />
ensure a level playing field for EU farmers –<br />
such as a border adjustment tax for<br />
imported products.<br />
Another concern is the impact on staple<br />
grains of financial speculation at the<br />
Seeds Stock Exchange.<br />
Full article at bit.ly/3rMZKZ2<br />
FRANCE<br />
French co-<strong>op</strong>s represent 25% of the global turnover of t<strong>op</strong> 100 co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
New research which compares French<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to those in Eur<strong>op</strong>e and other<br />
countries puts them ahead of those in<br />
Germany, Japan and the US.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nducted by economist Olivier Frey for<br />
apex <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> FR, the paper looks at the 2014<br />
Global Census on <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives published<br />
by United Nation’s Secretariat Department<br />
of Economic and Social Affairs, which<br />
measured the size and sc<strong>op</strong>e of the co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
economy in the world.<br />
The World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Monitor also<br />
provides an analysis of the economic<br />
(turnover, sectors of activity) and social<br />
(employment) weight of the 100 largest co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
at the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean and global level.<br />
Mr Frey’s research found that French<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s represent 25% of the global<br />
turnover of the t<strong>op</strong> 100 worldwide, with<br />
US$344.75bn, ahead of Germany (15.9%),<br />
Japan (11%) and the USA (10.1%).<br />
Meanwhile at Eur<strong>op</strong>ean level, French<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s represent with 36.6% of the t<strong>op</strong> 100<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s by turnover. The study also found<br />
that in 2019, out of 100 largest co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
enterprises in Eur<strong>op</strong>e, 23 were French, 14<br />
were German and 12 were Dutch.<br />
The world’s 100 largest co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
p Groupe Crédit Agricole, one of France’s co-<strong>op</strong> giants (Photo: iStock)<br />
employ almost three million pe<strong>op</strong>le, 2.5<br />
million of which are in Eur<strong>op</strong>e. France<br />
is the second nation in the world t<strong>op</strong><br />
100 in terms of employment with 613,351<br />
employees in 13 co-<strong>op</strong>erative enterprises.<br />
Germany comes first with 857,964<br />
employees and Switzerland is third with<br />
223,522 employees.<br />
The research points out that French co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
have been covered by the same<br />
law for over 75 years. Their <strong>op</strong>erations<br />
are regularly audited, through what is<br />
known as the “révision co<strong>op</strong>érative”<br />
– a co-<strong>op</strong>erative audit. At global level<br />
the most represented sectors of activity<br />
among the 100 largest co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
are agriculture and agri-food, trade and<br />
banking; but in France trading co-<strong>op</strong>s are<br />
the most important in terms of turnover.<br />
The country’s agricultural and agri-food<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and co-<strong>op</strong>erative banks also<br />
have a significant weight.<br />
The report also points out that new<br />
sectors are emerging, and some of these –<br />
such as renewable energy, health, healthy<br />
food and platform co-<strong>op</strong>s – might enter<br />
the t<strong>op</strong> 100 in the future.<br />
Other co-<strong>op</strong>erative networks aim to<br />
radically transform the economy, such as<br />
Licoornes in France.<br />
18 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
p US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, and the Federation’s Dania Davy and <strong>Co</strong>rnelius Blanding<br />
USA<br />
Black farmer co-<strong>op</strong>s will get voice in court over debt relief row<br />
The Federation of Southern <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
been granted a motion to intervene in a<br />
lawsuit which is blocking a US federal<br />
debt relief programme for black farmers.<br />
In 2020, the US Department of<br />
Agriculture (USDA) granted US$4bn in<br />
debt relief payments to black farmers, in<br />
a bid to reverse long-standing economic<br />
injustices, but this has been blocked by<br />
lawsuits on behalf of white farmers who<br />
claim the measure is discriminatory.<br />
One of the lawsuits has been brought in<br />
Texas by Stephen Miller, a former Trump<br />
advisor, against agriculture secretary Tom<br />
Vilsack – and in response, the Federation<br />
has been fighting to make sure the black<br />
farmers are heard directly in court.<br />
After its motion to intervene was denied<br />
by the lower court, the Federation went<br />
last month to the United States <strong>Co</strong>urt of<br />
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – which has<br />
now unanimously granted its motion.<br />
The case, Miller v Vilsack, will be sent<br />
back to the District <strong>Co</strong>urt for the Northern<br />
District of Texas to allow the Federation<br />
to formally enter the litigation as codefendants<br />
with the USDA.<br />
Federation executive director <strong>Co</strong>rnelius<br />
Blanding said: “The USA’s administration,<br />
under secretary Vilsack’s leadership, has<br />
consistently expressed a commitment<br />
to racial equity. Working together as codefendants<br />
of the constitutionality of the<br />
debt relief programme will strengthen our<br />
shared goal of seeing the programme fully<br />
implemented as originally announced.”<br />
“This is a critical decision,” said Dania<br />
Davy, director of land retention and<br />
advocacy at the Federation. “For the first<br />
time since these lawsuits … started to be<br />
filed, this appellate court was the first to<br />
seriously consider the devastating impact<br />
of the delayed implementation of the debt<br />
relief program on our member-farmers.<br />
“By guaranteeing the Federation’s right<br />
to intervene, the court ensured that the<br />
ongoing, race-based discrimination our<br />
member-farmers continue to face can be<br />
entered as evidence in the litigation which<br />
will significantly strengthen the defence<br />
of this programme’s constitutionality.”<br />
The Department of Justice, on behalf<br />
of Mr Vilsack, has continued its defence<br />
of the debt relief programme and filed its<br />
motion for summary judgement asking<br />
the judge to allow the programme to be<br />
implemented without a lengthy trial.<br />
The Federation says it will continue to<br />
work with the USDA, its own legal counsel,<br />
partners, and coalitions to protect its<br />
member-farmers – “who should have<br />
received this debt relief last year” – from<br />
the “looming threat of foreclosure and<br />
land loss”.<br />
Other recent advocacy work reported<br />
by the Federation includes assistance<br />
with the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of a co-<strong>op</strong> of more<br />
than 400 oyster fishers “as they fight<br />
against racial and economic injustice”.<br />
The Federation attended a demonstration<br />
at the Austin HQ of the Texas Parks and<br />
Wildlife Department (TPWD), which<br />
had been closing fishing bays “without<br />
consideration or input from the mostly<br />
Hispanic community of fisher-folk,<br />
by using tactics such as not providing<br />
materials in Spanish” – in violation of civil<br />
rights law.<br />
“The fisher-folk are fighting for the<br />
long-term sustainability of oysters while<br />
protecting their right to earn a living,” says<br />
the Federation, which cited local concerns<br />
that working class white and Latino<br />
fishermen and women are being driven<br />
from the bays by moneyed interests.<br />
It adds: “There are no easy solutions to<br />
this problem, but it has united fishermen<br />
across racial lines and along the coast …<br />
The two days of protest have provided<br />
an important lesson to the fishermen –<br />
standing co-<strong>op</strong>eratively together makes<br />
them stronger. They’re realising their<br />
collective futures are tied and if they co<strong>op</strong>erate,<br />
they can win.”<br />
Last month, the Federation also held<br />
a listening session with 15 black Georgia<br />
farmer-members as part of its Advocacy<br />
Institute to hear directly from them<br />
on what it will take to keep them on<br />
their farms.<br />
The Federation holds its 55th annual<br />
meeting from 18-20 August.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 19
EUROPE<br />
Woccu chief visits Eur<strong>op</strong>e to meet<br />
Ukrainian and Polish credit union leaders<br />
The head of the World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit<br />
Unions (Woccu) is meeting Ukrainian<br />
and Polish credit union leaders in Poland<br />
to discuss the challenges they face after<br />
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<br />
Elissa McCarter LaBorde, president<br />
and CEO of the global apex, will also visit<br />
leaders of Credit for Agriculture Producers<br />
(CAP) a USAID-funded Woccu project set<br />
up to strengthen Ukraine’s credit unions<br />
and expand access to agri lending.<br />
She is also meeting representatives of<br />
Kasa Stefczyka, the largest credit union<br />
in Poland, which has begun enrolling<br />
Ukrainian refugees as members, and<br />
Rafal Matusiak, chair of the National<br />
Association of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Savings<br />
and Credit Unions (NACSCU), which<br />
is Woccu’s direct member credit union<br />
association in Poland.<br />
“Woccu recognises the credit unions we<br />
work with in Ukraine are facing mounting<br />
challenges caused by the Russian<br />
invasion” said Ms McCarter LaBorde. “We<br />
want to know how we can help today and<br />
in the coming months and years. We also<br />
want to make sure that any solutions we<br />
devel<strong>op</strong> are done in coordination with<br />
our member credit union associations<br />
in neighbouring countries like Poland,<br />
which are already doing so much to help.”<br />
Woccu’s charitable arm, the Worldwide<br />
Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU),<br />
along with USAID, has recently released<br />
the second and final payment from a<br />
US$1m liquidity fund to help credit unions<br />
working on the CAP scheme to resume<br />
agricultural lending and support food<br />
security in Ukraine. The first payment, of<br />
nearly $500,000, was released in April.<br />
The second part, also totalling almost<br />
$500,000, has gone to the Ukrainian<br />
United Credit Union (UUCU) and United<br />
Credit Union of UNASCU (UCU of<br />
UNASCU), the central financing facilities<br />
for Ukrainian credit unions.<br />
This funding is a response to the<br />
demand for loans from agricultural<br />
producers in areas of western Ukraine<br />
less affected by the war. It is also h<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
the measure will tackle food insecurity –<br />
not just in Ukraine but around the world,<br />
given the country’s important role as a<br />
exporter of food and inputs.<br />
Within a week of the Russian invasion,<br />
WFCU launched the Ukrainian Credit<br />
Union Displacement Fund, which has<br />
raised more than $1m.<br />
“We continue to be overwhelmed by the<br />
incredible generosity of our global credit<br />
union movement” said Mike Reuter,<br />
executive director of WCFU. “While it is<br />
not surprising, because we know how our<br />
international community comes together<br />
in times like these, it is humbling and<br />
overwhelming to see so much support<br />
come in such a short period of time.”<br />
The money raised will be used to<br />
support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine<br />
and neighbouring countries.<br />
Donations can be made at bit.<br />
ly/3xBQqLf<br />
RETAIL<br />
New climate change initiatives from Eur<strong>op</strong>ean retail co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
Two new green initiatives have been<br />
announced by retail co-<strong>op</strong>s in Eur<strong>op</strong>e,<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Sweden and <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Denmark.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Sweden says it is working to make<br />
its new fully automated goods terminal<br />
in Eskilstuna as sustainable as possible.<br />
“Our electric <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> train will arrive at the<br />
terminal with goods several times a day<br />
and with our own photovoltaic system, we<br />
will largely be able to run the trains and<br />
terminal with electricity from the sun,”<br />
said Örjan Grandin, CEO of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Logistik.<br />
The solar cell plant will comprise<br />
approximately 14,400 solar panels on<br />
an area corresponding to 38,000 sq m –<br />
making it Sweden’s second largest roofbuilt<br />
photovoltaic plant.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nstruction work on the new goods<br />
terminal started in 2020 and it is expected<br />
to be fully <strong>op</strong>erational in 2024.<br />
Meanwhile <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Denmark has released<br />
a new set of climate-related requirements<br />
for all its major food suppliers, committing<br />
p The new terminal with its rooft<strong>op</strong> PV and solar-powered train (Photo: Krook & Tjäder /<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Sverige AB)<br />
them to ambitious targets for the groceries<br />
they deliver to its stores.<br />
It will primarily apply to the more than<br />
50 suppliers who deliver goods worth<br />
approximately DKK 100 million (€13.4<br />
million) per year and more.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Denmark says it is the first food<br />
retailer in the country to have its climate<br />
action plan approved by the International<br />
Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI),<br />
which is in line with the Paris Agreement.<br />
Its largest suppliers will now need to<br />
adapt to the requirements of SBTi by 2025.<br />
The move is “a historic commitment”,<br />
said <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Denmark executive vice<br />
president Per Thau. “We want to send<br />
a signal in the market that in future [a<br />
reduction in climate impact] will be a<br />
prerequisite for the major producers to<br />
deliver food to us.”<br />
20 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
PERU<br />
Credit unions push<br />
for financial inclusion<br />
An alliance of Peruvian credit unions<br />
has launched a project to strengthen<br />
financial inclusion across the country’s<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector.<br />
The Strengthening Route initiative is<br />
being led by the World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit<br />
Unions (Woccu) through its Economic<br />
Inclusion Project (EIP), alongside the<br />
National Federation of Credit Unions of<br />
Peru (FENACREP). The aim is to enhance<br />
the credit union sector and increase<br />
financial inclusion across the country.<br />
EIP is a USAID-funded project set up to<br />
support Venezuelan migrants and their<br />
host communities in Peru and Ecuador.<br />
Launched in 2020, it aims to give 100,000<br />
individuals access to new financial<br />
services over a three-year period.<br />
Eight of the EIP’s partner organisations<br />
gathered in Lima on 8 April to launch<br />
the Strengthening Route and discuss<br />
the challenges, <strong>op</strong>portunities and needs<br />
facing the country’s co-<strong>op</strong>s. Two key<br />
issues were identified during the talks<br />
– the first a need for the country’s credit<br />
union sector to become more competitive<br />
and modernised, and the difficulties<br />
vulnerable p<strong>op</strong>ulations face in accessing<br />
the formal financial sector.<br />
Manuel Rabines, general manager<br />
of FENACREP, said: “The needs for<br />
reorganising and transforming credit<br />
unions are becoming more evident<br />
to adapt to the new conditions of the<br />
financial environment and economic<br />
competition.”<br />
Oscar Guzman, EIP’s director, stressed<br />
that financial services “are the basis for<br />
the sustainability of entrepreneurship and<br />
employability programs aimed at migrant<br />
and local p<strong>op</strong>ulations”.<br />
It is h<strong>op</strong>ed the Strengthening Route<br />
will help credit unions respond to these<br />
challenges by offering more agile, digital<br />
services to members, expanding business<br />
strategies into suitable markets and hiring<br />
more skilled employees to boost growth.<br />
FBI puts agri co-<strong>op</strong> sector on high cybercrime alert<br />
Ana Aguirre elected ICA Youth <strong>Co</strong>mmittee president<br />
Pandemic sparks new generation of co-<strong>op</strong>s in Fiji<br />
African trade expert takes helm of Fairtrade International<br />
Call goes out for credit union researchers<br />
Cybercrime against farm co-<strong>op</strong>s is<br />
becoming more s<strong>op</strong>histicated, with a<br />
higher risk in the planting and harvest<br />
seasons, the FBI has warned. Attackers<br />
will use ransomware to disrupt <strong>op</strong>erations<br />
and food supply chains at crucial times<br />
and co-<strong>op</strong>s in the US and around the<br />
world are advised to maintain strict online<br />
security protocols<br />
The International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance’s<br />
Youth <strong>Co</strong>mmittee elected Ana Aguirre as<br />
president with a four-year mandate. Ms<br />
Aguirre is co-founder and worker-owner at<br />
TAZEBAEZ S.<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>, a Basque worker co-<strong>op</strong>,<br />
where she leads on co-<strong>op</strong> devel<strong>op</strong>ment.<br />
She currently serves as vice president for<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>e in the ICA Youth <strong>Co</strong>mmittee.<br />
Fiji’s government received 80 applications<br />
to register co-<strong>op</strong>s at the height of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>vid-19 crisis, which saw pe<strong>op</strong>le return<br />
to their villages after losing their jobs.<br />
The trade minister announced the figures<br />
at a marine conservation event, the<br />
Fiji Seascape Symposium, and said co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
were ideally suited to sustainable<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment and were receiving<br />
government support.<br />
Fairtrade International has appointed<br />
Sandra Uwera as its global CEO. She has<br />
held several business roles in eastern and<br />
southern Africa, most recently serving as<br />
CEO of COMESA Business <strong>Co</strong>uncil (CBC),<br />
“I am delighted and honoured to lead<br />
Fairtrade as it builds on its leading role in<br />
confronting the greatest challenges of our<br />
time, from climate change and poverty to<br />
gender equality,” she said.<br />
The Swoboda Credit Union Research Prize<br />
<strong>2022</strong> is now <strong>op</strong>en for applications from<br />
researchers around the world who wish<br />
to contribute to the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of credit<br />
unions in the Republic of Ireland and / or<br />
the UK. Closing date is 6 <strong>May</strong>; all queries<br />
to Dr Paul A Jones, director of<br />
research: p.a.jones@ljmu.ac.uk<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 21
MEET<br />
Bahman Abdollahi<br />
President of the Iran Chamber<br />
of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives (ICC)<br />
Mr Abdollahi has been involved in co-<strong>op</strong>eratives for 32 years. He<br />
was initially involved in housing co-<strong>op</strong>eratives as a director of a<br />
public sector body working with housing co-<strong>op</strong>s, and is now the<br />
president of the Iran Chamber of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives which represents<br />
all co-<strong>op</strong>s in the country. We interviewed him to find out more<br />
about the co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector in Iran. ICC is a member of the<br />
International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance.<br />
WHAT IS THE CONTRIBUTION OF CO-OPS TO<br />
IRAN’S ECONOMY?<br />
The status of the co-<strong>op</strong> sector as the second pillar<br />
of the economy is specified in the constitution of<br />
Iran. Also, the co-<strong>op</strong> movement has a separate<br />
and independent legal identity. Iran’s co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
sector, with 95,000 active co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, 11 million<br />
individual members and about 1.8 million workers,<br />
accounts for about 7-8 % of the GDP.<br />
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE IRAN CHAMBER OF<br />
COOPERATIVES (ICC)?<br />
ICC was established in 1994. As the apex<br />
organisation of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, it is responsible for<br />
representing, serving, promoting and devel<strong>op</strong>ing the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector in Iran; as a member of national<br />
and international supreme decision-making and<br />
consulting councils, it plays an important role<br />
in protecting and promoting the rights of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators.<br />
For example, it has been an active member of<br />
the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance (ICA) since<br />
2000. Also, as a member of the board of ICA Asia<br />
and Pacific (ICA-AP) since 2016, ICC has a much<br />
closer relationship with the global and regional<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement and implemented various<br />
events to empower and strengthen the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement of Iran, of which the most prominent<br />
case was the hosting and holding of 13th ICA-AP<br />
Regional Assembly in 2018.<br />
Other promotional activities include holding<br />
events such as celebrating the International Day of<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives; thematic conferences in the field of<br />
entrepreneurship and women; training courses to<br />
transfer international experiences as well as holding<br />
B2B meetings for business empowerment.<br />
At national level, ICC has 14 specialised<br />
committees which play the role of the think tank<br />
of the Iranian co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector in supporting<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in various economic fields. For<br />
example, we have the women and knowledgebased<br />
committees, which strengthen the role of<br />
women and support the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of platform<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. In addition, ICC provides a variety<br />
of services to co-<strong>op</strong>s – such as specialised training,<br />
dispute resolution, exhibitions, and business<br />
consulting.<br />
WHICH SECTORS HAVE STRONG CO-OP<br />
INVOLVEMENT?<br />
Iranian co-<strong>op</strong>s are present in all areas and economic<br />
fields of activity. According to the official statistics<br />
(2020), the largest number of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in Iran<br />
belong to services, agriculture and industry. There<br />
are about 37,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s in the service sector, about<br />
28,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s in the agricultural sector and about<br />
18,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s in industry and mining. The rest<br />
work in areas such as housing and construction, as<br />
well as handicrafts and handmade carpets.<br />
HOW DID CO-OPERATION START IN IRAN?<br />
Articles about co-<strong>op</strong>eratives were included in<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>mmercial <strong>Co</strong>de in 1924, but in terms of<br />
registration and actual activity, the year 1935,<br />
when the first rural co-<strong>op</strong>erative enterprise was<br />
established, can be considered as the beginning of<br />
the official activity of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in Iran.<br />
HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED CO-OPS?<br />
Many co-<strong>op</strong>s faced declining sales and revenue,<br />
reduced labour force presence, and reduced<br />
22 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
productivity, but they have responded well to this<br />
crisis, changing their production lines and sales<br />
methods as well as related services. They also tried<br />
to minimise the downsizing of their workforce by<br />
adhering to the co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity. They came<br />
out to support the community and through their<br />
actions, helped the needy sections of the society.<br />
Meanwhile, the role of women’s co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
has been very prominent along with other co<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
WHAT ARE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES?<br />
First we need to address the general challenges<br />
facing the world and the global co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement – first and foremost, the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
pandemic. The global co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement must<br />
continue to adapt and deal with this crisis, as in the<br />
past, by promoting solidarity at the national and<br />
international levels.<br />
Another challenge is climate change. We in the<br />
global co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement need to adapt and<br />
take measures to curb its negative effects on co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
businesses and their members, especially<br />
agricultural co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
The third global challenge is the issue of job<br />
creation and decent work. This is an issue that<br />
I have repeatedly emphasised at various ICA<br />
events. In 2020, more than 219 million pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
were unemployed and 1.4 billion workers were in<br />
vulnerable employment – we are still along way<br />
frrom meeting UN Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goal<br />
No 8 on decent work.<br />
From my point of view, devel<strong>op</strong>ing the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
business model is the best <strong>op</strong>tion to overcome<br />
this challenge. On the one hand, it can provide a<br />
unique platform for the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of collective<br />
entrepreneurship and reducing the unemployment<br />
rate, and on the other, since it is based on ethical<br />
principles and values, job creation through co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
brings the international community<br />
closer to SDG8. Furthermore, in the face of<br />
crises and technological changes, co-<strong>op</strong>s have<br />
the capacity to quickly and easily adapt to new<br />
environmental changes as well as maintaining<br />
decent work in communities by adhering to their<br />
principles.<br />
The global co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement, including<br />
the Iranian co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector, also faces specific<br />
challenges: the ageing of co-<strong>op</strong>erators, poor<br />
enforcement and oversight of co-<strong>op</strong>erative law,<br />
poor collection of macroeconomic statistics on<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, lack of networking among co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
nationally and internationally, poor<br />
promotion of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, weak competitiveness<br />
in the economy, and an inappr<strong>op</strong>riate business<br />
environment.<br />
WHAT ARE ICC’S PRIORITIES?<br />
The priority of the ICC is to try to overcome these<br />
challenges and strengthen and empower the co<strong>op</strong><br />
movement in Iran. Networking among co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
at national and international level; promoting and<br />
deepening the co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity in the country;<br />
strengthening the position of women in the co<strong>op</strong><br />
sector; promoting youth and professionalism;<br />
strengthening the co-<strong>op</strong> brand and promoting<br />
and strengthening environmental protection<br />
approaches, are all among the strategic priorities<br />
of ICC.<br />
Regarding the presence of youth, in addition to<br />
holding promotional events in the co-<strong>op</strong> sector,<br />
we at ICC have taken the initiative, and in recent<br />
years we have employed professional youth, so that<br />
now, 70% of ICC’s managers and experts are in the<br />
average age group of 35 years.<br />
In addition to establishing a special committee<br />
for women, with the co-<strong>op</strong>eration of South Africa,<br />
South Korea and Japan, we have organised several<br />
promotional events for the empowerment of<br />
women’s co-<strong>op</strong>s in our country.<br />
On the subject of branding, we have focused on<br />
consumer co-<strong>op</strong>s, in the form of capacity building<br />
projects, trying to transfer successful experiences<br />
from countries such as Japan.<br />
Around the environment issue, while<br />
accompanying the campaigns of the ICA and<br />
holding a prominent International Day of<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives 2020 with the theme <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
for Climate Action, we always strive to promote<br />
the environment in the Iranian co-<strong>op</strong> movement.<br />
Fortunately, Iranian co-<strong>op</strong>s welcome this issue. For<br />
example, we can refer to Pishgaman <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Union (PCU), also a member of the ICA. This co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
has been able to produce paper from<br />
stone with a knowledge-based and environmentfriendly<br />
approach, helping preserve trees and<br />
the environment. This is just one example of the<br />
actions of the Iranian co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to protect the<br />
environment.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 23
COMMENT<br />
Right to save with a credit union will help defuse the pensions time bomb<br />
In the Queen’s Speech, the government<br />
should introduce a Right to Save. This<br />
would require all employers to offer their<br />
staff the right to save with a credit union<br />
by a regular deduction from their pay. It<br />
should be compulsory for all employers –<br />
including online platforms such as Uber,<br />
and Deliveroo. One of the many reasons<br />
why the cost of living crisis is set to hit<br />
so many, so hard, is that many in our<br />
country – already very heavily financially<br />
stretched – have little or no savings.<br />
Inflation has soared to the highest it has<br />
been in 30 years and the government is<br />
forcing a huge increase in taxation on even<br />
the nation’s poorest workers, through the<br />
upcoming hike in National Insurance<br />
contributions. With unprecedented<br />
housing costs, routinely increasing travel<br />
costs and energy prices skyrocketing, the<br />
government needs not only to do much<br />
more to tackle the cost of living crisis, but<br />
also turn its attention to what else can be<br />
done to make it a little less difficult to put<br />
money aside for the proverbial rainy day.<br />
Indeed, a survey by the FCA in February<br />
2020 showed that 39% of adults (20.3<br />
million pe<strong>op</strong>le) said they could only cover<br />
their living expenses for less than three<br />
months, if they lost their main source of<br />
household income. These figures were<br />
echoed by a survey by consumer watchdog<br />
Which? and the Nationwide Building<br />
Society, who also reported that over<br />
12 million adults don’t have the savings to<br />
fall back on if times get tough.<br />
Requiring firms and companies to<br />
offer a payroll deduction service with a<br />
local credit union is one route to helping<br />
employees to save even a small amount<br />
regularly. Having even just a small<br />
amount saved makes it less likely those<br />
in financial difficulty would have to rely<br />
on high-cost loans such as an overdraft or<br />
credit card – or worse, a loan shark.<br />
Although not a new concept, payroll<br />
deduction is growing in prominence as<br />
a mechanism for workers to access loans<br />
and put aside savings. Credit unions<br />
around the world have been delivering<br />
such schemes with employers for decades<br />
and new research has made clear the<br />
effectiveness of payroll deduction at<br />
encouraging greater levels of savings.<br />
39% of adults said<br />
they could only<br />
continue to cover<br />
their living expenses<br />
for less than three<br />
months<br />
Research by the Money and Pension<br />
Service has tested the impact on<br />
household savings and financial resilience<br />
of a payroll deduction scheme <strong>op</strong>erated by<br />
Leeds Credit Union.<br />
The research was delivered with two<br />
large employers: Leeds City <strong>Co</strong>uncil,<br />
which has <strong>op</strong>erated its payroll scheme<br />
for over 33 years for its 14,500 employees,<br />
35% of whom are already members of the<br />
credit union) and York Teaching Hospital<br />
NHS Foundation Trust (NHS York, which<br />
has been running its payroll deduction<br />
scheme for three years for its 8,630<br />
employees, 1.5% of whom are members of<br />
the credit union). The research conducted<br />
3,000 surveys with workers from across<br />
both employers – together with in-depth<br />
interviews with staff. Among the key<br />
findings of the research is that payroll<br />
deduction is an effective mechanism for<br />
attracting non-savers and converting<br />
them into regular savers.<br />
The findings further suggest that payroll<br />
saving appears to help lower-income<br />
employees and importantly has a positive<br />
impact on mental health, with those<br />
contributing to a payroll saving scheme<br />
reporting being on such a scheme helped<br />
mitigate anxiety when thinking of their<br />
financial situation.<br />
The savings and pensions crisis in<br />
the UK is a ticking time bomb that<br />
threatens our future prosperity – and the<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity of a decent later life for far<br />
too many in our country. The government<br />
must do more to tackle this crisis, which<br />
is being exacerbated by ever-growing cost<br />
of living pressures. One simple move with<br />
clear benefits, particularly for those with<br />
little or no savings and on low incomes, is<br />
to create a Right to Save.<br />
Gareth Thomas, Labour/<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> MP<br />
24 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
01<br />
01<br />
01<br />
01<br />
9<br />
0<br />
YOUR VIEWS<br />
Steve Murrells steps down as <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group CEP<br />
I h<strong>op</strong>e the new CEO doesn’t need AGM<br />
questions butted away for him and relayed<br />
to him by some unelected chair...<br />
<strong>May</strong>be [interim CEO] Shirine [Khoury-<br />
Haq] can successfully state the executive<br />
has met the board’s need for confidence<br />
of return on investment from the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Live branding agreement.<br />
Have your say<br />
Add your comments to our stories<br />
online at thenews.co<strong>op</strong>, get in<br />
touch via social media, or send us<br />
a letter. If sending a letter, please<br />
include your address and contact<br />
number. Letters may be edited and<br />
no longer than 350 words.<br />
Nevertheless we wanted executive<br />
reward tied to three-year metrics, this guy<br />
served out a full horizon of what he agreed<br />
to be asked for in his employment so<br />
maybe it will be all right without him.<br />
Luke Blakey<br />
via Facebook<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong>, Holyoake<br />
House, Hanover Street,<br />
Manchester M60 0AS<br />
letters@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
@co<strong>op</strong>news<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong><br />
Steve did a good job and was a co<strong>op</strong>erator,<br />
I h<strong>op</strong>e his replacement really<br />
understands it’s a <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> SOCIETY and not<br />
a company that she will become CEO of.<br />
Giving up being a non exec of Persimmon<br />
the builders would be a good start.<br />
John Harrington<br />
via Facebook<br />
Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Centre rebrand<br />
It’s an organisation that has become less<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> focused over its history and worry<br />
this could be another step away from the<br />
movement (feature, p42-43).<br />
Iwan Doherty<br />
via Facebook<br />
150 years of independent, co-<strong>op</strong>erative journalism<br />
150 years of independent, co-<strong>op</strong>erative journalism<br />
150 years of independent, co-<strong>op</strong>era 15<br />
news news Issue #7334 AUGUST 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
news news<br />
Issue #7334<br />
FEBRUARY 2021<br />
WHAT’S NEXT<br />
FOR THE CO-OP<br />
MOVEMENT?<br />
Plus … How Brexit wi l<br />
affect co-<strong>op</strong> businesses ...<br />
Latest statistics from the<br />
World <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Monitor... The<br />
Hive begins anothe round of<br />
funding and support<br />
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doing ... the 16-year-old on<br />
a mission to make co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
fairer for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
Issue #7328<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.20<br />
news news<br />
Issue #7334<br />
news news<br />
Plus … <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Youth<br />
groups, past, present<br />
and future ... the schools<br />
teaching co-<strong>op</strong>eration by<br />
doing ... the 16-year-old on<br />
a mission to make co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
fairer for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
AUGUST 2021<br />
LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
GENERATION<br />
LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
GENERATION<br />
Plus … <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Youth<br />
AUGUST 2021<br />
£4.20<br />
AUGUST 2021<br />
LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
GENERATION<br />
JANUARY <strong>2022</strong><br />
‘DEEPENING OUR<br />
COOPERATIVE IDENTITY’<br />
Full coverage of the ICA’s 33rd<br />
JANUARY <strong>2022</strong> World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
Plus … Launch of the 10th<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Monitor …<br />
‘DEEPENING<br />
Interview<br />
OUR<br />
with Rob Harrison,<br />
COOPERATIVE author of The IDENTITY’<br />
Handbook<br />
of Ethical Purchasing …<br />
Full coverage MPs of debate the debate ICA’s the 33rd<br />
contribution of co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative mutuals to the <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
UK<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
Plus … Launch of the 10th<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Monitor …<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
Interview with Rob Harrison,<br />
author of The Handbook<br />
of Ethical Purchasing<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
…<br />
MPs debate debate the<br />
contribution of co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
mutuals to the UK<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
Plus …<br />
the UKS<br />
... <strong>Co</strong><br />
dis<br />
OCTOBER 2021<br />
CO-OPS AND<br />
THE CLIMATE<br />
EMERGENC<br />
£4.20<br />
CO-OPS<br />
THE CL<br />
EME<br />
£4.20<br />
news news Issue #7328 FEBRUARY 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha chalenging<br />
lenging<br />
OCTOBER 2021<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.20<br />
news news Issue #7327 JANUARY 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
news news Issue #7327 JANUARY 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
JANUARY <strong>2022</strong><br />
Full coverage of the ICA’s 33rd<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
Plus … Launch of the 10th<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Monitor …<br />
Interview with Rob Harrison,<br />
author of The Handbook<br />
of Ethical Purchasing …<br />
MPs debate debate the<br />
contribution of co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
mutuals to the UK<br />
Plus … Lessons co-<strong>op</strong><br />
organising from Cincinnati …<br />
A co-<strong>op</strong>erative future DECEMBER for the 2021<br />
waterways? … How Blair Ki led<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s: a review … and<br />
Part 2 of our <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Christmas<br />
Gift Guide PEER LEARNING<br />
The strength of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
learning together<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong> Plus … Lessons co-<strong>op</strong><br />
organising from Cincinnati …<br />
A co-<strong>op</strong>erative future for the<br />
waterways? … How Blair Killed<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s: a review … and<br />
Part 2 of our <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Christmas<br />
Gift Guide<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
‘DEEPENING OUR<br />
COOPERATIVE IDENTITY’<br />
£4.20<br />
DECEMBER 2021<br />
PEER LEARNING<br />
The strength of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
learning together<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
Issue #7333<br />
affect co-<strong>op</strong> businesses ...<br />
Latest statistics from the<br />
World <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Monitor... The<br />
Hive begins another round of<br />
funding and support<br />
news news Issue #7334 AUGUST 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha chalenginglenging<br />
JULY 2021<br />
CONGR<br />
CO-O<br />
RE<br />
news news<br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
JANUARY 2021<br />
WHY AREN’T<br />
THERE MORE<br />
JANUARY 2021<br />
CO-OPS?<br />
WHY AREN’T<br />
THERE MORE Plus … New international<br />
CO-OPS? working group for UK co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
... Kay Johnson’s work on food<br />
fairness in Preston ... New York<br />
Plus … New international<br />
working group for taxi UK drivers co-<strong>op</strong>s launch fundraiser<br />
... Kay Johnson’s for work platform on food co-<strong>op</strong><br />
fairness in Preston ... New York<br />
taxi drivers launch fundraiser<br />
for platform co-<strong>op</strong> ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
WHAT’S NEXT<br />
FOR THE CO-OP<br />
MOVEMENT?<br />
Plus … How Brexit will<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
news news Issue #7332 JUNE 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
news news Issue #7332 JUNE 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
FEBRUARY 2021<br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.20<br />
organising from Cincinnati …<br />
A co-<strong>op</strong>erative future for the<br />
waterways? … How Blair Killed<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s: a review … and<br />
Part 2 of our <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Christmas<br />
Gift Guide<br />
Plus … Lessons in co-<strong>op</strong><br />
DECEMBER 2021<br />
PEER LEARNING<br />
The strength of co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
learning together<br />
Plus … The co-<strong>op</strong>s tackling<br />
global deforestation ... Mark<br />
Drakeford Robert Owen at<br />
250 ... A new chaper for the<br />
New Internationalist ... Retail<br />
results round-up<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
£4.20<br />
JUNE 2021<br />
THE FUTURE OF<br />
CO-OPERATIVE<br />
LEARNING<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
groups, past, present<br />
and future ... the schools<br />
teaching co-<strong>op</strong>eration by<br />
doing ... the 16-year-old on<br />
a mission to make co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
fairer for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
£4.20<br />
JANUARY 2021 <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, challengingcha lenging<br />
01<br />
Plus … The co-<strong>op</strong>s tackling<br />
global deforestation ... Mark<br />
Drakeford Robert Owen at<br />
250 ... A new chaper for the<br />
New Internationalist ... Retail<br />
results round-up<br />
news news Issue #7331 MAY 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
£4.20<br />
LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
GENERATION<br />
Plus … <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Youth<br />
JUNE 2021<br />
THE FUTURE OF<br />
CO-OPERATIVE<br />
LEARNING<br />
news news Issue #7330 APRIL 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
Issue #7333<br />
MAY 2021 <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha lenging<br />
AUGUST 2021<br />
news news<br />
JULY<br />
MAY 2021<br />
HOW CO-OP<br />
DEMOCRACY<br />
PLAYS OUT<br />
Plus … Credit unions<br />
consider the merger question<br />
... A globa look at youth<br />
empowerment ... Robert Owen:<br />
anniversary of a co-<strong>op</strong> icon ...<br />
Nigel Todd: A tribute<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
£4.20<br />
APRIL 2021<br />
IS RESILIENCE<br />
BUILT INTO THE<br />
CO-OP MODEL?<br />
Plus … Where do<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives fit in the new<br />
retai landscape? ... The<br />
humanisation of healthcare<br />
... 90 years of the Rochdale<br />
Pioneers Museum<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 7 7 0 0 0 9 9 8 2 0 1 0<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
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ISSN 0009-9821<br />
01<br />
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www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 25<br />
wo<br />
... Ka<br />
fairness<br />
taxi drivers<br />
for platform c<br />
Plu<br />
conside<br />
... A global<br />
empowermen<br />
anniversary of a<br />
Nigel Todd: A tribut<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha challenging lenging<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.2<br />
E
Scottish farm co-<strong>op</strong>s take<br />
a sustainable future to market<br />
Miles Hadfield<br />
Sustainability and net zero were on the agenda<br />
at the annual conference of the Scottish<br />
Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), held<br />
in Dunblane last month.<br />
The event kicked off with a presentation from<br />
Mark Brooking, sustainability director at dairy<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> First Milk, which has 700 members across<br />
England, Scotland and Wales.<br />
Producing 850 million litres of milk a year, the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> is continuing to grow, with milk volumes<br />
up 25%, turnover up more than 50%, and net<br />
assets almost doubling to more than £40m.<br />
But Mr Brooking claimed that <strong>op</strong>ponents of<br />
the dairy industry are using climate change as a<br />
stick to beat it with. “There are individuals and<br />
organisations which would like to see no dairy<br />
produced in the UK at all,” he said.<br />
To counter this, he said, the dairy industry<br />
needs to be proactive. “If there are practices<br />
we cannot defend, we need to change those<br />
practices. Every time there is a negative story in<br />
the press someone will st<strong>op</strong> using dairy.”<br />
In any case, dairy farmers need to act on<br />
climate change, he said. “Make no bones about<br />
it, we have a climate emergency”.<br />
But sustainability also offers <strong>op</strong>portunities<br />
because consumers “are interested in where<br />
their food is coming from”. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> farmers have a<br />
story to tell on this, as “traditional family farms<br />
that care about pe<strong>op</strong>le, animals, the Earth”.<br />
Net zero is the biggest issue, with 95% of dairy<br />
industry emissions coming from farms, and First<br />
Milk has set members a series of targets. “It’s a<br />
big challenge,” said Mr Brooking, “and farming<br />
will be different in the future.”<br />
To reach net zero by 2040, farmers must<br />
sequester 100,000 tonnes of CO2 in the soil,<br />
each year, by 2025; and increase milk produced<br />
from forage by 10% by 2025. All transport and<br />
processing must be renewable-powered by 2030.<br />
To drive this, Mr Brooking advocates<br />
regenerative agriculture, a holistic model which<br />
uses animals in the field to help sequester<br />
carbon, and protects the soil, plant diversity and<br />
living roots. Farm data and digital mapping are<br />
crucial tools for this, allowing farmers to measure<br />
carbon levels in the soil and demonstrate “how<br />
we’re helping the planet”.<br />
First Milk now has the biggest soil data set<br />
in the UK, he added; it is also mapping hedges,<br />
watercourses, grazing, cultivation, and the use<br />
of electricity, feed and fertiliser.<br />
“We’re collaborating for success through the<br />
whole supply chain,” he said, with a positive<br />
response from First Milk farmer members: more<br />
than 90% have signed up.<br />
In a separate discussion on data, George<br />
Noble, data and connectivity manager at SAOS,<br />
said the organisation is devel<strong>op</strong>ing systems such<br />
as CarbonPositive and Smart Rural, gathering<br />
u SAOS chief<br />
executive Tim Bailey<br />
<strong>op</strong>ens the conference<br />
26 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
information from ground sensors, weather<br />
stations, energy monitors and cattle GPS; and<br />
biodiversity monitors are being devel<strong>op</strong>ed, that<br />
can listen to birdsong or detect types of pollen.<br />
The key lesson, he said, is “keep it simple.<br />
Data is there to tell us how time is best spent and<br />
how we can make improvements.”<br />
This is farmer-owned data which can help<br />
in many ways, from improving the picture of<br />
calf mortality to reducing the cost of regulatory<br />
compliance. SAOS can help, he said, by “getting<br />
the right pe<strong>op</strong>le round the table, helping pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
plan around data governance and use, and<br />
giving farmers a say in the creation of value from<br />
the data they supply”.<br />
John Hutcheson, chair of SAOS and director<br />
of Grain<strong>Co</strong> oat producer group, also discussed<br />
the way farmers are collaborating to drive<br />
sustainability at scale. This is increasingly<br />
market-driven, he said, noting that Quaker – one<br />
of Grain<strong>Co</strong>’s main customers – has asked for<br />
auditable sustainable production so it can show<br />
food provenance on its packaging.<br />
Sustainable grain production can be a<br />
challenge in Scotland, with wet weather harvests<br />
meaning more energy is needed to dry the cr<strong>op</strong>.<br />
But Matt Waldie, one of Grain<strong>Co</strong>’s farmers, is<br />
leading the way in finding solutions, chairing a<br />
group of farmers – 4 Front Farming – who share<br />
equipment to drive savings and collaborate on<br />
eco-friendly farming techniques, such as using<br />
cover cr<strong>op</strong>s like clover which feed the soil, create<br />
organic matter, reduce fertiliser inputs, protect<br />
soil over winter and feed wildlife.<br />
Farmers are also reaching out to the public to<br />
drive better understanding of the land. Graham<br />
Barr, chair of Pentlands Land Management<br />
Association, discussed problems in Pentland<br />
Hills Regional Park – which comprises 9,000ha<br />
of land on the urban fringe of Edinburgh.<br />
The park has 600,000 leisure visitors a year,<br />
but funding cuts mean there are only three<br />
rangers, with no visitor education. As a result,<br />
rubbish is left, fires are lit, trees are ch<strong>op</strong>ped,<br />
gates are left <strong>op</strong>en letting livestock loose, and<br />
livestock is attacked by dogs.<br />
This is harming farmers’ mental health, said<br />
Mr Parr. To help manage the situation better,<br />
SAOS has been facilitating discussion between<br />
landowners, councils, the emergency services<br />
and politicians, and providing a collective voice<br />
to drive visitor engagement and education.<br />
Later the conference looked at how farm co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
can communicate their values to gain market<br />
advantage. Amanda Brown, project director for<br />
the SF&D Partnership’s Knowledge Bank, said<br />
Kantar research shows a third of sh<strong>op</strong>pers are<br />
The key lesson is “keep it simple. Data is<br />
there to tell us how time is best spent and<br />
how we can make improvements”<br />
– George Noble, data and connectivity manager at SAOS<br />
actively interested in sustainability: a spend<br />
worth £36bn in the UK, and £3.3bn in Scotland.<br />
One problem is that price and convenience<br />
form barriers to sh<strong>op</strong>pers looking to do the<br />
right thing – a problem set to worsen with<br />
the cost of living crisis. Still, there is sc<strong>op</strong>e to<br />
“commercialise what we are doing right back<br />
through the supply chain”, she said.<br />
Marketing expert Anna Davies, from rural PR<br />
specialists Scene and Herd, said collaboration<br />
through industry-wide marketing initiatives,<br />
such as Food and Drink Scotland, is important.<br />
“We all want farming to be seen in a positive<br />
light,” she said. “We all stand to benefit from<br />
consumers understanding what we do.”<br />
She said farmers should use all channels to<br />
promote what they do and tell positive stories<br />
– social media, print, podcasts, and broadcast.<br />
And it is important to share and spread content<br />
– whether it is a tweeted photo or a short Tik-Tok<br />
film – to ensure the message does not get stuck<br />
in a social media bubble.<br />
“A little bit more action on everyone’s part<br />
will do a lot,” she said. “We need to support<br />
each other – if we see something on Facebook<br />
that another farmer has posted it’s a good idea<br />
to support it. <strong>Co</strong>nsumers want information on<br />
production methods, conservation, animal<br />
welfare. We need to tell them these stories.”<br />
p 4 Front Farming<br />
is finding new ways<br />
to collaborate in<br />
agriculture<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 27
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28 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
<strong>Co</strong>mmon identity, common language?<br />
Rebecca Harvey<br />
The number of co-<strong>op</strong>s around the world stands<br />
at around 3 million different organisations<br />
– but many of these businesses may not selfidentify<br />
as co-<strong>op</strong>s, or promote themselves as<br />
such. As discussed previously in <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong>,<br />
sometimes this is because they don’t want or<br />
need to associate with a formal declaration of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration, and sometimes because they may<br />
not realise they are a co-<strong>op</strong> in the first place.<br />
The question of co-<strong>op</strong> identity, mutuality<br />
and how this is demonstrated and promoted<br />
by organisations – is still one that is fiercely<br />
debated, and in this issue, we look at two<br />
organisations (Yorkshire Cricket Club and the<br />
Building Societies Association) and their they<br />
approaches to this.<br />
It’s also a question that the International<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance continues to explore. It<br />
has recently launched a survey to find out how<br />
familiar respondents are with the Statement of<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Identity, the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Principles<br />
and the Guidance Notes to the principles,<br />
and asks for ratings and remarks on a number<br />
of statements around the effectiveness and<br />
relevance of these documents.<br />
“With the 33rd World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress,<br />
held in December 2021 in Seoul, Korea, the<br />
ICA launched an extensive reflection and<br />
consultation intended to deepen our co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
identity and to explore how well<br />
the Statement has stood the test of time,” says<br />
Alexandra Wilson, chair of the ICA <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Identity Advisory Group.<br />
“[The consultation] will address such<br />
questions as: Is the co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity<br />
adequately defined? Is it widely understood?<br />
Are co-<strong>op</strong>eratives <strong>op</strong>erating in a manner<br />
consistent with it? If not, why not? Is a fresh<br />
interpretation of the Principles needed in light<br />
of contemporary challenges and <strong>op</strong>portunities?<br />
Are any changes to the formal expression of our<br />
identity required? Can other tools be devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
to enhance co-<strong>op</strong>eratives’ understanding of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity and stimulate action on<br />
their part consistent with it?”<br />
One tool used by organisations globally is the<br />
International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives (IDC), which<br />
takes place annually on the first Saturday<br />
Our co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity is never more<br />
important than in times of crisis, such<br />
as today”<br />
– Alexandra Wilson, chair, ICA Identity Advisory Group<br />
of July – but although this is strong day of<br />
communication and action, it is just one day,<br />
and there is little other co-ordinated action.<br />
In the UK, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives Fortnight takes<br />
place in the two weeks leading up to the IDC,<br />
and although efforts are being made to devel<strong>op</strong><br />
shared language to promote co-<strong>op</strong>erative ideas<br />
during this time, the diversity of co-<strong>op</strong>eratve<br />
sectors, organisational types and geography,<br />
even within a single country, makes this a very<br />
tricky process.<br />
Meanwhile other countries celebrate co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
at different points in the calendar. The USA,<br />
for example, celebrates <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Month<br />
each October. In India, <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Week is in<br />
the middle of November and Nepal celebrates<br />
National <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Day every 2 April.<br />
But as Ms Wilson highlights, wherever you<br />
are in the world, “our co-<strong>op</strong> identity is never<br />
more important than in times of crisis, such<br />
as today. The participation of the global co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
community in this consultation to<br />
deepen our identity is vital.”<br />
u www.surveymonkey.com/r/RFFDFGJ<br />
p Alexandra Wilson,<br />
chair, ICA Identity<br />
Advisory Group<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 29
The co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference<br />
in Canada: how CMC promotes<br />
the sector<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
With a relatively small p<strong>op</strong>ulation – 38 million<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le – spread across the second largest<br />
country in the world, speaking two official<br />
languages alongside several indigenous ones,<br />
Canada poses some tough challenges when it<br />
comes to national messsaging.<br />
For the co-<strong>op</strong> movement, things are even<br />
trickier: of the country’s 7,500 co-<strong>op</strong>s, only 100<br />
are registered at federal level; most <strong>op</strong>erate at<br />
provincial level.<br />
Between 2010 and 2015, the Canadian <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association – in partnership with four<br />
Canadian universities – conducted research<br />
on the social, economic and environmental<br />
impacts of co-<strong>op</strong>s on Canadians and their<br />
communities. The project was funded by the<br />
federal government and found that co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
enrich their communities, particularly in sectors<br />
like housing and renewable energy and created<br />
jobs at five times the rate of the overall economy.<br />
As the national apex representing all<br />
provincial co-<strong>op</strong>erative federations across the<br />
country, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and Mutuals Canada<br />
(CMC) works to raise awareness about co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
as well as bring the various co-<strong>op</strong> sectors in<br />
different regions together.<br />
Its initiatives to build a more cohesive<br />
movement include sending a newsletter, holding<br />
a national congress on a yearly basis, and<br />
organising various webinars.<br />
In April 2017 a private members’ bill<br />
recognising the importance of co-<strong>op</strong>s in Canada<br />
passed through the Canadian parliament. The<br />
ripple effect from that was the commissioning<br />
of a series of consultations by the federal<br />
government, which showed a need for more<br />
awareness about co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
The government paid for a one-on-one course<br />
on co-<strong>op</strong>s to be devel<strong>op</strong>ed and delivered to 500<br />
public servants involved in frontline economic<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment, says Daniel Brunette, director of<br />
advocacy and partnerships at CMC. He thinks that<br />
such initiatives are crucial to growing the sector.<br />
Awareness is also an issue when it comes to<br />
the transfer of enterprises.<br />
In 2019 CMC commissioned a national survey<br />
of 5,000 Canadians to explore public attitudes<br />
about the economic system, broader public<br />
concerns, and what role co-<strong>op</strong>eratives could play<br />
in addressing those concerns. The study found<br />
that 30% of Canadians are members of a co-<strong>op</strong> –<br />
but only 10% say they are very familiar with the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative business model, with another 37%<br />
saying they are ‘pretty familiar’. Furthermore,<br />
three in four Canadians are unaware that the<br />
largest financial institution in Quebec, the<br />
Desjardins Group, is a co-<strong>op</strong>erative. This figure<br />
includes half of Quebec residents.<br />
CMC was involved in <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>nvert, a research<br />
project examining the process conversion to<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. One of its findings was that only<br />
7% of business owners had already considered<br />
converting to co-<strong>op</strong> while 17% were somewhat<br />
likely to have considered it.<br />
“Business owners and entrepreneurs are not<br />
necessarily familiar with the co-<strong>op</strong>erative business<br />
model,” says Mr Brunette, adding that the model<br />
30 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
should be taught in schools – as actually happens<br />
in Quebec, where the high school curriculum<br />
includes running unincorporated co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
To address the lack of awareness around co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
at a national level, CMC tried to engage<br />
with groups such as the Women’s Economic<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil and the Pe<strong>op</strong>le Centred Economy Group<br />
to run joint advocacy campaigns and awareness<br />
raising initiatives.<br />
A bilingual association, CMC was formed in<br />
2014 through the merger of the Canadian <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association (CCA) and the <strong>Co</strong>nseil<br />
Canadien de la <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>ération et Mutualité (CCCM).<br />
“The purpose of that was to establish one<br />
strong Canadian voice: everything we do is<br />
bilingual,” says Mr Brunette. In addition to<br />
French and English, some provincial associations<br />
<strong>op</strong>erate in local dialects, particularly in Arctic<br />
communities. CMC aims to help connect these<br />
different provincial co-<strong>op</strong>erative associations<br />
and Franc<strong>op</strong>hone and Angl<strong>op</strong>hone co-<strong>op</strong><br />
organisations.<br />
“Some co-<strong>op</strong>s are at the heart of the<br />
community because they provide access to<br />
essential products and services,” says Véronique<br />
Boucher, communications manager at CMC.<br />
Explaining what a co-<strong>op</strong>erative is to the<br />
national press is not without challenges. Large<br />
newspapers with business sections are less<br />
likely to cover co-<strong>op</strong>s than local papers, says<br />
Mr Brunette. “It really depends on who you’re<br />
talking to. In many places across Canada co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are omnipresent.”<br />
Such is the case of Quebec, a province that is<br />
home to over 3,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s and mutuals. Quebecbased<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nseil Quebecoise <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>ératives et de la<br />
Mutualité (CQCM) ran a bilingual campaign<br />
to promote co-<strong>op</strong>s called <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Effect, which<br />
managed to attract coverage in the local press.<br />
There is also competition from non co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
“Some pe<strong>op</strong>le have appr<strong>op</strong>riated some of the best<br />
practices of co-<strong>op</strong>s but at the end of day, they’re<br />
still for profit,” says Mr Brunette. “So there’s that<br />
the ‘I don’t know enough’; versus the ‘oh, I have an<br />
erroneous assumption of the co-<strong>op</strong> is so it’s more<br />
than an affinity purchasing programme’.”<br />
CMC’s priorities are helping the social<br />
economy and co-<strong>op</strong>s to secure investment and be<br />
prepared to receive it, doing feasibility studies,<br />
making sure that social economy investors know<br />
about co-<strong>op</strong>s, and co-<strong>op</strong>s are aware of available<br />
funding. Rather than trying to engage with the<br />
wider public, CMC is targeting specific groups<br />
such as women in business or young pe<strong>op</strong>le.<br />
“Just putting money out for front page ads on<br />
national newspapers is not going to solve the<br />
[awareness] problem,” warns Mr Brunette.<br />
Individual co-<strong>op</strong>s also help to spread<br />
awareness about the sector. Some co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
actively promote their co-<strong>op</strong>erative identity –<br />
including via their branding. Among these is<br />
Sollio <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Group, which rebranded<br />
in 2020 from La co<strong>op</strong> fédérée. “They’re trying<br />
to showcase the co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference in<br />
everything, from their message or media<br />
messaging to their packaging,” says Mr Brunette.<br />
Canada also celebrates its national <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Week in October. For this, CMC prepares a<br />
standardised national message which is then<br />
picked up by provincial associations. This<br />
Some co-<strong>op</strong>s are at the heart of the<br />
community because they provide access<br />
to essential products and services”<br />
– Véronique Boucher, communications manager,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and Mutuals Canada<br />
gets the attention of provincial newspapers,<br />
particularly in areas with a rich co-<strong>op</strong> history<br />
like Quebec, with occasional mentions in the<br />
national press as well.<br />
Mr Brunette says promoting the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
difference “comes down to more strategic<br />
conversations” with government officials – and<br />
it’s important to run the campaign pr<strong>op</strong>erly,<br />
because messages from big flash campaigns<br />
could be forgotten if they are not repeated.<br />
Ms Boucher adds that, for most consumers,<br />
what matters most is that their needs are<br />
fulfilled. “If the co-<strong>op</strong>s are doing a good job, they<br />
will get clients who will come back,” she says.<br />
When they get clients the co-<strong>op</strong>s will be able to<br />
share their message.”<br />
t Véronique Boucher<br />
(left) and Daniel<br />
Brunette<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 31
Experiencing the co-<strong>op</strong> difference:<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative summer camps<br />
Alice Toomer-McAlpine<br />
Summer camps are places of discovery for<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le, so it is unsurprising that co<strong>op</strong><br />
organisations in North America have been<br />
offering a co-<strong>op</strong> twist on the experience to help<br />
share the movement’s values.<br />
One example is the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Leadership<br />
Camp, run by the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>uncil of North<br />
Carolina (CCNC). Now in its 85th year, it hosts<br />
up to 100 teenagers from across the state, giving<br />
them the <strong>op</strong>portunity to experience life running<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong>, alongside traditional camp activities<br />
like canoeing, hiking and archery.<br />
This year the camp runs from 20-24 June at<br />
Camp Monroe in Laurel Hill. Throughout the<br />
week, young pe<strong>op</strong>le are thrown into a simulation<br />
of building and managing a T-shirt worker co<strong>op</strong>,<br />
where they must apply co-<strong>op</strong> principles and<br />
values them while responding to challenges.<br />
“It’s a really crazy week,” says Emily Nail,<br />
CCNC’s executive director. “The biggest thing<br />
that comes out of it is they learn what a co-<strong>op</strong> is.<br />
A lot of these students don’t understand that a<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> is a business <strong>op</strong>tion, and they don’t have<br />
that education in their high school curriculum.”<br />
Ms Nail says CCNC’s summer camp is a “handson<br />
experience ... like a cultural immersion.”<br />
This is different from communication through<br />
other means, such as social media, because it<br />
is woven into a life experience that involves not<br />
only a focus on co-<strong>op</strong>s, but a chance to devel<strong>op</strong><br />
socially in a new environment, mixing with<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le from different parts of the state.<br />
Attendees say the camp has had a profound<br />
effect on them. One young person, Gabbi, came to<br />
camp in 2018 and said at the end: “Before I came<br />
[to camp], a leader to me was doing all the work<br />
and telling pe<strong>op</strong>le what to do. But here it’s like<br />
everybody’s a leader and everybody takes charge.”<br />
Attending the same year was Abbie, who said:<br />
“I’ve noticed that when working in groups there’s<br />
times when you step up and take the lead and<br />
times when you don’t. You’ve got to recognise<br />
those times you do take the lead, recognise your<br />
I know I will never forget<br />
my time at CYL ... I will<br />
probably end up choosing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> business as a career<br />
32 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
strengths and weaknesses and notice when<br />
somebody else is stronger at something than you<br />
are and let them take the lead.”<br />
Another young person, H<strong>op</strong>e, said camp had<br />
“taught me more about co-<strong>op</strong>s ... I met a lot of<br />
new interesting pe<strong>op</strong>le who were like-minded<br />
and we talked about goals in life. I thought that<br />
was an interesting thing to see, that there’s other<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le my age that want to go and do great<br />
things in this world.”<br />
Ms Nail has seen the camp “<strong>op</strong>ening students’<br />
eyes” to co-<strong>op</strong>s. Many go on to participate in the<br />
movement, from supporting co-<strong>op</strong> brands to<br />
joining as members or employees. She tells the<br />
story of Marshall Cherry, who was sponsored by<br />
Roanoke Electric <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> to attend the camp as a<br />
teenager, and this year became its CEO.<br />
“He went to camp back before I was born,<br />
and was sponsored by Roanoke Electric, went to<br />
camp, had no idea what a co-<strong>op</strong> was,” says Ms<br />
Nail. “He went back to school, went to college,<br />
came back home and went to Roanoke and<br />
said, ‘You sent me to camp when I was a high<br />
schooler. I know what the co-<strong>op</strong>erative is. I know<br />
what the co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference is. Do you have<br />
a job for me? And so they hired him. And now a<br />
couple decades later, he is their new CEO. And<br />
has stayed with Roanoke the whole time.”<br />
She adds: “These students are going to be our<br />
future leaders and several of our more rural co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
want them to come back with an interest in<br />
making their community thrive, and continuing<br />
that business model.”<br />
In Canada, the Alberta <strong>Co</strong>mmunity & <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association (ACCA) has been running<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Youth Leadership programme<br />
since 1957, inviting 200 teenagers a year to<br />
Nordegg in the Rockies for a week of outdoor<br />
adventure and co-<strong>op</strong> activities.<br />
ACCA says the camp “motivates youth with<br />
living examples of how local co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
and agricultural organisations are influential<br />
key players in building and maintaining<br />
communities.” They encourage co-<strong>op</strong>s to<br />
sponsor participants’ places, adding: “Many of<br />
these youth will become active members in your<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> or credit union and active volunteers and<br />
influencers in their community.”<br />
Canada’s longest running co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
summer camp is run by the Saskatchewan <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association (SCA), now under the<br />
banner of Camp Kindling. In 1928, SCA set up a<br />
summer <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> School to communicate how co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
support Saskatchewan farmers. Sharing the<br />
benefits of the co-<strong>op</strong> model with young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
was seen as essential to the continuation of the<br />
movement in Saskatchewan.<br />
In the 1970s, the programme changed its name<br />
from <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> School to Saskatchewan <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Youth Program, marking a shift from formal<br />
teaching to hands-on immersive experiences<br />
with a greater focus on personal and collective<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment within a co-<strong>op</strong>erative context.<br />
Now with almost 45,000 alumni, Camp<br />
Kindling says the camp’s longevity is “an<br />
unmistakable sign that the programme has truly<br />
touched the lives of Saskatchewan pe<strong>op</strong>le”.<br />
Another camp, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Young Leaders<br />
(CYL), is run by the Ontario <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association. The week-long summer camps take<br />
place at the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Education Centre near<br />
Aylmer Ontario, at the Gay Lea Dairy Museum.<br />
Over 3,500 young pe<strong>op</strong>le aged 13 to 18 have<br />
attended since 1967.<br />
Ebony, a senior participant in 2019, said in a<br />
testimonial: “I know I will never forget my time<br />
at CYL and that I will probably end up choosing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> business as a career path. [The camp<br />
director], the other facilitators and the program<br />
of CYL has inspired me to use my life this way.”<br />
Ebony’s remarks resonate with others who<br />
spoke about what they got from attending a<br />
summer camp – the value of a shared human<br />
experience. Young pe<strong>op</strong>le who attend these<br />
camps gain their understanding of the co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
difference from these collective<br />
experiences, and the memories they take away.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 33
Testing times: Can memberled<br />
values revive county cricket?<br />
Miles Hadfield<br />
p Allegations by<br />
Azeem Rafiq of racist<br />
bullying at Yorkshire<br />
shook the cricket<br />
world and prompted a<br />
restructure at the club<br />
(Photo: Dave Morton/<br />
Wiki CC)<br />
The racism scandal at Yorkshire <strong>Co</strong>unty Cricket<br />
Club has led to a high-profile member vote on a<br />
series of reforms – a reminder of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
model used in the county game.<br />
Yorkshire is one of more than a dozen clubs<br />
in the county cricket network to use the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model but this has not kept the game out<br />
of trouble over recent years, with declining<br />
participation and rising debts.<br />
Meanwhile, onlookers have pointed to a low<br />
turnout in the vote on Yorkshire’s reforms, with<br />
ESPN’s cricket editor David H<strong>op</strong>ps writing that<br />
this “underlines that Yorkshire have suffered<br />
both from a flood of member resignations or<br />
non-renewals”.<br />
The row stems from complaints by former<br />
Yorkshire cricketer, Azeem Rafiq, who said he<br />
had been subjected to racist abuse and bullying<br />
during his two spells at the club, between 2008–<br />
2014, and 2016–2018.<br />
Accusing the club of being institutionally<br />
racist, he complained officially in 2018, but<br />
an independent inquiry was not launched<br />
until 2020, leading to criticism of the club for<br />
its handling of the affair. Its chair resigned in<br />
November 2021, being replaced by Lord Kamlesh<br />
Patel, who drew up plans to restructure the club.<br />
Of the club’s 6,000 members, only 3,000 are<br />
full voting members; of those, only 1,100 voted,<br />
in person or via proxy, at an emergency general<br />
meeting. Held at the club’s Headingley ground,<br />
it saw 80% vote in favour of the changes.<br />
There were three votes at the meeting: one<br />
to ratify Lord Patel as chair; one to release<br />
Patel and others from personal liability on<br />
decisions taken, after threats of legal action; and<br />
finally one to restructure the board to include<br />
independent members.<br />
After his plan was accepted by members,<br />
Lord Patel said: “We welcome the outcome of<br />
this EGM and thank the members for their full<br />
and pr<strong>op</strong>er consideration, an <strong>op</strong>en exchange of<br />
views, and their votes. It means Yorkshire can<br />
stage internationals against New Zealand and<br />
South Africa this summer, in the process averting<br />
a major financial crisis. It is an overwhelming<br />
vote for positive change.<br />
“This support will help Yorkshire <strong>Co</strong>unty<br />
Cricket Club to be an inclusive and welcoming<br />
place and gives us the clarity and certainty we<br />
need to keep building this great club..”<br />
The England Cricket Board (ECB) said: “We are<br />
pleased that Yorkshire members have given their<br />
overwhelming support to these reforms. This is<br />
34 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
an important step forward in bringing about real<br />
change and setting the club on course for a more<br />
inclusive future.<br />
“We welcome the progress made by Lord Patel<br />
so far, as well as his commitment to making the<br />
club one which everyone, from all backgrounds,<br />
can be proud of. ”<br />
But the changes did not come without dissent<br />
– even though failure to ratify them would have<br />
cost the club the right to host international<br />
matches, threatening its survival. At one point,<br />
Lord Patel threatened to resign, warning that<br />
failure to ratify the vote would leave the club<br />
unable to compete in the domestic season or pay<br />
its players.<br />
Opposing him, former chair Robin Smith had<br />
led a rearguard action with threats of legal action<br />
against the reforms, arguing that the ECB was<br />
threatening the club’s independence. He accused<br />
Lord Patel of behaving undemocratically and<br />
called for his removal; but Yorkshire says the<br />
restructure follows Sport England guidelines.<br />
The row goes to the heart of the club’s co-<strong>op</strong><br />
status: Mr Smith is unhappy that the new board<br />
will have eight independent members, not<br />
drawn from the club membership, alongside two<br />
board members from the membership, plus the<br />
CEO and director of cricket.<br />
“A four to one ratio of outsiders to members<br />
as non-executives on the club’s board would so<br />
change the character of the club as to render<br />
it unrecognisable as a Yorkshire institution,”<br />
wrote Mr Smith in a leaked letter to Patel.<br />
But the reforms also had outspoken<br />
supporters. Julian Metherell, chair of the<br />
Professional Cricketers’ Association, backed the<br />
changes when he appeared before MPs on the<br />
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select<br />
committee in February, and has accused Mr<br />
Smith of “combative” behaviour.<br />
Another former chair, <strong>Co</strong>lin Graves, also<br />
supported the reforms – even though they<br />
reduced his own influence at Yorkshire. The<br />
Graves family trust is owed £15m by the club<br />
and, until Lord Patel’s changes, had a veto on<br />
board appointments and dismissals.<br />
A third ex-chair, Roger Hutton, had complained<br />
to the DCMS committee that Mr Graves, who was<br />
executive chair between 2012 and 2015, had too<br />
much power at the club.<br />
These questions of control and governance<br />
have come at a crucial time for Yorkshire –<br />
and for county cricket in general, with falling<br />
participation in the sport and the pandemic<br />
worsening the debt affecting many clubs.<br />
Problems in the game make an engaged,<br />
supportive membership vital – for instance, in<br />
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you<br />
are from, which background you come<br />
from, or how big your bank balance is. If<br />
you want to access cricket, you should be<br />
able to access cricket”<br />
its annual report for 2021, Yorkshire said that<br />
“a significant pr<strong>op</strong>ortion of members donated<br />
their annual membership fees, together with<br />
a large pr<strong>op</strong>ortion of members donating the<br />
ticket money from their purchases, and notable<br />
additional donations from members who wanted<br />
to help further.”<br />
The livestreaming of matches on Youtube<br />
is also helping to make the county game more<br />
accessible. Clubs are also streaming their AGMs;<br />
last week, Surrey <strong>Co</strong>unty Cricket Club posted<br />
its AGM online – and directly addressed the<br />
scandal at its northern rival. CEO Steve Elworthy<br />
said times are changing for the game – from the<br />
“brutal” pandemic season and the job losses it<br />
had brought, to changing audience demands.<br />
“Pe<strong>op</strong>le’s values have changed,” he said. “We<br />
need to reflect that we’ve got probably hundreds<br />
of thousands of pe<strong>op</strong>le coming through the gates<br />
this year, and we need to make sure that we can<br />
reflect those changes.”<br />
He saluted Azeem Rafiq’s “incredibly powerful<br />
testimony” and committed his own club to<br />
increasing diversity and equity. “It doesn’t<br />
matter who you are,” he said, “where you are<br />
from, which background you come from, or how<br />
big your bank balance is. If you want to access<br />
cricket, you should be able to access cricket.”<br />
Mr Elworthy said his club should also<br />
be ambitious on sustainability and carbon<br />
neutrality, and improve member engagement.<br />
Board member Ebony Rainford-Brent, chair<br />
of Surrey’s Culture and Values Board, gave a<br />
presentation on the ACE programme, a response<br />
by the club to the falling numbers of cricketers<br />
from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds. Working<br />
in partnership with other clubs – including<br />
Yorkshire – and backed by ECB and mutual<br />
insurer Royal London, the programme also<br />
targets other under-represented groups such<br />
as white working class pe<strong>op</strong>le and those from<br />
eastern Eur<strong>op</strong>ean backgrounds.<br />
“Let’s change it from a narrative of ‘we wish’ to<br />
‘let’s make something happen’,” she said.<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 35
100 years of ICMIF<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
p Shaun Tarbuck and<br />
Hilde Vernaillen<br />
The International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative and Mutual<br />
Insurance Federation (ICMIF) celebrated a<br />
milestone on 25 April – 100 years since its launch<br />
on the same date in 1922, in Rome.<br />
In those 100 years ICMIF has grown from a<br />
group of five Eur<strong>op</strong>ean mutual and co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
insurers to an apex of more than 200 member<br />
organisations in 61 countries, representing<br />
US$247bn in premium income and US$2tn in<br />
total assets.<br />
While its global headquarters are in the United<br />
Kingdom, ICMIF has regional associations in<br />
the Americas and Japan, bringing together 200<br />
values-based insurers in 61 countries.<br />
Its current chair, Hilde Vernaillen, is also<br />
the president and CEO of one of its founding<br />
members, the P&V Group (Belgium).<br />
During a special interview with ICMIF’s<br />
CEO, Shaun Tarbuck, Mr Vernaillen referred to<br />
P&V’s role in creating the global apex. She also<br />
explored ICMIF’s relevance today.<br />
“Joseph Lemaire, the then CEO of la<br />
Prévoyance Sociale (now known as P&V) in<br />
Belgium, had a vision to create a platform where<br />
purpose-driven insurers – co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
mutuals – could share their strategies and ideas<br />
in a non-competitive environment,” she said.<br />
“He brought together five organisations –<br />
including those now known as Folksam<br />
(Sweden), Unipol (Italy), Achmea (Netherlands) –<br />
and together they agreed to share knowledge,<br />
ideas and become a support for one another as<br />
inspirational leaders who wanted to use insurance<br />
to do good for the communities they served.<br />
“Fast forward 100 years, and that vision<br />
and purpose remains as true today. ICMIF’s<br />
members have collectively achieved so much for<br />
the insurance sector through their willingness<br />
to share strategies and support each other<br />
and by focusing on the long-term needs of the<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le they serve, whether they are employees,<br />
communities or strategic partners.”<br />
This purpose is paying off: Ms Vernaillen<br />
added that more than 70% of ICMIF members<br />
have exceeded their local market’s annual<br />
growth over the past financial year.<br />
“The leaders of these exceptionally well-run<br />
organisations are passionate about putting<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le first and each day they demonstrate<br />
their commitment to a sustainable future for the<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le they serve.<br />
“What I am most proud of is that our recent<br />
ICMIF Members Sustainable Investment Report<br />
2021 demonstrated that US$576bn of our<br />
36 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
members’ assets are aligned to sustainable<br />
investment frameworks and that members<br />
named in the report outperformed their ICMIF<br />
peers in annual premium growth comparisons<br />
against both the total market and their local<br />
markets. They also exceeded the five-year<br />
premium growth of all ICMIF members by almost<br />
11 percentage points.”<br />
Since the 1960s, ICMIF has also supported<br />
the creation of new co-<strong>op</strong>erative insurers in<br />
emerging markets, helping to set up more<br />
than 25 mutual insurers, including successful<br />
organisations such as NTUC Income (Singapore),<br />
CIC Insurance Group (Kenya) and <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erativa de<br />
Seguros Múltiples (Puerto Rico).<br />
As part of its co-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment work,<br />
ICMIF is also scaling up microinsurers in some<br />
of the world’s most high-risk countries. The<br />
initiative forms part of ICMIF’s 5-5-5 Mutual<br />
Microinsurance Strategy and has resulted in<br />
insurance cover for 14.3 million of the world’s<br />
poorest pe<strong>op</strong>le over the last five years.<br />
As to the future, Ms Vernaillen said that a key<br />
focus for member would be risk prevention.<br />
“If preventing risk means reshaping their<br />
organisation away from a policy-focus towards<br />
risk-mitigation and<br />
education around<br />
prevention, then<br />
that’s what they will<br />
do. I am proud of our<br />
partnerships with<br />
the United Nations<br />
which have resulted<br />
in the devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
of the world’s first<br />
prevention hub,<br />
an <strong>op</strong>en-source<br />
repository of more<br />
than 50 cases studies,<br />
searchable by specially designed prevention<br />
mechanisms. Anyone has access to these. It is a<br />
gift to the insurance industry.<br />
“So, there is so much to be proud of but we<br />
cannot afford to stand still. The world is fragile<br />
and needs more great leaders who focus on<br />
putting pe<strong>op</strong>le first; who drive purpose into<br />
their cultures and decision-making; and who<br />
selflessly share their knowledge and expertise to<br />
help make the world a safer, kinder place.”<br />
She added that ICMIF would continue to play<br />
a key role in helping them achieve this.<br />
“ICMIF members will do this together. Because<br />
that is our strength, we really are stronger,<br />
together,” she said.<br />
ICMIF’s celebrations will culminate with a<br />
centenary conference in Rome on 25-28 October,<br />
which will be hosted by the Unipol Group.<br />
Under the theme of “Leading with purpose”,<br />
the conference will explore a range of strategic<br />
t<strong>op</strong>ics including the leadership role that mutual/<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative insurers can play in tackling<br />
global issues, driving sustainable practices and<br />
transitioning to a net-zero future.<br />
In a recent interview with AM Best, ICMIF CEO<br />
Shaun Tarbuck said that insurance is a long-term<br />
industry – adding that mutuals and co-<strong>op</strong>s act as<br />
the guardians of the future of the communities<br />
they represent.<br />
Since the 1960s ICMIF has also supported<br />
the creation of new co-<strong>op</strong>erative insurers<br />
in emerging markets, helping to set up<br />
over 25 mutual insurers”<br />
He explained that the conference would be “a<br />
big celebration of mutuality” and invited other<br />
mutuals and co-<strong>op</strong>s from other sectors to take<br />
part in it. Mr Tarbuck added that the core values<br />
and mutual and co-<strong>op</strong>erative insurers had<br />
stayed the same, the sector had become “more<br />
innovative and smarter” over the last couple of<br />
years. He argued that mutuals had an advantage<br />
of already being “purpose-led”.<br />
He said: “The ICMIF Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference in<br />
Rome (25-28 October <strong>2022</strong>), hosted by the Unipol<br />
Group, one of our founding members, will be the<br />
high point of our centenary recognition year and<br />
we h<strong>op</strong>e to see as many members as possible<br />
join us for this face-to-face event.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 37
Building societies<br />
for the future<br />
Susan Press<br />
u Hilary McVitty,<br />
BSA head of external<br />
affairs<br />
On 26 February 1869, a special meeting<br />
was convened at a small hotel in London to<br />
consider setting up an organisation for the<br />
protection of building societies. Ever since, the<br />
Building Societies Association (BSA) has been<br />
championing an industry firmly rooted in co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
values.<br />
As membership organisations, building<br />
societies are owned by their savings and<br />
mortgage customers. Profits are reinvested for<br />
the benefit of members and communities that<br />
Societies serve. Building societies in the UK now<br />
have 25 million members … and growing.<br />
More than 150 years on from its inaugural<br />
meeting, the BSA is the trade association for all<br />
43 UK building societies and six of the larger<br />
credit unions, all of which are mutuals. It is<br />
also a member of the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Association of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Banks (EACB).<br />
The BSA conducts research, convenes working<br />
groups, and champions financial resilience,<br />
diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It<br />
also works hard in the expanding field of green<br />
finance and making housing more accessible at<br />
a time when pr<strong>op</strong>erty ownership is all too often<br />
perceived as a pipe-dream.<br />
Hilary McVitty, who has held a number of<br />
senior roles in the building society and banking<br />
sectors, has been BSA Head of External Affairs<br />
since 2011.<br />
“We are all part of the mutual family,” she<br />
says. “We represent all UK building societies and<br />
some of the larger credit unions and do quite a<br />
lot of work with the Friendly Societies. Overall,<br />
there are fewer building societies than there<br />
used to be but they are much larger.”<br />
It is a real marker of the difference mutuality<br />
can make that over the last few years, building<br />
societies have paid out significantly more in<br />
interest to savers than banks have been able to do.<br />
“A business owned by customers doesn’t have<br />
shareholders expecting maximum returns,” says<br />
Ms McVitty, adding that profit is important, but<br />
to re-invest for the future, not to maximise profits<br />
to pay-out in dividends.<br />
“This is how building society savers got<br />
£2.4bn more interest in the last three years than<br />
they would have got at big banks. Everybody is<br />
<strong>op</strong>erating within the overall market rate set by<br />
the Bank of England. It’s now gone up a couple<br />
of times but even so, it is way below inflation<br />
and that sets the overall environment in which<br />
we are setting mortgages and savings.<br />
“The general interest rate environment that<br />
affects everything and everyone is very low. We<br />
need to balance the interest charged to borrowers<br />
and the amount you pay to savers. Savers might<br />
receive a slightly lower income but we are much<br />
steadier and have a particular attitude to risk.”<br />
The first-ever building society – Richard<br />
Ketley’s – was formed at the Golden Cross Inn,<br />
Birmingham in 1775. The story goes that patrons<br />
38 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
waived their last pint and put the money into a<br />
communal pot to build houses. Each home was<br />
assigned to a Society member via ballot, and<br />
the process started again until every member<br />
had a home of their own, sparking the Building<br />
Society Movement.<br />
Then, as now, getting a roof over one’s<br />
head was a major struggle and in <strong>2022</strong> Hilary<br />
acknowledges times are very hard. That’s<br />
why building societies are more likely to help<br />
the self-employed, students, self-builders,<br />
older borrowers and those wanting to explore<br />
intergenerational mortgages to help families<br />
onto the housing ladder.<br />
Building societies are major players in the<br />
provision of shared ownership mortgages:<br />
typically someone buys 25% of their pr<strong>op</strong>erty and<br />
pays a mortgage on that, with the rest generally<br />
owned by a housing association, and they pay<br />
rent on that portion. Over time they can increase<br />
the amount they own up to 100%. Many younger<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le are <strong>op</strong>ting for this style of home-ownership<br />
as it gives them a real stake in their homes.<br />
Societies are also leading the charge with selfbuild<br />
homes – the fact they really know their<br />
areas and communities and tend to underwrite<br />
a loan manually means they are well placed to<br />
do this more complex type of lending. The same<br />
goes for lending to the self-employed. Manual<br />
underwriting – when a person considers a<br />
mortgage application rather than a computer<br />
algorithm, allows societies to serve those<br />
underserved in the rest of the mortgage market.<br />
“We cannot control house prices, that’s out<br />
of our gift, but we are lobbying to build more<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>erties,” says Ms McVitty. “Prices are driven<br />
up because there is not enough housing and we<br />
are looking for the government to have joined-up,<br />
long-term housing policies. We also look at ways<br />
of constructing mortgages that help pe<strong>op</strong>le.”<br />
Deposits are an issue in pretty much all the<br />
consumer surveys the BSA carries out: “Around<br />
59% tell us raising a deposit is the biggest<br />
barrier. So one of the things the BSA has done is<br />
offer family deposit mortgages, where mums and<br />
dads or an existing borrower can borrow against<br />
equity and give to a family borrower, putting<br />
savings into an account as a level of security.”<br />
Despite the current financial climate, she is<br />
<strong>op</strong>timistic that building societies can be key in<br />
helping pe<strong>op</strong>le weather the storm.<br />
“I totally accept it is difficult but this is not<br />
necessarily a new phenomenon. In the late 1980s<br />
to early 1990s, when tax relief on mortgages was<br />
removed, pe<strong>op</strong>le were scrambling around to get<br />
mortgages. We have also been through negative<br />
equity. There are always all sorts of bumps in the<br />
road. Building societies have been through thick<br />
and thin and adapted to all sorts of changes<br />
and conditions, including world wars and<br />
pandemics.”<br />
At the height of the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 pandemic, the<br />
BSA did its utmost to keep branches <strong>op</strong>en,<br />
helping pe<strong>op</strong>le who were vulnerable to access<br />
cash and in some cases, actually physically<br />
delivering it.<br />
During this time, the sector processed<br />
hundreds of thousands of mortgage payment<br />
deferrals for pe<strong>op</strong>le who were worried about<br />
how they would survive financially.<br />
“Today we have a cost of living crisis and we<br />
are very much involved with thinking about<br />
anyone who thinks they may have difficulty<br />
paying their mortgage. We are keeping a very<br />
close eye on arrears and are mindful it may<br />
become a huge problem. What we do not want<br />
is pe<strong>op</strong>le to think that if they say nothing their<br />
problems will go away.”<br />
Building societies have ensured generations<br />
are financially safe and secure. In the years to<br />
come, the BSA is aiming to further levels of co<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
across the mutual sector, engaging<br />
younger pe<strong>op</strong>le as much as possible, taking<br />
on the challenges around sustainability and<br />
climate change.<br />
“If I talk to my sons about mutuality their eyes<br />
glaze over, but they understand the concept<br />
of customer ownership,” Ms McVitty says.<br />
“Mutuals across a range of different businesses<br />
including co-<strong>op</strong>s and Friendly Societies can<br />
work together on the challenge around helping<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le understand the mutual difference.<br />
“Ownership matters. Every business says it has<br />
customers ‘at its heart’ but mutuals really do. It’s<br />
what staff and customers tell us, because being<br />
customer-owned drives our strategy, culture and<br />
behaviour. Staff working for societies say 39%<br />
of all the value created goes to their customers;<br />
staff at plcs say it’s 19%. Service, trust and<br />
competitive rates get high scores from building<br />
society customers, as does being treated fairly.<br />
Mutuality doesn’t make us perfect, but it means<br />
long-term and daily decisions are for pe<strong>op</strong>le –<br />
customers, staff and communities.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 39
<strong>Co</strong>mmunicating the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference:<br />
key tips from Singapore<br />
We speak to Ler Jun Sng, executive, Marketing <strong>Co</strong>mmunications &<br />
Partnerships at the Singapore National <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Federation<br />
(SNCF), an apex set up in 1980 which represents 99% of the<br />
country’s 1.4 million co-<strong>op</strong>erative members.<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
SNCF uses a range of social media channels to<br />
engage with members and non-members, in<br />
addition to trying to secure coverage in local and<br />
national media.<br />
HOW ARE YOU COMMUNICATING YOUR<br />
CO-OPERATIVE DIFFERENCE?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: SNCF shares [news] about the<br />
Singaporean co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement and<br />
stories on our co-<strong>op</strong>eratives/co-<strong>op</strong>erators, both<br />
internally within the co-<strong>op</strong>erative network and<br />
externally, with the general public, through<br />
media features in traditional print media and<br />
broadcast media, content on our website and<br />
social media channels, and events.<br />
SNCF seeks to help co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to<br />
strengthen their co-<strong>op</strong>s to better serve their<br />
members, the broader community and in<br />
turn transform the national economy. Beyond<br />
offering a suite of programmes and services to<br />
our co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, we also do the bridging role<br />
to connect co-<strong>op</strong>eratives with one another to<br />
explore partnership <strong>op</strong>portunities to further<br />
amplify and extend the reach of their work.<br />
At SNCF, a huge part of what we want<br />
to do is to engage the general public,<br />
especially the youth, on the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement through our social media<br />
channels”<br />
HOW DOES THE LANGUAGE YOU USE CHANGE<br />
DEPENDING ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: At SNCF, a huge part of what we want<br />
to do is to engage the general public, especially<br />
the youth, on the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement<br />
through our social media channels. To cater<br />
to the younger demographics who use social<br />
media extensively as part and parcel of their<br />
lives, as well as those who may not be familiar<br />
with the co-<strong>op</strong> movement, we use simpler terms<br />
to explain technical jargons and definitions,<br />
choose content that appeals to the youth, engage<br />
with trending t<strong>op</strong>ics/conversations, and partner<br />
with public personalities to further extend<br />
our reach to bigger and new audiences. The<br />
communication style is primarily informative<br />
through the use of bite-sized content and ad<strong>op</strong>ts<br />
a fun and less formal tone. We sometimes<br />
incorporate light-hearted humour through the<br />
use of memes.<br />
IN ADDITION TO COMMUNICATING TO YOUR<br />
MEMBERS, HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO REACH<br />
OUT TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE MOVEMENT?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: We work on creating content that<br />
aligns with common values to better connect<br />
with audiences who are not within the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movement. With growing interest and more<br />
40 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
conversations on inclusivity and sustainability,<br />
we also curate content on these t<strong>op</strong>ics as we want<br />
to get them to engage in social conversations<br />
or act on it (e.g. doing their part to save the<br />
environment). We also partner with personalities<br />
who fit the themes we have identified and work<br />
with them to feature their stories on social<br />
media. At times, we also leverage social media<br />
channels of key stakeholders and co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
to further broadcast the stories to their followers.<br />
WHAT MEDIA CHANNELS DO YOU USE?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: For social media we use Facebook,<br />
Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. In terms of<br />
traditional media, we use print, online, and<br />
broadcast channels (radio, TV).<br />
HOW DO YOU ENGAGE WITH JOURNALISTS/<br />
MEDIA PROFESSIONALS?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: Our team comprises members who<br />
have handled media relations or worked closely<br />
with media professionals previously. Typically<br />
we will craft the media angle and narrative,<br />
prepare the media release or fact sheet as well<br />
as preparing the spokespersons/profiles for<br />
interviews, before pitching a story to the editors/<br />
reporters, and work with the reporters closely<br />
on queries they may have. We also pitch stories<br />
to vernacular media to cover reach to different<br />
audiences.<br />
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED WHEN<br />
DOING SO? HOW MUCH DO JOURNALISTS<br />
KNOW ABOUT CO-OPS?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: Journalists often do their due<br />
diligence as part of their research work to find<br />
out and understand what a co-<strong>op</strong> is and how the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> model works. We try to make it easier for<br />
them to educate the public or their audience to<br />
digest the co-<strong>op</strong> model by furnishing them with<br />
additional information which may comprise<br />
sound bites, quotes or sharing of case studies.<br />
WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR OTHER CO-OPS?<br />
Ler Jun Sng: Take the time to plan your<br />
content calendar; we suggest doing it quarterly<br />
and reviewing from time to time. Figure out<br />
which personalities (including co-<strong>op</strong>erators,<br />
public figures, <strong>op</strong>inion leaders or advocates<br />
championing social causes) may resonate with<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> brand and are suitable for content<br />
collaboration and feature. It is useful to also<br />
engage with the youths, who are avid social<br />
media users, for content ideas and suggestions.<br />
We work on creating content that aligns<br />
with common values to better connect<br />
with audiences who are not within the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> movement.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 41
Cwmpas: a new direction for<br />
the Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre<br />
Rebecca Harvey<br />
The Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre was founded<br />
forty years ago and now runs multi-millionpound<br />
projects that support co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
social enterprises, and promote social and<br />
digital inclusion. As part of a major strategic<br />
review, the organisation has just launched a<br />
five-year strategy and a brand new look and feel,<br />
including a new name: Cwmpas.<br />
Over the last 12 months, the organisation<br />
has been working with the New Economics<br />
Foundation (NEF) to devel<strong>op</strong> the strategy.<br />
“This process involved a lot of research,<br />
conversations and consultation with members,<br />
clients and employees,” says Derek Walker,<br />
Cwmpas CEO. “During this time it became clear<br />
our current name and branding weren't working<br />
in the way we wanted them to. So we thought,<br />
well, it's our 40th birthday year, we've done a<br />
big review, let's follow what pe<strong>op</strong>le are telling<br />
us. Let's look at our branding.”<br />
During the consultation, the organisation<br />
“tried to think about what we wanted to achieve<br />
over the next five years”.<br />
“We started very much with the ‘why?’ and<br />
then looked at the ‘what?’ – and that was really<br />
galvanizing for us,” says Mr Walker. “Why are we<br />
here? What do we want to achieve? We're here<br />
because we believe in an economy and society<br />
that should work differently, putting pe<strong>op</strong>le and<br />
planet first. So that's our new vision statement<br />
on our strategy.”<br />
Underneath the statement, the organisation<br />
has three missions: creating a fairer, greener<br />
economy; building a more equal society; and<br />
making positive change happen.<br />
“Integral to all of this is being a co-<strong>op</strong>erative,<br />
working co-<strong>op</strong>eratively, and supporting the<br />
growth of co-<strong>op</strong>eratives as we've always done,”<br />
says Mr Walker.<br />
“It feels like the world and pe<strong>op</strong>le’s needs are<br />
changing so rapidly. We’re not just delivering<br />
services that members want or that we think are<br />
good things, but we’re actually trying to change<br />
things within society much more boldly than<br />
we have done previously. There is also a greater<br />
policy and influencing role coming through this<br />
new strategy than we had before.”<br />
Brand new brand<br />
The organisation worked with Creo, a branding<br />
and design agency in Cardiff, to fulfil a very<br />
specific brief.<br />
“We were trying to meet a very complicated<br />
set of criteria,” says Catherine Evans, policy<br />
and communications manager. “Through focus<br />
groups with members and staff it was clear that<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le wanted a shorter name and one that<br />
reflected our Welsh heritage, but also something<br />
that would be easy for somebody who wasn't<br />
a Welsh speaker. It couldn't just be a random<br />
word, it had to be aligned to our values and what<br />
42 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
we're delivering. The brief sounded perfectly<br />
straightforward when we set it out, but it was<br />
actually a really tough challenge.”<br />
This challenge was made even more<br />
complicated by completing the brief in a co<strong>op</strong>erative,<br />
collaborative way. “It was really<br />
important to us that we involved our members<br />
and our 100 plus staff team,” adds Ms Evans.<br />
“It was vital that everybody had an input in the<br />
discussion, fed back on all the ideas and could<br />
come up with their own ideas. Because of this,<br />
the outcome is really strong.”<br />
She believes that Cwmpas meets all of the<br />
criteria. “It’s short. It is a Welsh word. It is<br />
something that someone who doesn't live in<br />
Wales or speak Welsh can relate to.<br />
“We work with lots of very different clients.<br />
We don’t tell them what they should do or what<br />
their destination should be. We help them<br />
decide on that destination for themselves and<br />
help them get to where they want to be, whether<br />
that is setting up a new co-<strong>op</strong>erative business<br />
or social enterprise, transitioning to employee<br />
ownership or doing something around digital<br />
transformation. So from the point of view of<br />
summing up what we do and how we do it,<br />
Cwmpas felt like the perfect fit. It’s not a direct<br />
Welsh translation of the word ‘compass’, but it<br />
does encapsulate all those ideas of sc<strong>op</strong>e and<br />
vision and journey.”<br />
A new look for the future<br />
This is reflected in the organisation’s new<br />
logo, too. “We wanted something that was<br />
really confident and bold and different,” says<br />
Ms Evans. “It’s really distinctive, and almost<br />
looks like a stamp on something. We wanted<br />
something that felt like we were saying, ‘We're<br />
Cwmpas, here we are, this is our mark, and we're<br />
proud to use it.”<br />
“We also really like the way the arrow looks in<br />
the C” says Mr Walker. “It’s almost a secret thing<br />
that you don't automatically see, but which<br />
works with this sort of word.<br />
He adds: “This is a significant change for<br />
us and we wanted to illustrate that we are<br />
an organization that is confident and clear<br />
where it's heading. We wanted a modern look,<br />
something that is different whilst recognizing<br />
that we're still a proud Welsh organisation and<br />
we're still a proud co-<strong>op</strong>erative organisation.”<br />
The team knew they didn't want to go with the<br />
heritage colours seen in a lot of Welsh businesses,<br />
and instead sought a colour palette that was<br />
“approachable and friendly and modern, but at<br />
the same time expert, professional and credible.”<br />
And although it’s not in the new one-word<br />
name itself, “co-<strong>op</strong>erative will be front and<br />
centre of the new brand,” adds Mr Walker. “We<br />
will still be using the .co<strong>op</strong> domain and for our<br />
website address and on our email stems, and<br />
we will still be making it clear that we're a co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment agency right throughout<br />
our branding.”<br />
As part of the organisation’s birthday year,<br />
it has taken part in a Twitter takeover and<br />
launched an oral history project, collecting<br />
testimony from pe<strong>op</strong>le who have been involved<br />
with the organization over the last 40 years.<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e General Assembly,<br />
which Cwmpas was planning to host in <strong>May</strong>, is<br />
now taking place online, but the organisation is<br />
looking to host a conference in the autumn, run<br />
a competition with schools, and put together a<br />
film about its history.<br />
This is a significant change for us and<br />
we wanted to illustrate that we are an<br />
organisation that is confident and clear<br />
where it’s heading”<br />
– Catherine Evans, policy and communications manager<br />
“We are also doing some work around tree<br />
planting in Wales to make sure that we're leaving<br />
a sustainable legacy of our 40th year,” says Mr<br />
Walker.<br />
“We have had an extraordinary amount of<br />
support for the changes, but being a co-<strong>op</strong>erative,<br />
and being a co-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment agency<br />
is extremely important to us and our members,<br />
and our members have made it very clear right<br />
throughout this process that changing the name<br />
doesn't change that part of who we are.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 43
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration in a crisis<br />
When disaster strikes<br />
Alice Toomer-McAlpine<br />
q SEWA played a<br />
key part in the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
response to <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
in India<br />
“The trees that grow in stormy climates strike<br />
the greatest roots,” writes a contributor under<br />
the alias of ‘H<strong>op</strong>eful’ in an 1863 issue of The<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erator. The writer was reflecting on the role<br />
of the co-<strong>op</strong> movement during the Lancashire<br />
<strong>Co</strong>tton Famine.<br />
Between 1861 and 1865, members of the<br />
Rochdale Pioneers’ co-<strong>op</strong>erative withdrew<br />
£83,000 to cover living costs in times of<br />
unemployment. Local co-<strong>op</strong>s also set up relief<br />
committees to support workers and their families<br />
with hardship funds and soup kitchens.<br />
Over the years there have been countless<br />
examples of co-<strong>op</strong>s stepping up for their<br />
communities in a crisis – through fire and famine<br />
and world wars. Retired co-<strong>op</strong>erative librarian<br />
Gillian Lonergan says: “For me, it all springs<br />
from where co-<strong>op</strong>eratives came from ... they are<br />
set up for the needs of the members, whatever<br />
those needs might be. So right from the early<br />
days, looking after the community, whether it’s<br />
a big or tiny little community, co-<strong>op</strong>s have been<br />
placed to respond to needs.”<br />
The Philippines is home to a strong co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movement: it has over 18,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s with a<br />
combined membership of 11.5 million members.<br />
In a country that experiences around 25<br />
typhoons a year, this network often plays a role<br />
in responding and building resilience.<br />
Last year, CLIMBS Life and General Insurance<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative launched its enhanced Weather<br />
Protect Insurance product, which uses<br />
blockchain and smart agriculture to offer farmers<br />
protection against extreme weather. Working<br />
with a number of international and national<br />
partner co-<strong>op</strong>s, they were able process members’<br />
claims within 10 days when Typhoon Rai (aka<br />
Odette) hit the Philippines before Christmas.<br />
Donna Dizon, vice president, administration<br />
and corporate planning at CLIMBS, describes<br />
the launch of this product as a “breakthrough”,<br />
explaining that “our goal is really to help build<br />
resilient co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and communities”.<br />
CLIMBS also provides immediate relief and<br />
support to communities affected by disasters<br />
through its CLIMBS <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Action Response<br />
to Emergency Services (CARES) programme.<br />
“What we call the mutual difference, is<br />
that the owners are the members, so we know<br />
them,” says Ms Dizon. “We have bases in the<br />
communities, so it’s really at grassroots level.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s <strong>op</strong>erate in the first instance at a<br />
“barangay”, or town hall, level when disaster<br />
strikes, she adds. During this process,<br />
communication will be made with the co-<strong>op</strong>s’<br />
member owners and partner organisations via a<br />
range of platforms, including digital.<br />
Sometimes face-to-face communication is the<br />
only way to reach members during an emergency,<br />
adds Rowena Abella, marketing vice president at<br />
CLIMBS. “The areas affected by Odette could not<br />
be communicated with because the lines were<br />
cut, so our president went there, to Bohol, to<br />
physically give the goods.”<br />
Another priority for CLIMBS is inviting more<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le into the co-<strong>op</strong>, in part through a<br />
range of educational programmes. “Educating<br />
our younger generation on co-<strong>op</strong>erativism is<br />
really important because although the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model is already over 100 years old, it remains a<br />
very relevant model,” says Ms Dizon.<br />
44 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
CLIMBS will soon launch the mobile<br />
Ko<strong>op</strong>Skwela Learning Hub, offering basic<br />
reading, writing and maths lessons to young<br />
Filipino pe<strong>op</strong>le – a vital provision now that the<br />
pandemic has disrupted schooling.<br />
International communication is also a key<br />
consideration. “CLIMBS is a local product,<br />
but we have gone global,” says Ms Dizon.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> has presented its Weather Protect<br />
Insurance project as its contribution towards<br />
#<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>s2030, aiming to address a number of the<br />
UN Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goals, including<br />
climate action, no hunger and zero poverty.<br />
Meanwhile in the UK, an international working<br />
group (IWG) has been established to support the<br />
planning, coordination and delivery of the UK<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> movement’s international activity. Sarah<br />
Alldred, who sits on the IWG, explains that while<br />
the UK has a track record of being very generous<br />
in crisis, the IWG h<strong>op</strong>es to provide a space to<br />
tell the stories of this work and show members<br />
where their support goes.<br />
A recent example is a partnership between the<br />
IWG and the Self Employed Women’s Association<br />
(SEWA), in response to the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 pandemic in<br />
India. Over £100,000 was raised by UK co-<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
with £70,000 going to immediate relief such as<br />
medical kits and food. The rest is supporting the<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment of two new women’s co-<strong>op</strong>s – a<br />
research co-<strong>op</strong> and a media co-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
Mirai Chatterjee, director of the social security<br />
unit at SEWA, said <strong>Co</strong>vid had been the worst<br />
crisis to hit India since partition, but added:<br />
“The solidarity and the support that we got from<br />
the UK co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement has been very<br />
touching ... it has been a true manifestation of the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative spirit, of the spirit of partnership.”<br />
Dr Alldred agrees. “I always go back to the<br />
values and principles,” she says. “It’s a ‘trade<br />
not aid’ approach, it’s working in solidarity with<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s around the world. It’s not, ‘we’re telling<br />
you what to do', because we’ve got so much to<br />
learn from them as well.”<br />
But it’s not so clear as to whether the wider<br />
public sees this difference – at least in the UK.<br />
“<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s have never been good at shouting<br />
about what they do,” says Ms Lonergan. “At<br />
the time when it was so heavily embedded in<br />
communities, right to the 1920s, 1930s, they<br />
tended to just sort of take it for granted that this<br />
relationship would continue.”<br />
But she believes public understanding of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s is increasing, and that it is stories of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative action that will push this along.<br />
“The stories are so good, the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
movement should be getting better publicity<br />
than it is for what it’s doing,” she says. “And the<br />
more those stories come out, the more pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
will understand that co-<strong>op</strong>s can be useful if<br />
you’re having a hard time. At the moment you<br />
might not think of going to a co-<strong>op</strong> because<br />
you’re having a hard time, but would you think<br />
of going to a co-<strong>op</strong> when you’re having a good<br />
time? It’s the same sort of thing.”<br />
When it comes to telling these stories, the UK<br />
movement could turn to these different contexts<br />
around the world and throughout its history for<br />
inspiration. Between 1861 and 1865, as the <strong>Co</strong>tton<br />
Famine raged through Lancashire, membership<br />
of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers<br />
grew from 3900 to 5300.<br />
In his History of the Rochdale Pioneers, George<br />
Jacob Holyoake remarks on how co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
fared during those difficult times and what<br />
conclusions may be drawn: “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
proved to be no hothouse plant, requiring hotair<br />
apparatus and infinite watching, forcing, and<br />
coddling; but a hale, hearty, winter shrub, which<br />
will take root in any good soil, enjoys a blast,<br />
and grows strong by exposure.”<br />
p The aftermath of<br />
Typhoon Rai in the<br />
Philippines<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 45
Solidarity in times of war:<br />
How <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Ukraine is mobilising<br />
to support those affected<br />
The all-Ukrainian union of consumer co-<strong>op</strong>s (Ukrko<strong>op</strong>spilka –known<br />
as <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Ukraine) has been working tirelessly to provide products<br />
and services to members and customers, offer shelter to those<br />
displaced and bake bread to feed local communities. We speak to<br />
chair Illia Gorokhovskyi about how Ukraine’s co-<strong>op</strong>s are faring<br />
“The war has had an impact on every inhabitant<br />
of Ukraine, on every sector of the economy. But we<br />
still do not have information about the misfortune<br />
caused by the war on other co-<strong>op</strong>eratives,” says<br />
Mr Gorokhovskyi. “The situation is very difficult<br />
in cities that have recently been liberated from<br />
occupiers – I am talking about Chernihiv, Irpin,<br />
Bucha, Hostomel, Sumy.<br />
“Mariupol is also our great pain; the city is<br />
practically destroyed. I am constantly in touch<br />
with the leaders of the unions of consumer<br />
societies from these regions. Pe<strong>op</strong>le, who have<br />
gone through the hell of the Russian aggression,<br />
have experienced extreme torment and pain.<br />
Objects of consumer co-<strong>op</strong>eration in such<br />
regions also suffer significant damage; the<br />
infrastructure is being destroyed.<br />
“But all this cannot be compared with the<br />
pain and emotional trauma experienced by our<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le. We will find funds, we will repair the<br />
destroyed sh<strong>op</strong>s, but who will work for them<br />
if pe<strong>op</strong>le have nowhere to return, because<br />
their houses are destroyed, there is no water,<br />
electricity?”<br />
In the west of the country, which has been<br />
less affected by the conflict, consumer co<strong>op</strong><br />
stores continue to <strong>op</strong>erate. Supply chains<br />
were disrupted but “all these issues have been<br />
resolved, co-<strong>op</strong>erative stores provide pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
with basic food,” says Mr Gorokhovskyi.<br />
The region also welcomed more than 10<br />
million displaced Ukrainians from the east<br />
of the country. Many provided food and<br />
accommodation to those displaced while retail<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s switched to a 24/7 schedule to be able to<br />
meet demand for bread and to feed the military.<br />
“Our pe<strong>op</strong>le worked as long as necessary, no<br />
one said that they had exceeded the hours of<br />
work established by law. Many volunteered ... In<br />
such a difficult time for Ukrainians, there is no<br />
question: how many hours should I be at work?<br />
The question is different: what can I do as much<br />
as possible? There are many examples of our<br />
workers taking refugees into their homes.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative educational institutions in<br />
regions that have been less affected by the war<br />
have also welcomed displaced Ukrainians to<br />
their student dorms while others received staff<br />
and students from other regions, enabling them<br />
to continue <strong>op</strong>erating from their premises.<br />
Students from co-<strong>op</strong>erative colleges volunteer<br />
and some teachers and graduates have joined<br />
the military.<br />
“There are dead among the co-<strong>op</strong>erators. All<br />
of them are our pride and our pain. The names<br />
of our courageous, brave, best will always be<br />
imprinted in memory,” says Mr Gorokhovskyi.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Ukraine is a member of Euro <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>,<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e and the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Alliance, through which it is able to<br />
engage with co-<strong>op</strong>erators in other countries.<br />
“I want to thank the leadership of Euro <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>,<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e, and the International<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance”, says Mr Gorokhovskyi,<br />
adding that the three organisations had<br />
responded “in a timely manner and with great<br />
understanding”. Some national apexes chose<br />
to support relief work in Ukraine by donating<br />
to organisations such as the Red Cross. But Mr<br />
46 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
Gorokhovskyi is sceptical. “The employees of the<br />
Red Cross, even after 35 days from the beginning<br />
of the war in Ukraine, did not reach those places<br />
where pe<strong>op</strong>le needed more help – in Mariupol,<br />
Kharkiv, Chernihiv,” he says. He also explains<br />
that the recent meeting between the president<br />
of the International <strong>Co</strong>mmittee of the Red Cross<br />
(ICRC), Peter Maurer and Russian authorities<br />
“outraged the Ukrainians”.<br />
Mr Maurer had also met with Ukrainian<br />
officials prior to visiting Russia. In an official<br />
statement, ICRC said that as a “neutral,<br />
impartial, humanitarian actor” it needs to speak<br />
with all sides of a conflict.<br />
But Mr Gorokhovskyi says ICRC does not<br />
provide information about how it chooses to<br />
use the funds it receives, including those from<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
“We realised that the assistance that our<br />
fellow co-<strong>op</strong>erators want to provide us would<br />
be more effective and useful if it is direct and<br />
provided on the principle of ‘from co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
to co-<strong>op</strong>eration’. After all, we understand better<br />
than the Red Cross how we should direct these<br />
funds. Everything will be done <strong>op</strong>enly and<br />
transparently. And we are ready to report on<br />
every cent spent.”<br />
Mr Gorokhovskyi believes Russian co-<strong>op</strong><br />
members should be barred from international<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative apexes. He also questions the ability<br />
of Russian co-<strong>op</strong>s to follow co-<strong>op</strong>erative values<br />
and principles. “What can today’s Russian co<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
bring and give to the international<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative community? The moral of a country<br />
where the basic principles of co-<strong>op</strong>eration –<br />
freedom and democracy – have been violated for<br />
years?”<br />
He argues that membership fees from Russian<br />
members carry the heavy weight of Ukrainian<br />
deaths and calls on apexes to take action. “I<br />
am deeply convinced that the international co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
community must know not only its<br />
heroes, but also its anti-heroes.”<br />
The view is not shared by historian Rita<br />
Rhodes, author of The International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Alliance during War and Peace 1910-1950. Soviet<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s were allowed to remain in the ICA after<br />
the revolution, she says, for reasons of trade and<br />
to prevent the formation of a Red International<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance. But Soviet Russia remained<br />
an issue, especially after the <strong>Co</strong>ld War began in<br />
the 1940s and the USSR installed regimes in its<br />
central Eur<strong>op</strong>ean neighbours –regimes which<br />
gradually took control of their co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
“This was a big crisis for the ICA. On the<br />
one hand, co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in the Soviet bloc ran<br />
counter to its 1930s definition, and on the other<br />
it became obvious that they were seeking to take<br />
over the Alliance, which they could soon do by<br />
strength of affiliations. There was a real threat<br />
of the ICA becoming ‘the Red ICA’ and it became<br />
a crucial issue in international relations in the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>ld War. North American co-<strong>op</strong>eratives had<br />
played a major role in the Alliance during WWII<br />
and they were still strongly represented. They<br />
could have done so again in the <strong>Co</strong>ld War but<br />
did not.<br />
“Their restraint therefore became a factor in<br />
keeping the ICA together," she says, adding that<br />
another major factor was its administration,<br />
which made some adroit moves.<br />
"Brilliant debates in the ICA <strong>Co</strong>ngress and<br />
meetings of its Executive and Central <strong>Co</strong>mmittees<br />
became important elements. The result was that<br />
the Soviet Bloc co-<strong>op</strong>erative movements were<br />
allowed to remain but as associate members.<br />
“It could be argued that this was another<br />
fudge but it facilitated quick ICA help to those<br />
movements when <strong>Co</strong>mmunism and the Iron<br />
Curtain collapsed in the late 1980s and early<br />
1990s. They then returned to full membership.<br />
“Because of this complex and at times even<br />
tortured history I trust the ICA will hesitate to<br />
expel Russian co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. They have been<br />
full members for over 30 years and shared the<br />
Alliance’s culture. An important part of that<br />
is its quest for world peace for which it has a<br />
long history. Moreover, war creates tensions<br />
that could prompt unwise hasty decisions. We<br />
do not know the views of Russian co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
to Putin, his war, or Ukrainian co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
Until we do, I trust the Alliance will retain its<br />
Russian members. It would be so ironic if they<br />
were hastily jettisoned after all the difficulties<br />
the Alliance has experienced in retaining them<br />
and achieving continuity since 1895.”<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 47
Leigh Sparks<br />
Analysis:<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Group Financial<br />
Results 2021<br />
The period since early March 2020 has been<br />
a turbulent and traumatic one for everyone.<br />
Even now, we are living in the aftershocks of<br />
the pandemic, with a high <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 incidence<br />
in the p<strong>op</strong>ulation and consequent impacts on<br />
demand and supply and business <strong>op</strong>erations,<br />
including distribution. “Living with <strong>Co</strong>vid” is<br />
not as straightforward as some would make out.<br />
The publication of the 2021 financial results<br />
for the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Group are thus of more<br />
than normal interest. Trading in turbulent times<br />
is not to be taken for granted. The pandemic<br />
affects the assessment of performance. What<br />
is the underlying <strong>op</strong>erational and business<br />
performance and what are pandemic impacts,<br />
shocks or responses? Is our comparator the prepandemic<br />
“normal”, or do we accept that the<br />
world has been transformed and <strong>op</strong>erations<br />
remain essentially short-term and reactive?<br />
For instance, the 2021 sales figure for the Group<br />
is £11.2bn. This is a decline from 2020 when<br />
the figure was £11.5bn. On the surface, this is<br />
disappointing – but 2020 was a very strong year<br />
as lockdowns and other restrictions favoured the<br />
local store model. The last pre-pandemic year<br />
(2019) saw sales at £10.9bn which was itself up<br />
from £10.2bn in 2018 (due in part to the Nisa<br />
acquisition). What is the appr<strong>op</strong>riate benchmark<br />
year? More critically, perhaps, what should our<br />
expectations be in this changed world? Should<br />
we be disappointed in not holding on to the sales<br />
gains of 2020 or should we accept it was never<br />
likely to be sustained?<br />
Table 1 provides the numbers for the (selfidentified)<br />
key performance indicators (KPIs) for<br />
the Group. In this table, the data is taken back to<br />
2018 to allow for a short pre-pandemic trajectory<br />
as well as two years (differentially) impacted<br />
by <strong>Co</strong>vid-19. The data, especially the purely<br />
financial figures, shows two issues.<br />
First, on every measure the results show that<br />
2020 was an exceptional year for the Group.<br />
What caution there is for 2020 comes in the<br />
non-financial figures, where active membership<br />
numbers fell, as did rewards spending (though<br />
the base rate reduced in October 2020).<br />
Secondly, there is the question of considering<br />
2021 against 2020 and/or the years before. Here<br />
the story is not as positive, with figures generally<br />
returning to, or below, the 2019 and 2018 levels.<br />
While sales are greater in 2021, all profit measures<br />
are lower, and debt is now much higher. A<br />
10% increase in Group sales over three years<br />
has not really resulted in any overall financial<br />
improvement. Non-financial measures continued<br />
to decline – for example in active membership,<br />
rewards and colleague engagement.<br />
Almost 69% of the Group’s sales are in the food<br />
sector, with around 15% each in the wholesale<br />
and the federated components; food remains<br />
the driver of the Group’s performance. The store<br />
estate is being remodelled (50 new stores in<br />
2021, plus 87 stores renewed, 25 relocations and<br />
15 extensions), but overall store numbers fell (by<br />
29) and sales floorspace is at its lowest level in<br />
at least five years. There have been investments<br />
in branding and pricing, supply chain (a new<br />
depot) and colleague remuneration (Real Living<br />
Wage), while <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 costs continued (c£30m)<br />
in 2021. The supply chain has struggled to deliver,<br />
especially in the latter half of 2021, possibly due to<br />
new systems but also to wider global pandemicrelated<br />
issues and the consequences of dealing<br />
with fluctuating production and demand. The<br />
amount of stock in the Group had been reducing<br />
(from 16.4 stock days in 2018 to 14.6 in 2020),<br />
48 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
ut it increased in 2021 (to 16 stock days). The<br />
e-commerce food business saw tremendous<br />
growth (reaching £200m sales in 2021 from £4m<br />
in 2019) but from an exceptionally low base.<br />
Roll-out of store focused e-commerce, microdistribution<br />
hubs and the links with Deliveroo,<br />
Starship and (more controversially) Amazon<br />
and Amazon Prime, would seem to be sensible<br />
given the pandemic surge in the local and online<br />
channels. The strategy seems clear.<br />
In presenting the results, the chair accepts<br />
this has been a challenging year but claims<br />
the “continued planned strategic investments<br />
mean… (we) are well placed to ride out the storm<br />
and prosper beyond”. The interim CEO, Shirine<br />
Khoury-Haq, pointed to the long-term strategy,<br />
investment in the business and the values of the<br />
Group as the building blocks for the future.<br />
But is the Group, with its focus on the local<br />
community and convenience market, as well<br />
placed as it might be? This was clearly working<br />
in 2020 as circumstances swung in the model’s<br />
favour. A stronger 2021 <strong>op</strong>erational performance<br />
might have been h<strong>op</strong>ed for. The figures and<br />
comments point to some internal <strong>op</strong>erating<br />
issues in addition to the impact of wider macro<br />
sector effects. Uncertainty hit cashflow and<br />
stockholding, adding to the debt and losing sales.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mpetition is not going to lessen, so it is<br />
critical that elements under the Group’s control<br />
are made as effective as possible. The pandemic<br />
has not gone away nationally or globally. The<br />
full implications on supply chains of Brexit<br />
remain to be felt, though they are becoming<br />
increasingly apparent. The war in Ukraine has<br />
caused a range of human and business impacts<br />
there and elsewhere, the full dimensions of<br />
which remain unclear. Individuals, communities<br />
and businesses are being pressured by the<br />
impact of rising costs and altered demand. That<br />
the business needs to be agile, resilient and<br />
flexible in the eye of these various challenges<br />
is heightened, but in an environment the like<br />
of which most have not experienced either as<br />
individuals or business managers.<br />
It is not clear how pe<strong>op</strong>le will react to these<br />
pressures, problems and difficult times. One<br />
would h<strong>op</strong>e that the values and strengths of<br />
communities and locales would come further<br />
to the fore, as they did in the initial stages<br />
of the pandemic. In this regard, the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Group is more than a food retailer of course,<br />
and such values and behaviours help pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
and the planet. The financial p erformance is<br />
obviously important to allow this investment<br />
in <strong>op</strong>erations and activities within this wider<br />
context (<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erating for a Fairer World). More<br />
than ever the balance between these aspects<br />
of the Group needs to be borne in mind. But in<br />
the final analysis, if business <strong>op</strong>erations do not<br />
produce enhanced results, then difficult times<br />
and decisions lie ahead.<br />
Leigh Sparks is professor of retail studies at<br />
the University of Stirling. He also runs a<br />
retail blog at www.stirlingretail.com<br />
q Table 1: Key<br />
Performance<br />
Indicators<br />
2021 2020 2019 2018<br />
Underlying Pre-tax Profit (£m) £-32m £100m £35m £33m<br />
Underlying Operating Profit (£m) £100m £235m £173m £97m<br />
Debt (incl leases) (£bn) £2.4bn £1.97bn £2.16bn £0.8bn<br />
Debt (excl leases) (£m) £920m £550m £695m £764m<br />
Revenue (£bn) £11.15bn £11.47bn £10.86bn £10.16bn<br />
Operating Profit (£m) £64m £207m £173m £90m<br />
Profit before Tax (£m) £57m £127m £24m £83m<br />
Active Members (mn) 4.2m 4.3m 4.6m 4.6m<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity Reward (£m) £19m £13m £11m £12m<br />
Member Reward(£m) £21m £45m £57m £60m<br />
Members Sales in Food (%age of total) 29% 30% 33% 33%<br />
<strong>Co</strong>lleague Engagement (%age) 72% 76% 76% 76%<br />
MAY <strong>2022</strong> | 49
DIARY<br />
Do you have a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
event – taking place in<br />
person, online, or as a<br />
hybrid – to be featured?<br />
Tell us at:<br />
events@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
UKSCS Annual <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
26-28 August (Lincoln)<br />
The first in-person UK Society for <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Studies conference since 2019<br />
will take place at Lincoln University. <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
activists, students and researchers will<br />
meet to explore the theme: <strong>Co</strong>nsumer co<strong>op</strong>eratives:<br />
past, present and future.<br />
bit.ly/3EU3ahM<br />
ICA General Assembly<br />
20 June (Seville, Spain)<br />
Hosted by the Spanish <strong>Co</strong>nfederation of<br />
Worker <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives (COCETA) in Seville,<br />
the meeting includes the elections for the<br />
ICA president and board of directors.<br />
bit.ly/3IhUvqu<br />
UK <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
24- 25 June (Birmingham, UK)<br />
Details tbc.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Solutions – Fuel Poverty<br />
30 June <strong>2022</strong> (Zoom)<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives East Midlands & <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
West Midlands host this online<br />
event 9.30am, following the AGM of CEM.<br />
jdevilliers@btinternet.com<br />
International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
2 July<br />
A day of events to mark International Day<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives <strong>2022</strong><br />
2 July (Hebden Bridge, UK)<br />
10.45am: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative heritage walk led<br />
by co-<strong>op</strong> historian Andrew Bibby. Free.<br />
Meet foyer of Hebden Bridge Town Hall.<br />
1.30pm-4.30pm <strong>Co</strong>nference: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
work! Another economy is possible, plus<br />
worksh<strong>op</strong>s and stalls, at the Waterfront<br />
Hall, Hebden Bridge Town Hall. Free, with<br />
pre-booking advisable<br />
7.30pm <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration <strong>Co</strong>ncert with the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmoners’ Choir. Trades Club, £9/£6.<br />
Day’s events organised by Calderdale <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association.<br />
calderco<strong>op</strong>s@gmail.com<br />
Playground for the New Economy<br />
12-14 July (Devon)<br />
Stir to Action’s Playground for the New<br />
Economy Festival is returning to its<br />
residential campus at Selgars Mill in Mid<br />
Devon for three days of panels, worksh<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
<strong>op</strong>en space, virtual reality experiences,<br />
sustainable food, and live music.<br />
stirtoaction.com/festival<br />
Federation of Southern <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
annual meeting<br />
18-20 August (Birmingham, Alabama)<br />
Celebrating 55 years of support for black<br />
farmers, landowners and co-<strong>op</strong>s in<br />
the southern USA. Includes the Estelle<br />
Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement<br />
Awards, plus an online component.<br />
federation.co<strong>op</strong><br />
World Credit Union <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
17-20 July (Glasgow)<br />
The World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit Unions will cohost<br />
its conference with the Association of<br />
British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL).<br />
Speakers include cyber security analyst<br />
Keren Elazari and behavioural science<br />
expert Belinda Parmar.<br />
wcuc.org<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
8-9 October (Leeds)<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Party’s showcase of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative politics and the largest<br />
political online gathering of the year for<br />
the UK co‐<strong>op</strong>erative movement.<br />
party.co<strong>op</strong>/event/annconf022<br />
ICMIF Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
25-28 October <strong>2022</strong> (Rome)<br />
The ICMIF Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference will be<br />
an event that stimulates original ideas for<br />
better business performance; that offers<br />
clear insights into the trends that are<br />
shaping the future of our industry; that<br />
provides a full and clear understanding<br />
of the powerful role that the sector too<br />
can play in redesigning insurance. The<br />
Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference will be hosted<br />
by the Unipol Group, one of ICMIF’s<br />
founding members, in Rome, where the<br />
organisation was founded 100 years ago.<br />
icmif.org/icmif-conference/<br />
50 | MAY <strong>2022</strong>
FAIRTRADE<br />
ORGANIC<br />
BIODEGRADABLE<br />
FRESH<br />
IN A BAG<br />
coffee@revolver.co<strong>op</strong><br />
www.revolverworld.com<br />
01902 345 345
The Heart of<br />
England<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society<br />
<strong>op</strong>ens £2.7 million<br />
Food store in<br />
Warwick.<br />
Customers here will be the first to try the<br />
Society’s own newly-launched Deli. <strong>Co</strong> range<br />
which includes breakfast, lunch, hot food<br />
to go, snacks, fresh cakes, baguettes and<br />
sandwiches, and fresh tea and coffee.<br />
Services include:<br />
• Indoor seating/outdoor seating<br />
• Amazon lockers<br />
• Electric vehicle charging facilities<br />
• Enhanced gifting area and horticulture area<br />
• Aquavape<br />
• Jimmy’s p<strong>op</strong>corn<br />
• Gift ideas by Warwickshire-based Prezzybox<br />
• Zero by Queenswood – a zero waste supplier.<br />
The store forms part of a wider £5.5 million<br />
retail park with four units.<br />
www.heartofengland.co<strong>op</strong>