Celebrate Co-op Fortnight – Our International links
This article will take approximately 2 minutes to read
Published 30 Jun 2023 in Raising Awareness
Co-op Fortnight comes to an end tomorrow and has been a fantastic opportunity to highlight how co-operatives offer a unique way of doing business that supports communities and people.
Tomorrow, the 1st of July, is the International Day of Co-operatives – focusing on sustainable development. To celebrate, we are spotlighting our relationship with the Organisation of Brazilian Co-operatives and how we're making a difference internationally.
The international co-operative movement is huge…
There are
3 million
co-ops on Earth
Co-ops provide jobs or work opportunities
for 10% of the employed population
There are 1 billion
co-operative members
Spotlight on the Organisation of Brazilian Co-operatives & How we support sustainability
You may remember we welcomed the Organisation of Brazilian Co-operatives (OCB) to our Society AGM in May last year. Their delegation was led by Joao Marcos Silva Martins, OCB International Relations Executive, & the group had the chance to share experiences and best practices while visiting our Society.
International members from the Brazilian Co-operative at our Society AGM last year
This month, the group invited us to join the international forum in the state of Parana, Brazil on sustainable cooperative businesses, joining both Brazilian and foreign speakers discussing the sustainability agenda. Pete Westall, our Chief Values Officer, was asked to present on developing market strategies towards sustainability, with particular focus on our Edie Sustainability Leader awards, Green Energy and Community Engagement.
Pete also highlighted that it’s not just about the activities we do but more importantly how our activities impact local communities wherever they may be in the world. Of particular relevance to that audience was our work with the Climate action group, Ecologi. Through our Green Broadband, Mobile and Co-op Holidays offerings in particular we have worked with and helped to fund 2 projects in Brazil.
-
The protection of rainforest in the state of Mato Grosso;
Did you know forest conservation offers various benefits, including the protection of biodiversity, the availability of non-timber products, erosion control, pollination support, the promotion of ecotourism, and the provision of other essential ecosystem services? To find out more click here.
-
generating electricity from landfill gas in the town of Uberlândia
Landfills generate methane as organic waste decomposes. Rather than getting released as emissions, that methane can be captured and used to produce electricity. The climate benefit is twofold: prevent landfill emissions and displace coal, oil, or natural gas that might otherwise be used. To find out more click here.
Our wider International links
Let’s move on to our International movement where we cooperatively share best practices and learn from other co-operatives across the Globe. This includes a number of activities and bodies, outlined below:
International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Board
Did you know the Midcounties are independent members of the International Co-operative Alliance? The voice of cooperatives worldwide, all other UK consumer Co-ops are members via Co-ops UK and Ben Reid, Ex-CEO of Midcounties regularly attends events internationally as an elected member.
International Working Group
The International Working Group is in place to ensure a ‘common’ position for the UK movement on matters – and allows two-way exchange from ICA Board downwards and across various bodies. It’s chaired by Co-op’s UK CEO - Rose Marley, is a formal sub-group of Co-ops UK, and has representatives from ourselves, the Co-op Group, Central England Co-op, Co-op College and many others. This group in particular also co-ordinates disaster relief efforts, most recently DEC appeals for Turkey / Syria; Ukraine and Pakistan.
International Co-operative Entrepreneurial Think Tank (ICETT)
Midcounties are also represented on the International Co-operative Entrepreneurial Think Tank (ICETT). They meet quarterly and bring together large Societies from across the globe on matters of common interest to share best practices. Two years ago, the group hosted a webinar on United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 13 -Climate action including the Group 10-point plan; and hosted one featuring Midcounties & Danish Co-ops last year on the digital engagement of members.
Co-op Europe
During the Co-op Europe Youth Conference last year in Cardiff on November 21st and 22nd, Midcounties colleagues presented on Youth and entrepreneurial innovation. Co-op's Europe are the voice of cooperative enterprises in Europe with 84 member organisations from across 33 European countries. We have Vivian Woodell, Society Vice President as a Board member, and have had Connie Muir & Amelia Crews from Younity as well as Shannon Williams from Utilities presenting at their conferences in the past.
Digital engagement
Digital engagement has been a real focus over the last 12 months with some of the Executive team meeting 4 key Scandinavian Co-ops to discuss all things digital and member reward – with some great shared best practices, and potential developments. These Coops include S Group from Finland and LobyCo, part of Co-op Denmark.