Usdaw Delegate Meeting, Business Green Leaders awards nomination & AGM
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Published 6 May 2022 in Phil's blog
Wednesday this week I attended the Institute of Directors in London for a morning’s refresher training on corporate governance and director’s responsibilities. I am not a Director of the Society as our Directors are elected from our membership by our members, however, I do hold Directorship's for the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and for the Federal Retail Trading Services (FRTS) which is the governing body overseeing the national co-operative food buying, marketing and distribution for 4,000 food stores.
Board Directors are accountable for an organisation’s governance ensuring its legal obligations are met in addition to setting its strategic objectives and overseeing its business performance. As with all colleagues, it is important that I am committed to continuous learning and development which supports me in doing my job to the best of my abilities.
Usdaw Delegate Meeting
With our dedicated Safer Stores team working hard to combat Retail crime across our stores to create a safer place for those who work and shop with us, this week, a number of in-store colleagues and fellow executive member Clare Moore attended the important Usdaw Annual Delegate Meeting in Blackpool.
Joining our Usdaw officials, it was all about bringing together elected representatives from across the UK to decide on the Union's policies and priorities for the coming year. An informative meeting, I look forward to hearing more on the outcomes and thank all our representatives who attended and had their say. They included Martine Bevan (Norton Canes), Bernadette Connor (Board Director & Co-op House), Nathan Platek (Wolverhampton Travel), Shell Whitehead, Senior Rep (Vine Island Post Office), Lin Blackburn (Stourport), Lynne Griffin (Franche Road) and Nick Porter (Co-op House).
Our Society has been shortlisted in the Business Green Leaders awards for Renewable Energy Project of the Year
Our push for a sustainable future goes on and at a time when there are many changes in the energy market, this week we’re proud to have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Business Green Leaders awards for Renewable Energy Project of the Year. This is in recognition of the fantastic work of ‘Your Co-op Community Power’, helping to directly finance community energy groups and providing one of very few UK tariffs investing in the construction of new renewable energy projects. Fingers crossed for 22 June, when we will find out if we have won at the Business Green Leaders awards ceremony in London.
Society AGM 2022 – Book on
With seats starting to fill up and preparations continuing towards our first in-person AGM since 2019, the excitement is building. As mentioned last week, this year, our Society showcase will be a hybrid event streamed simultaneously online and in person. I can say we have some really fantastic guest speakers at the event this year including Adam Henson, Farmer and Rural TV presenter and MBE recipient Rosie Ginday (AKA Miss Macaroon). Having met them both during my time as a judge on Food Glorious Food and at many other events, I am really looking forward to hearing Adam’s keynote on ‘A fairer future for our partners; a sustainable supply chain and supporting entrepreneurial producers.’ It ties in really well with our local suppliers and the produce we already provide within our stores, so not one to miss! To book your place and find out more about the day click here.
Colleague Member Payday Event 6 – 8 May and Pulse Survey
With Pay day today, it’s a chance for all colleagues to take advantage of the great deals going on in our Food stores and Travel branches. Did you know you can gain some extra discount on top of our member deals? Just pop into your local store or branch between 6-8 May and take advantage. You can find the full list of deals from our trading areas here.
Staying on the topic of colleagues, today we have also opened the latest colleague pulse survey. Closing on 15 May, it’s your chance to take part and let us know your views. All you need to do is log in via Colleagues Connect, and the survey link will be shown in your notifications.
It helps to give us a rounded view of what colleagues think and in turn make positive changes for all colleagues. I encourage you all to take part and share the survey with fellow colleagues. All entries are anonymous, and if you take part, you have a chance to win one of five £20 Your Co-op Vouchers. To find out more, click here.
35-year long service – Sharon Haines, Shrivenham Food
Finally, this week is the 35-year long service celebration of colleague Sharon Haines at Shrivenham Food store. I was unable to attend the commemorations in person but did manage to send across a video thanking Sharon for all her incredible hard work and dedication over the last 35 years. I hope you enjoy your award and look forward to hearing how you are celebrating this big achievement. Congratulations!
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