Your Shortlisted Global Innovation Co-op Summit Innovations - Part II
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Published 12 Sep 2023 in Colleagues
In the lead-up to the Global Innovation Co-op Summit, which begins on 27th September, we’re sharing two more of our colleagues’ inspiring ideas that made the Midcounties judges’ final shortlist: supporting those suffering from eco-anxiety and sharing cooking skills with members.
A reminder of the competition...
The challenge: To identify a UK co-op that our Society could start working with to build a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future.
The process: Nine ideas were put forward which were shortlisted to a final five. Those five pitched their ideas to a panel of senior colleagues who selected the winner based on a range of criteria, including how aligned the idea was to the Society’s TRUST Pillars.
About the idea
Research shows that three-quarters of adults in Great Britain worry about climate change and that younger people were more likely to experience eco-anxiety.
With that in mind, Kathryn’s idea centres on the Society partnering with the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA). The organisation is comprised of psychologists and other mental health professionals concerned about the psychological impacts of climate change, which can include feelings of anxiety, grief, guilt, and helplessness. They believe that addressing these psychological responses is essential for effective climate action.
While some level of worry can be a good thing, leading to people making lifestyle changes to tackle the issue, it can cause others to shut down and ‘bury their heads in the sand’.
How the partnership could work
Kathryn says, “As a society we are already doing a brilliantjob of letting our members know the steps we have taken to reduce our carbon footprint. We now need to go the extra step to ensure members can receive help and support to deal with the psychological impact of climate change. This could be done through direct messaging to our members; via email or including a section within utility bills.”
She also suggests adding CPA tools to our colleague wellbeing resources on i.Learn, embedding it within our onboarding processes and offering climate-anxiety training sessions to managers.
Additionally, she suggests the Society could host a climate café (following training from the CPA) giving colleagues a place to come together to talk openly about their concerns around climate change.
About the idea
Through this partnership, Adam has a vision of reviving forgotten food skills and bringing lively cookery courses to our members and communities while educating them on food origins and promoting healthy eating.
Loaf is a co-operative-run bakery and cookery school based in Stirchley, South Birmingham. They are committed to bringing real food back into kitchens through cookery courses, a community bakery and pop-up events.
How the partnership could work
Cookery courses could be made available to members (bookable through our website) to both share the basics of cooking with younger members and offer specialist courses and seasonal-focused events to experienced cooks to “inspire and delight the senses”.
Adam also suggests the idea of “bread on tour”, bringing amazing breads and pastries to communities who request a pop-up in their community through our members’ app.
By providing seasonal produce recipes and tips for using up leftovers, this initiative could also help to minimise food waste and cut food miles.
Linking in with other trading groups, the innovation could expand to include meals for little ones aligned to Childcare and destination-inspired dishes for Travel to promote.
Coming soon: the Global Innovations Co-operative Summit competition winner Sam Webb will be travelling to Montreal soon for the main event and we’ve asked him to share his journey with us.