CO-OPERATIVE WORKING MAKES THE COMMUNITY

Economic & Social Benefit

Co-operative Business Solutions

Values & Principles

Co-operatives East Midlands

More Than Just Profit

While there are many examples of co-operatives who do very well in achieving profits in today’s business world, they exist for a much broader purpose. Co-operatives come in all shapes and sizes and they engage in a wide range of business activities, from retailing to agriculture, finance to social care and from housing to technology.

Co-operatives are built around a set of ethical values, commitments & principles such as self-help, community development, social responsibility, equality and solidarity, all principles of sustainability which have become highly relevant in today’s world of work and the wider economy. They are initially formed to meet the needs of their active members, though help to serve people and businesses in other sectors.

We know that in the UK as many as 23% of the workforce are actively disengaged which will come to a high cost to any business. Using a methodology developed in the US, we estimate the cost of workforce disengagement to be around £36bn for the UK. Here is where a co-operative business model may be worth considering.

The benefits of the co-operative model lie in the degree of control, autonomy and ownership experienced by individuals. People become members of a co-operative and then help influence how it is run. Co-operatives put people first, positively impacting on people’s values, sense of purpose, autonomy, motivation, creativity, well-being and skills. Co-operatives are at the cutting edge of social, socio-economic and environmental initiatives such as green energy, recycling, biodegradeable packaging and conservation, and have led the way in Fair Trade procurement.

Across the globe, the co-operative economy is worth £35.6 billion and has 13.5 million members.

We have added the Co-op Foundation Presentation on "Helping disadvantaged communities work together to make things better"

Click on the link below to see the presentation.

RCC conference

Fairtrade Fortnight 2024

Our New Campaign Launches

#ThinkWiderThanJustYourself

Events

You can make booking for Co-operatives East Midlands events from the Events page.

This message is only visible to admins.
Problem displaying Facebook posts.
Click to show error
Error: Server configuration issue

Become a Member

Join Co-operatives East Midlands

Click here to join

Contact Us

Jenny de Villiers

Co-ops East Midlands Secretary

Email: contact@cooperatives-em.coop

07773 705552

Legal Info

Co-operatives East Midlands is "an unincorporated association".

Discover More on Our YouTube Channel

YouTube on  Co-Op East Midlands