Sustainability Hub

‘Sustainability’ is a difficult concept. It implies care for the environment, looking after the community, contributing towards a resilient economy, and making a business work – all at...

‘Sustainability’ is a difficult concept. It implies care for the environment, looking after the community, contributing towards a resilient economy, and making a business work – all at once. Not surprisingly, it’s become one of the most used but perhaps least understood terms in business today.

Over the next 12 months, Co-operative News will be exploring what it means to be sustainable, in association with The Southern Co-operative, looking at some of the complexities, challenges and best practice examples from around the co-operative movement.

  • Low Carbon Hub aims to stop the flow of £1.5bn each year out of Oxfordshire to large energy companies, and instead boost the local economy through community-owned energy

    Clean energy social enterprise launches manifesto for change

    Oxford-based social enterprise Low Carbon Hub has launched its manifesto to power Oxfordshire through community-owned, renewable energy. Low Carbon Hub is currently aiming to finance, with community shares, its biggest project to date – a 440kW hydro project at Sandford Lock capable of powering the equivalent of 450 homes, plus solar projects on 18 schools and businesses across the ...

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  • (l-r) Nigel McKinney, director of operations at Building Change Trust who have supported the scheme; Karen Arbuckle, director of NICE; and Tiziana O'Hara of Co-operative Alternatives, which has given NICE support in how to launch a community share offer [photo: Paul Moane/Aurora PA]

    Second dawn for Northern Ireland's only solar co-op

    Northern Ireland’s only solar energy co-operative has launched a second community share offer after high demand. NICE (Northern Ireland Community Energy) is aiming to raise £130,000 – enough to install solar panels free of charge for up to ten charitable and community organisations. So far almost 40 organisations have expressed an interest in the project, which could halve their ...

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  • Chris O'Connor, technical director at Biomass, installing a boiler described as 'game-changing heating technology'

    Energy co-op offers free boilers to community buildings

    A Bury energy co-op is offering free biomass boilers to social and community buildings, aiming to encourage more people to take up renewable heat technology. Biomass Energy Co-op has developed the scheme in partnership with Strand Energy, and it is designed to reduce the UK’s fossil fuel usage. The biomass boilers can use waste such as cardboard, olives, nuts, straw and coffee as sources ...

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  • £9m boost for Bristol Energy Co-op

    A funding boost for Bristol Energy Co-op (BEC) has raised £9m of investment since November – making it the UK’s largest community energy company by capacity. The enterprise has signed agreements worth £4m with Bristol City Council, Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) and Triodos Bank, bringing the total raised to £9m. The investment will add 9.3MWp of community-owned solar generation ...

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  • Co-ops and the future of sustainability

    On one level – with the agreement made at the Paris Climate Change meetings, and the establishment of the UN Sustainability Goals – progress was made in 2015. At the same time, the Volkswagen scandal raised serious questions about the effectiveness of corporate sustainability efforts. Industrial society’s impacts became ever clearer with the hottest year on record and reports that ...

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  • Sustainability and Principle 7 – Is it enough?

    How important is co-operative Principle 7 when it comes to sustainability? Guidance notes on the co-op principles launched at the recent International Co-operative Alliance global conference offer a clear view of what Principle 7 should mean. Following Dame Pauline Green’s words that this should be a ‘living’ document, how could this guidance grow? Principle 7 – “Co-operatives work for the ...

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  • Freeing the movement from fossil fuels

    At Co-operative Congress in June, attendees supported the notion that co-ops should aspire to be fossil fuel free by 2030. In this article we explore the thinking behind the goal and what it might mean for co-ops. Why fossil fuels? A fundamental cause of climate change is fossil fuels. The goal could be about carbon but focusing on fossil fuels gets to the root. Why zero or ...

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  • Can ISO14001 make co-ops environmental leaders?

    ISO14001 is an internationally recognised standard covering good practice environmental management, with a focus on getting organisations to take better account of environmental responsibilities. It has been recently revised to make it bolder and braver and a summary of changes can be found here. But is it something your co-operative should avoid or take on? At first glance, it appears ...

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  • Co-op supporting concert to highlight climate change at UN conference

    In the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, a Canadian co-op is hosting a concert to raise consciousness around the urgency of climate action. The initiative will bring together musicians, artists, activists, academics and politicians as part of as series of events designed to highlight the issue of climate change. A worker co-op based in Vancouver, Sustainability ...

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  • So what does a sustainable co-op really look like?

    You could ask this question of any organisation and, until recently, the answer has not been clear. Ambiguity about what sustainability is has allowed each to interpret the concept differently. It has led to a situation where, in one survey, 81% of CEOs claimed they had embedded sustainability in their business – and yet problems we face continue to get worse. In another example, an oil ...

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  • Holistic approach to powering a home

    Members of a housing co-op which built an eco-village are inspiring other communities to follow in their footsteps. Hockerton Housing Project comprises five homes on a 25-acre site outside the village of Hockerton, 15 miles north of Nottingham between Newark and Mansfield. The earth-sheltered properties are built with heat-storing and insulation systems which eliminate the need for ...

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  • Timothy Cox, the Lord-Lieutenant for the County of Warwickshire, presents a crystal bowl marking the Queen's Award to Midcounties Co-operative chief executive Ben Reid

    Queen's representative presents accolade to Midcounties Co-operative

    The Queen’s personal representative, the Lord-Lieutenant, has presented Midcounties Co-operative with the Queen’s Award for Sustainability. Timothy Cox, the Lord-Lieutenant for the County of Warwickshire, visited Co-operative House at Warwick Technology Park to formally present a crystal bowl marking the accolade to chief executive Ben Reid. The society was announced as a recipient of ...

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  • Leading on sustainability: Co-operators wanted as we don’t have time to waste

    In June, Co-operative Congress gave overwhelming support to the idea that co-ops should be doing more to tackle the environmental and social problems society faces – and become real leaders in the push for sustainability. It was agreed that a network of experienced and enthusiastic co-operators should come together and facilitate action. Are you up for the challenge of making a better ...

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  • Co-operative Congress debate 2: How co-ops can keep leading the way

    Each year, at Co-operative Congress, the co-operative movement comes together to look at how to move the sector forward. In 2015 CEOs and directors, members and employees gathered in Birmingham on 26-27 June for CoopNow, organised by Co-operatives UK to debate two key issues: how co-operatives should finance growth; and how co-ops can keep leading the way. The second debate, on leading the ...

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  • The sustainability journey part 3 – Making and assessing progress

    While part 2 looked at goals and strategy, the focus in part 3 is action, keeping track, accreditation and the need to involve others. Taking action Taking sustainability seriously is an ongoing process of change rather than one or two actions, and demands perseverance and creativity. Having reviewed the issues, determined priorities, and established goals (see Part 2), action planning ...

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  • Midcounties Co-operative employees (including sustainability manager Mike Pickering, front right) demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through tackling pollution

    Why mutuals are responsible business winners

    Four mutuals have reached the finals of the 2015 Responsible Business Awards, run by Business in the Community. Central England Co-operative, East of England Co-op, Midcounties Co-operative and Nationwide Building Society have all received finalists trophies, with the overall category winners being announced at a Gala dinner on 7 July in London. Central England is a finalist for the ...

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  • The sustainability journey part 2: getting things moving

    This article and the next will look more closely at the various factors that need to be considered by a co-op making the journey towards sustainability. Use the co-op values and principles If your co-op is operating in line with co-operative values and principles then you will already be addressing sustainability – you just might not know it. High-quality jobs, empowering people, ...

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  • The sustainability journey part 1: setting the scene

    Co-operatives have an advantage when it comes to sustainability because they are guided by values and principles. But this advantage needs to be translated into something tangible. Individual co-ops still have to take action and explicitly address sustainability issues if they are to do better business. So what should your co-op do? This is the first of three articles exploring the answers to ...

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  • Two co-ops receive the Queen’s Award for sustainable development

    Two co-operatives have been recognised for outstanding achievements in sustainable development through the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The award featured 12 winners in the sustainable development category, including the Midcounties Co-operative and Matrix Housing Partnership. The UK’s largest regional co-operative society, Midcounties received the award for implementing a social ...

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  • Are values the key to sustainability?

    Co-operatives are better prepared to embrace sustainability. But why is that the case? One answer is the guiding values that underpin co-operation. As the International Co-operative Alliance makes clear, values are central to co-operation. “Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity,” it says. “In the tradition of ...

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  • Can co-ops take the lead in sustainable food issues?

    Co-operatives have the opportunity to champion sustainable food issues, according to Vicki Hird, senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth.  In her presentation, Ms Hird talked about the work of her organisation, which includes thousands of members. [caption id="attachment_94105" align="alignleft" width="200"] "Organic food doesn’t automatically cost more," says Vicki ...

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  • Credit unions must change to be sustainable

    “The operating model for credit unions needs to be reformed,” according to the chief of Britain’s largest credit union association. Financial co-operatives need to be sustainable without external funding/grants if they are to serve a broad range of people, said Mark Lyonette, chief executive of trade body Abcul at a financial inclusion conference in London. He said: “Credit unions need ...

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  • 'Simple measures like ensuring all devices are switched off at the end of the day can make a huge difference'

    What does 2015 hold for sustainability?

    Sustainability is a core part of the values behind the co-operative business model. Here, Co-operative News hears from leaders across the sector about what the movement should expect in 2015 ...   Ed Mayo, secretary general, Co-operatives UK: We have seen a wave of businesses that claim to be green, but offer little more than greenwash. There is good evidence that co-operatives ...

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  • What is sustainability?

    Over the next 12 months, Co-operative News is taking an in-depth look at sustainability, both in print and online.  We will examine the big sustainability issues and what they mean for the co-operative sector, asking some difficult questions and searching for answers. And we will look at best practice in co-operatives large and small, in the UK and internationally, as well as identifying ...

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  • New partnership with Whizz Kidz – part of The Southern Co-operative’ Making a Difference sustainability plan

    A co-operative for a changing world

     Gemma Lacey from The Southern Co-operative explains how the society approaches the idea of 'sustainability'. Our world is changing. Climate change, rising demand for precious resources like food, energy and water and a rapidly growing global population are transforming the world in which we live and work. The Southern Co-operative, like co-operatives generally, has always had a purpose ...

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  • Policies for the future

    Many co-operatives are leading the way when it comes to sustainable practices. Here, the News looks at some examples of ethical policies put into practice by organisations in the movement The Phone Co-op The Phone Co-op’s ethical policy is based on the co-operative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality and solidarity. The co-operative aims for a policy of clean ...

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  • Marks & Spencer has a set of ambitious sustainability goals for 2020

    What are other companies doing on sustainability?

    M&S Plan A Marks and Spencer launched its ‘Plan A’ - named because ‘there is no plan B for the environment’ – in 2007, aiming to achieve 100 sustainability commitments by 2012. Plan A 2020 was introduced in 2013, with a further 100 targets. Aimed at making the company more environmentally sustainable, Plan A 2020 includes engaging with employees, suppliers and customers, and investing ...

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  • Environmental sustainability: many co-operatives have strong green credentials

    Sustainability: are co-operatives different?

    In a report on ‘the business of sustainability’, global management consultant McKinsey says: “The choice for companies today is not if, but how, they should manage their sustainability activities. Companies can choose to see this agenda as a necessary evil – a matter of compliance or a risk to be managed while they get on with the business of business – or they can think of it as a novel way ...

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  • United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon sent out a supporting statement of co-operatives

    Co-ops make a sustainable future a 'reality', says UN secretary-general

    Co-operatives help stem inequality said the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon. In a statement for the UN-celebrated International Day of Cooperatives on 4 July, which has a theme of ‘choose co-operative, choose equality’, he said the day “highlights the invaluable role of co-operatives in making the vision of a sustainable future a reality for everyone”. Ahead of a meeting at the UN’s ...

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