Co-operatives have a voice among global business leaders

For the first time, a representative of the co-operative sector will be heard at a global meeting of business leaders that influences policy in the world’s major 20...

For the first time, a representative of the co-operative sector will be heard at a global meeting of business leaders that influences policy in the world’s major 20 economies.

The B20 Summit is hosted by Australia this week (16–18 July), and will bring together 300 business leaders to develop policy recommendations for the annual meeting of the G-20. The G-20 meeting will take place in Brisbane in November and will host countries such as the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Brazil and Russia.

Co-operatives will be represented by Andrew Crane, chief executive of grain grower co-operative CBH Group, who was invited by Australian prime minister Tony Abbott. CBH last year reported annual revenues of AUS$2.71bn and is responsible for 40% of the nation’s annual grain crop.

The co-op operates several other businesses along the grain supply chain, from farm to market, including CBH Grain, Australia’s largest grain exporter, and a joint-venture flour milling business in Asia with seven flour mills and ports in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Turkey.

At the B20, Dr Crane will call for more diversity in the economy, with co-operative businesses counterbalancing joint-stock companies. He will also be moderating a session, ‘The impact of G20 growth on food security’, on the Friday afternoon.

The World Co-operative Monitor shows that the top 300 co-operatives and mutuals have a turnover of US$2tn, equivalent to the world’s ninth largest economy. Contributing to the B20’s policy recommendations, Dr Crane will look at how to achieve sustainable economic growth while taking into account social and environmental considerations.

He said: “Co-operatives from global brands like Fonterra, Associated Press and Ocean Spray to the many producer owned businesses supplying Fairtrade products are strong, commercially-focused enterprises. They are also focused on their members, which means they are in the business for their members and the local communities where they are based. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share co-operative business ideas to the G20 agenda of promoting growth, creating jobs and building resilience in the global economy.”

President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), Dame Pauline Green, sees the appointment of Dr Crane to the B20 as “hugely important for the Alliance”. She said: “It is a key strand of our advocacy work outlined in the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, which sets out the strategy for the movement until the end of this decade and beyond. The G20 is increasingly dominant in deciding the future direction of the global economy.

“During the G20 meetings, the voice of the B20 is sought on the key issues under discussion by the leaders of the 20 most important economies in the world. If, as the Blueprint demands, we are to grow the worldwide movement in the coming years, our challenge now is to ensure that when the B20 meets in Brisbane in November, Andrew Crane is not alone in making sure that the co-operative difference is understood and valued.”

Charles Gould, director-general of the ICA said that co-operatives have proven to be more resilient at times of crisis, compared to other types of enterprises.

“Co-operatives face the same commercial challenges as all businesses and are just as focused on a strong bottom line. However their distinct member-ownership structures contributed to higher levels of resilience during the global financial downturn,” he said. “International research has demonstrated that co-operatives were particularly resilient in times of economic hardship, and had demonstrated the capacity to minimise job losses and even increase employment in regions hardest hit during the recent downturn, such as Italy and Spain.”

In this article


Join the Conversation