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Cooperatives Champion Balance Between People & Profit
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Dan Clore
Oct 17, 2012, 8:46:05 AM10/17/12
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News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/cooperatives-champion-balance-between-people-and-profit/
Cooperatives Champion Balance Between People and Profit
By Beatrice Paez
TORONTO, Canada, Oct 5 2012 (IPS) - The banner year for the global
cooperative movement is winding down into its last months, but its
leaders have echoed a resounding message: cooperatives, a values-based
business model, can usher a transition to a more socially responsible
economy.
This message will be at core of the International Summit of
Cooperatives, a gathering of more than 2,000 participants active in the
cooperative movement, to take place in Qu�bec City from Oct. 8 to 12.
With 2012 designated by the U.N. as the International Year of
Cooperatives, Monique Leroux, the CEO of Desjardins, the largest
cooperative financial group in Canada, thought it was time to bring her
dream of launching a summit into action.
�We want to use the summit as an opportunity to make sure the world in
general, and governments have a better understanding of the cooperative
movement,� said Leroux. �We need to do a better job in promoting who we
are.�
Desjardins partnered with the International Alliance of Cooperatives, a
non-governmental organisation that advocates on behalf cooperatives, to
create a venue where new networks and solutions to propel the movement
forward can be forged.
The shift to a new paradigm for the economy is now underway, and the
time is ripe for cooperatives to demonstrate their value because there
is an upswell of disenchantment with the economy as it stands, said
Charles Gould, the executive director of IAC.
Cooperatives tend to arise in response to an unaddressed need in the
community. The core values that underpin the cooperative model �
self-help, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity � guide the way
decisions are reached, Gould added.
The values bear the implication that the interests of the communities
served will be factored into any business calculation. In the face of
the financial crisis, the cooperative model proved its resilience,
because by design the board is accountable to all its members, said
Leroux. The one-member, one vote rule means that the interests of the
largest shareholders do not trump the rest.
�It�s a more sustainable model, it doesn�t take unknown risks because
it�s not trying to maximise profit,� said Gould.
�We believe that by 2020, by the end of this decade, it�s conceivable
that the cooperative can be the fastest growing form of enterprise in
the world,� he told IPS. �We�ve been asking cooperatives and our members
what would have to change for that to happen.�
Gould identified several areas that will help build momentum for the
movement, and bolster its profile as a viable alternative to the classic
setup of a corporation.
For one, cooperatives need new forms of capital to grow that are aligned
with their values and design. The summit marks an opportunity for
Desjardins and its partners to share their innovations in creating new
financial products, credit services designed to reflect the context of
the community served, said France Michaud, the communications supervisor
at Developpement International Desjardins (DID).
Aside from raising capital, cooperatives also have to do a better job at
promoting and invoking their identity, making the model and the values
it stands for known to the public, Gould noted. Brands like Ocean Spray
and Sunkist are household names but are not always tagged as examples of
cooperatives.
There are several misleading perceptions about cooperatives that
downplay their importance in the economy, said Stephanie Guico, the
programme coordinator of the Future Leaders Program at the summit. One
is the view that they belong to the past, another that they are mainly
poor people�s organisations.
Poverty alleviation is central to the mandate of many cooperatives, but
people often don�t realise they are businesses concerned about their
sustainability, Guico added.
For the cooperative model to thrive, the legislative and regulatory
landscape has to adjust itself. �There are many countries where the
general business regime is designed around the corporate construct,
because it has been such a dominant model,� Gould told IPS. �We have to
make sure we�re not subject to restrictions that were imposed to prevent
problems other business forms are subject to.�
Gould noted that the governments of China and Iran are expressing
interest in the cooperative model, and that these countries are on his
list to watch for growth. �Some of these countries recognise the need to
diversify from state-owned enterprises and see how the global economy
has changed,� he said. �But don�t want to move to capitalist models�and
are intrigued that the cooperative model could be a way of getting
people to step up in a self-help way.�
In Quebec, the groundwork for an alternative economy is being sown
through a collection of seemingly small efforts led by members of the
global cooperative movement, said Laure Waridel, an eco-sociologist, who
has been invited to speak at the summit.
She cited one local organic farm as an example, because it has opted to
subsist with the help of its customers, who are willing to pay an
advance for its share of the harvest.
Waridel, also recognised as a pioneer who helped bring the fair trade
movement to Canada, has been studying the efforts of people in the
countryside of Qu�bec to create a sustainable livelihood.
�What I�m interested in is to find the connecting dots between many
initiatives in Qu�bec that are seen as marginal,� she told IPS. �You put
them together, you see that there is a proposal for another economy.�
--
Dan Clore
New book: _Weird Words: A Lovecraftian Lexicon_:
http://tinyurl.com/yd3bxkw
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-unspeakable-and-others/6124911
Lord We�rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"From the point of view of the defense of our society,
there only exists one danger -- that workers succeed in
speaking to each other about their condition and their
aspirations _without intermediaries_."
--Censor (Gianfranco Sanguinetti), _The Real Report on
the Last Chance to Save Capitalism in Italy_
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/cooperatives-champion-balance-between-people-and-profit/
Cooperatives Champion Balance Between People and Profit
By Beatrice Paez
TORONTO, Canada, Oct 5 2012 (IPS) - The banner year for the global
cooperative movement is winding down into its last months, but its
leaders have echoed a resounding message: cooperatives, a values-based
business model, can usher a transition to a more socially responsible
economy.
This message will be at core of the International Summit of
Cooperatives, a gathering of more than 2,000 participants active in the
cooperative movement, to take place in Qu�bec City from Oct. 8 to 12.
With 2012 designated by the U.N. as the International Year of
Cooperatives, Monique Leroux, the CEO of Desjardins, the largest
cooperative financial group in Canada, thought it was time to bring her
dream of launching a summit into action.
�We want to use the summit as an opportunity to make sure the world in
general, and governments have a better understanding of the cooperative
movement,� said Leroux. �We need to do a better job in promoting who we
are.�
Desjardins partnered with the International Alliance of Cooperatives, a
non-governmental organisation that advocates on behalf cooperatives, to
create a venue where new networks and solutions to propel the movement
forward can be forged.
The shift to a new paradigm for the economy is now underway, and the
time is ripe for cooperatives to demonstrate their value because there
is an upswell of disenchantment with the economy as it stands, said
Charles Gould, the executive director of IAC.
Cooperatives tend to arise in response to an unaddressed need in the
community. The core values that underpin the cooperative model �
self-help, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity � guide the way
decisions are reached, Gould added.
The values bear the implication that the interests of the communities
served will be factored into any business calculation. In the face of
the financial crisis, the cooperative model proved its resilience,
because by design the board is accountable to all its members, said
Leroux. The one-member, one vote rule means that the interests of the
largest shareholders do not trump the rest.
�It�s a more sustainable model, it doesn�t take unknown risks because
it�s not trying to maximise profit,� said Gould.
�We believe that by 2020, by the end of this decade, it�s conceivable
that the cooperative can be the fastest growing form of enterprise in
the world,� he told IPS. �We�ve been asking cooperatives and our members
what would have to change for that to happen.�
Gould identified several areas that will help build momentum for the
movement, and bolster its profile as a viable alternative to the classic
setup of a corporation.
For one, cooperatives need new forms of capital to grow that are aligned
with their values and design. The summit marks an opportunity for
Desjardins and its partners to share their innovations in creating new
financial products, credit services designed to reflect the context of
the community served, said France Michaud, the communications supervisor
at Developpement International Desjardins (DID).
Aside from raising capital, cooperatives also have to do a better job at
promoting and invoking their identity, making the model and the values
it stands for known to the public, Gould noted. Brands like Ocean Spray
and Sunkist are household names but are not always tagged as examples of
cooperatives.
There are several misleading perceptions about cooperatives that
downplay their importance in the economy, said Stephanie Guico, the
programme coordinator of the Future Leaders Program at the summit. One
is the view that they belong to the past, another that they are mainly
poor people�s organisations.
Poverty alleviation is central to the mandate of many cooperatives, but
people often don�t realise they are businesses concerned about their
sustainability, Guico added.
For the cooperative model to thrive, the legislative and regulatory
landscape has to adjust itself. �There are many countries where the
general business regime is designed around the corporate construct,
because it has been such a dominant model,� Gould told IPS. �We have to
make sure we�re not subject to restrictions that were imposed to prevent
problems other business forms are subject to.�
Gould noted that the governments of China and Iran are expressing
interest in the cooperative model, and that these countries are on his
list to watch for growth. �Some of these countries recognise the need to
diversify from state-owned enterprises and see how the global economy
has changed,� he said. �But don�t want to move to capitalist models�and
are intrigued that the cooperative model could be a way of getting
people to step up in a self-help way.�
In Quebec, the groundwork for an alternative economy is being sown
through a collection of seemingly small efforts led by members of the
global cooperative movement, said Laure Waridel, an eco-sociologist, who
has been invited to speak at the summit.
She cited one local organic farm as an example, because it has opted to
subsist with the help of its customers, who are willing to pay an
advance for its share of the harvest.
Waridel, also recognised as a pioneer who helped bring the fair trade
movement to Canada, has been studying the efforts of people in the
countryside of Qu�bec to create a sustainable livelihood.
�What I�m interested in is to find the connecting dots between many
initiatives in Qu�bec that are seen as marginal,� she told IPS. �You put
them together, you see that there is a proposal for another economy.�
--
Dan Clore
New book: _Weird Words: A Lovecraftian Lexicon_:
http://tinyurl.com/yd3bxkw
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-unspeakable-and-others/6124911
Lord We�rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"From the point of view of the defense of our society,
there only exists one danger -- that workers succeed in
speaking to each other about their condition and their
aspirations _without intermediaries_."
--Censor (Gianfranco Sanguinetti), _The Real Report on
the Last Chance to Save Capitalism in Italy_
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