What is a co-operative?
Co-operatives were originally set up in reaction to the exploitative employment practices of some 19th century business owners. Since then co-operative groups have formed all over the world, each coming together in a democratically run organisation with a common business, economic, social or cultural goal or aspiration.
Open to all
The core feature of a co-operative is that they are open to everyone, and are owned and run by members for members. Retail societies such as Central England Co-operative therefore do not have shareholders, with all benefits being returned to their members and the communities in which they trade. There are currently almost 5,000 UK co-operative businesses with more than 11 million members and supporting over 200,000 jobs.
Values and principles
All co-operatives subscribe to a set of values and principles which guide everything they do.
Values
The co-operative values we subscribe to are:
- self-help – helping people to help themselves
- self-responsibility – being accountable for all we do
- democracy – all members have a say in how the society is run
- equality – all members have one vote
- equity – doing business fairly and without bias
- solidarity – working with other co-operatives
The ethical values of all co-operatives are:
- honesty
- openness
- social responsibility – caring for the world and encouraging communities to look after each other
- caring for others – giving a percentage of our profit to those in need
Principles
The seven co-operative principles help us to put our values into practice
- Voluntary and open membership – membership is open to anyone willing to accept the responsibilities this involves
- Democratic member control – co-operatives are run by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions
- Member economic participation – members contribute to and control the assets of their organisation
- Autonomy and independence – even if they enter into agreements with other organisations, co-operatives retain their democratic rights and operate autonomously
- Education, training and information – co-operatives provide education and training for their members and officials, and offer information for young people and public leaders in the benefits of co-operation
- Co-operation among co-operatives – working together to benefit and strengthen the co-operative movement as a whole
- Concern for the community – working to improve conditions for local communities and worldwide neighbours
Central England Co-operative Society subscribes to all the co-operative values and principles, and we have also established our own vision and values.