The world’s most sustainable co-operatives have been ranked by Corporate Knights, the same organisation that publishes the Global 100 report during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The top ten rankings are based on a more extensive report, which includes the world’s largest 35 co-operatives from Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States and Japan and recognises the recognition of the contribution co-operatives have in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
Corporate Knights named The Co-operators, a Canadian insurance company, as the world’s most sustainable co-operative, while the UK’s largest mutual business, the Co-operative Group, came second and Desjardins Group, the largest association of credit unions in North America, was ranked third.
The Co-operators, serve approximately 375 credit unions with a total of more than five million members. The organisation offers a wide variety of financial services across Canada, rewarding their customers’ sustainable behaviour. Through socially responsible investment funds, customer money is invested in environmentally friendly companies that practice social responsibility. The Co-operators also has a significant percentage of women in leadership positions, either executive management (30 per cent) or the board of Directors (18.2 perc ent).
Kathy Bardswick, President and CEO of organisation and ICA Board director, said: “Our employees and advisors are to be congratulated for the efforts they have made to help our organisation become more sustainable, and act as a catalyst for sustainability.
“Co-operatives prioritise long-term value creation over short-term profit maximisation, and take into account a broad range of stakeholder interests in their decision-making. It’s a business model that naturally embeds sustainability principles into its operations.”
Another leader in terms of sustainability, the Co-operative Group has made positive steps with its renewable energy programmes. The Group powers more than 4,000 outlets powered by renewable energy, and finances the development of many solar energy schemes. The Group is also working with 3,000 schools across the UK to bring sustainability education programmes on the school curricula for children between five and 16. It also has a high percentage of women in the Board of Directors (26.3 per cent) and Executive Management (18.2 per cent).
Desjardins Group, Canada’s largest co-operative financial group, offers financial products to low-income households that would otherwise not be able to afford such financial services. Home insurance packages are offered for any level of income, while small 24-month interest-free loans are available to those in desperate need for access to finance. Desjardins currently has over $831m invested in socially responsible products. The organisation also has a large number of women in leadership positions, with 26.9 per cent as Board Directors and 21.4 per cent in Executive Management roles.
French co-op bank Groupe BPCE came fourth, having financed more than 15,000 environmental projects in the past ten years. The co-operative provides loans at a reduced rate to hospitals and schools for energy efficiency upgrades and it is also investing in social cohesion charities.
The top ten also includes ReWe Group, a food retailer from Germany; Liverpool Victoria, an insurance mutual from United Kingdom; Liberty Mutual Insurance from the United States; Japan’s National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives; the UK’s employee-owned retailer John Lewis; and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company from the US.
The criteria used to assess co-operatives were productivity, board diversity, resource usage, sustainability mandate and senior level compensation ties to sustainability. Corporate Knights uses the same methodology for its Global 100 report, a corporate sustainability assessment published every year during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Following publication of the results, Corporate Knights said it would like to see more co-ops publishing data on social indicators such as employee turnover. It also called for an increase in disclosure requirements for co-operatives to enable experts to better evaluate co-operatives.
Corporate Knights also recognised the ICA's desire to collect this type of social and environmental data on cooperatives through its World Cooperative Monitor. From this month, co-operatives can submit relevant data to the ICA's database through the relaunched WCM survey.
• Click here to read the full report on the world's 35 most sustainable co-operatives.
