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Latest figures from Co-operatives UK reveal that co-operative businesses in the UK have pushed up their combined turnover by some 15.8% to almost £34 billion /?41 billion ? during the same period UK GDP decreased by 4.9%.

As the coalition government debates the provision of public services via a co-operative model, and trust in PLCs and other models of business continues to decline, Ed Mayo, Secretary General of the trade body for co-operatives, Co-operatives UK, says the co operative sector is well placed to step up to the challenge.

The figures - released during the first ever Co-operatives Fortnight - show that the UK has some 4,992 jointly owned, democratically controlled co operative businesses, which together reported a combined performance of £33.5 billion and the number of co-operative members (ie owners) surged by 14% to 12.9 million people (over one in five of the population). Co-operatives now sustain over 237,000 jobs in the UK.

These numbers include not only the consumer owned high street ?Co-operative? shops but also employee owned co-operatives, co-operative consortia, agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, fishing co-operatives, credit unions and community owned co operatives.

Ed Mayo said: ?Despite the ongoing difficulties in many sectors of the economy, co-operative businesses have maintained their momentum of recent years and continue to grow and prosper.

?Co-operatives work across the economy, from football to farming, finance to funeral care. They address some of the biggest challenges ? from inequality and climate change to the changing nature of business and the economy. Co-operatives are not immune to the woes of the economy, but these results show that the co-operative economy is in good shape.?

Consumer owned co-operative food retailers, including the Co-operative Group and a number of regionally based co operative societies such as Southern Co-operatives and Chelmsford Star have seen significant sales increases compared to last year. Trading profit before depreciation for all consumer co-operatives is slightly down on the year, although the last five years have seen significant improvements in the profitability of the consumer societies.

The Co-operative UK 100 ? the annual ranking of the UK's biggest co-operative businesses ? was also unveiled. The top ten co-operative businesses in the UK are the Co-operative Group, John Lewis Partnership, Midlands Co-operative Society, The Midcounties Co operative Society, First Milk, Milk Link, National Merchant Buying Society, Openfield Group, East of England Co-operative Society, Scottish Midland Co-operative Society.

Said Ed Mayo: ?Co-operatives enable customers, employees and communities to work together, allowing them to control the business and share the profits: co-operatives are a powerful alternative.?

The Co-operative Economy can be downloaded here

Six dynamic and successful businesses have been honoured with national Co-operative Awards to recognise their innovation and contribution to the co-operative sector.

Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society, Delta-T Devices, Shared Interest Society, The Handmade Bakery, whomadeyourpants? and Winyates Co-operative Housing received the Co-operative Award in recognition of their excellent work in diverse areas of the economy.

The six winners were chosen from a diverse shortlist and all excelled in the past year to help promote, unite and develop their business as well as the co-operative movement.

David Button, Chair of Co-operatives UK, which organised the awards said: ?The Co-operative Awards 2010 celebrate the diversity, innovation and excellent work of co-operatives across the UK and all six winners are worthy recipients of these awards.?

Chelmsford Star is a retail co-operative society based in Mid-Essex, which was formed in 1867, and now has an annual turnover approaching £70million.

Delta-T Devices, in Cambridge, was founded in 1971 and specialises in instruments for environmental science, in particular: agronomy, plant physiology, meteorology, soil moisture, solar energy studies and environmental monitoring.

Shared Interest Society, in Newcastle, is a co-operative lending society that aims to reduce poverty in the world by providing fair and just financial services. The world's only 100% fair trade lender, Shared Interest annually lends over £33 million and work in 36 countries around the globe.

The Handmade Bakery in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, which only started trading in March last year, is an innovative community supported artisan bakery which has already built up a reputation for the care and passion everyone puts into bread making.

Southampton-based co-operative, whomadeyourpants? is a worker co-operative specifically formed to empower marginalised women by providing flexible employment, education and a social and community space. The organisation makes ethical underpants from materials sold on by industry at the end of season.

And Winyates Co-operative is one of five self managed neighbourhood co-operatives supported by Redditch Co-operative Homes in Redditch, Worcestershire, which provides affordable housing to people in need by giving them the power to control and manage their future.

The awards were presented to the winners during the Gala Dinner at Co-operatives 2010 in Plymouth ? part of Co-operatives Fortnight.

To find out more about the UK co-operative sector please visit www.uk.coop.

88th ICA International Co-operative Day

(3 July 2010)

"Co-operative enterprise empowers women"

"La empresa cooperativa empodera a la mujeres"

"L'entreprise coopérative autonomise les femmes"

This year's theme highlights how the cooperative model of enterprise can successfully empower women. It links to the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing+15) which sets out the internationally agreed agenda for women's empowerment.

Co-operatives have a key role to play as they are able to respond to both women's practical and strategic needs. Whether it be through women only co-operatives or co-operatives made up of women and men, they offer an effective organisational means for women members and employees to raise their living standards by accessing decent work opportunities, savings and credit facilities, health, housing and social services, and education and training.

Co-operatives also offer women opportunities for participation in and influence over economic activities. Women gain self-reliance and self-esteem through this participation. Co-operatives also contribute to the improvement of the economic, social and cultural situation of women in other ways including promoting equality and changing institutional biases.

If you celebrate the Day, please share the information by sending information, images, photos and other resources to Cooperatives Europe

As part of the European Commission's SME Week 2010, two women co-operative entrepreneurs were highlighted. Read more

2010 International Cooperative Day - ICA Message

Euro Coop, the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives, elected its new President for the two-year period 2011-2012. The elected President is the Italian Aldo Soldi, already President of ANCC-COOP, the Italian national association of consumer cooperatives.

He was appointed unanimously by the 17 members of the General Assembly, representing the national consumer cooperative associations, who met in Italy on the 22nd of June 2010.

The other members of Euro Coop Presidency will be Mr. Zoltán Zs. Szöke, President of the national federation of consumer cooperatives of Hungary, and Mr. Thomas Bagge Olesen, President of the Danish consumer co-operative association FDB.

After his election Mr. Soldi stated: ?We are all very proud of our own history, of what we were able to achieve in every single country; but I believe that the supranational dimension is more and more important. There is also another aspect in which Euro Coop can act as a facilitator and that is to say in the improvement of economic relations between its members by creating commercial partnerships of mutual interest?.

Mr. Soldi proposition is to continue working in existing and well-developed activities, as for example the commitment on Climate Change, but also to foster new areas of common interest with the objective of spreading and sharing as much as possible the good practices of the countries in which consumer cooperation has a long and consolidated history and of others, such as the eastern European countries, in which consumer cooperation is a more recent development.

On the occasion of the annual General Assembly, a workshop on the performance of national consumer cooperatives was organized with the presentation of the results for 2009. The common denominator was clear: even in the context of widespread economic crisis, consumer cooperatives have continued to safeguard the purchasing power of consumers and consumer-members and, at the same time, were able to register good results.

Euro Coop aisbl

Tel: +32 (0)2 285 00 74

E-mail: info@eurocoop.coop

Cooperative enterprises in industry and services prove their strong resilience to the crisis

As a response to its concerns regarding the economic crisis and its serious challenges for employment, enterprise sustainability and social cohesion, in 2009 CICOPA (directly and through its regional organisation, CECOP-CICOPA Europe for European concerns) initiated a consultation process amongst its members in order to gain a better idea of the effects of the crisis on the affiliated enterprises.

One year after the first consultation, CICOPA launched a new consultation in order to observe changes and the evolution of the situation, as well as to gauge the reaction of worker and social cooperatives. Most CICOPA members have participated in the 2010 consultation.

Read the Full report

Digest No. 69, June 2010

Editor's desk & International Year of Co-operatives

Director-General Report

ICA President

International Accounting Standards Update

Haiti Special Report on Co-operative Response

International Women's Day Report

News from the regions

ICA Expo 2010

Financial Co-operative Focus

Member News: Co-op People & New Members

Obituary

Calendar

69 Digest

Previous Issues

June 19th and July 3rd 2010 will be the first UK Co-operative Fortnight to be held to celebrate and promote co-operative working.

?Co-operatives Fortnight is a call for people to do things differently ? to work together as individuals, colleagues, communities and businesses. There is an alternative. Be co-operative.?

Co-operatives Fortnight 2010