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International Year of Co-operatives 2012 e-newsletter
 

18 April 2013

In this issue

Dear Co-operator,
   
Welcome to the IYC Australia April 2013 e-newsletter:

 

- Dairy co-operation flexes muscle

- In the news

 

- Co-op Formations

- SA Newspaper wins award for IYC 2012 supplement

 

- Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade

- Industry Campaigns

 

- Latest Research

- Events

 

- Publications and Reports

 

Latest Co-op News
Cows
 

Dairy co-operation flexes muscle
    
You would be hard pressed to have missed last week's big co-op story as reported in the Australian Financial Review on 11 April (Coles milks deal with farmers). Read more coverage of the Milk deal:
    

In the news...
     

Co-op formations

 

     
The formation of three new co-operatives suggests the renaissance of the co-operative is here.
    
The Co-operative Food Group Ltd (TCFG)
A new co-operative wholesaler has formed to give more buying opportunities for the independent sector. The Co-operative Food Group Ltd (TCFG) aims for at least 50 members within three years of starting and around a hundred stores, mostly supermarkets, convenience stores, and speciality food businesses. The Co-op will turn over in excess of $3 million in its first year of trading. Members get better margins purchasing through the Co-op and participate in a loyalty rebate from the Co-op's profitability.
    
Australian Carbon Co-operative
Australian Carbon Co-operative is the world's first organisation seeking to apply co-operatives principles to the restoration of native ecosystems through the emerging landuse of carbon sequestration. For more information email Johannes Bauer, Chair of ACC.
   
EarthworkerEarthworker Co-operative
The first installation of a Eureka's Future Workers Cooperative solar hot water system is occurring now at a Coburg Uniting Church facility, community organisation Kildonan, 512 Sydney Rd Coburg, Victoria. Earthworker will hold a press conference to mark the milestone onsite, on Monday, 22 April at 10am. The press conference will be attended by ACTU President, Ged Kearney.

South Australian newspaper The LeaderSA Newspaper wins award for IYC 2012 supplement
    
South Australian newspaper The Leader was been awarded 'best supplement' at the annual Country Press SA 2012 Newspaper Awards, for their excellent supplement last year on the International Year of Co-operatives 2012 and outstanding local co-op business The Co-op: Heart of the Barossa.

Blueprint for a Co-operative DecadeBlueprint for a Co-operative Decade
    
A core tenet of the International Co-operative Alliance's (ICA) Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade is that co-ops are market leaders in business and environmental sustainability. Customer owned bank bankmecu is one of three Australian companies in the ‘Integrated Reporting' pilot, aimed at better reporting of the value a company creates over time. Find out more about Integrated Reporting
    
If a co-op or mutual you know about is a market leader in sustainability, email us at iyc@socialbusiness.coop

Balance Banking
 

Industry campaigns
    
Are you worried about the concentration of ownership in the banking sector? Keep up with the Abacus-Australian Mutuals Balance Banking campaign, or follow them on twitter (@AbacausCOB). Watch the campaign videos

Latest research
    
International Labour OrganisationThe UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a report Adobe PDF further confirming the resilence of financial co-operatives during economic downturns, with global co-op bank assets growing by 10% between 2007 and 2010. Read the ILO article, What financial co-operatives can teach the big banks.
   
View the report Adobe PDF or watch a video with author, Johnston Birchall, Professor of Social Policy at Stirling University.

Events
   
EOA Conference2013 Employee Ownership Conference
The Annual Employee Ownership Conference will be held Friday, 24 May 2013 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. The UK Government advisor on employee ownership, Graeme Nuttall, will discuss the new focus on this sector in Britain. Nuttall says Australia could learn from the UK's experience and use his Nuttall Review (handed down last July) as a checklist of goals to achieve. The UK government, which commissioned the review, has accepted all his 28 recommendations, which include developing simple "off the shelf" templates for setting up an employee-owned company. Keep up with EOA news
    
Sydney Law Society Seminar
Sydney Law Society will hold a seminar this Thursday, 16 April, beginning at 5:30pm, on the benefits of mutuality: Mutuality and professional indemnity insurance – premiums, claims and the profession. Register for the event

Publications and reports
     
IMPACT – Australia: Investment for social and economic benefit
DEEWR, in collaboration with JBWere, has released a report IMPACT – Australia: Investment for social and economic benefit Adobe PDF showcasing examples in Australia and internationally of people harnessing capital – including their own – to support social purpose enterprises. Australia's first community-owned wind farm Hepburn Wind is a case study.
    
RespublicaMaking it Mutual: The Ownership revolution that Britain needs
Respublica
, an independent think tank in the UK, has released a new report, Making it Mutual: The Ownership revolution that Britain needs. The report contains a collection of essays calling for a new economic model that extends ownership to all.
    
"We cannot afford to ignore the potential of co-operative and mutual business models to drive growth and help build a more resilient economy." France Maude MP, UK Minister for the Cabinet Office.

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