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| COOPERATIVE INSIDER |
| The eDigest of the global cooperative movement |
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| Message from the President:
As we all know, today the whole of humanity is in the midst of an awful pandemic, with a very high cost in lives and a historic global economic debacle. We are experiencing a severe health, social and economic crisis due to the prevailing social inequalities and the profound environmental imbalance that human actions have been causing on our Mother Earth for several decades. That is why I want to take advantage of this International Day of Cooperatives to emphasise Climate Action, an objective that calls on us to mobilise together with our communities to build a healthier, fairer and more united economy. Read more
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| Special dossier: Cooperatives for Climate Action |
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| A Movement for Change: #Coops4ClimateAction |
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Cooperatives have long been champions of sustainability and this year’s International Day of Cooperatives will highlight their contributions to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action. ICA members adopted a resolution at the 2007 General Assembly calling on the cooperative movement to do its share in combating climate changes. Since then, cooperatives have continued their efforts. Read more
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| Coopelesca regenerates biodiversity at Juan Castro Blanco National Park in Costa Rica |
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At Coopelesca electric cooperative in Costa Rica concern for the environment is a cornerstone principle. While it accounts for only 0.03% of the earth's surface, Costa Rica is home to nearly 6% of the world's biodiversity. A consumers’ cooperative offering electricity, broadband and cable TV packages, Coopelesca is helping to regenerate biodiversity at the National Park Juan Castro Blanco in the Northern part of the country. Read more
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Hawaii cooperative leads the way in renewable energy generation
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In Kauai, one of the islands of Hawaii, 56% of fuel needs are met with renewables. Known as the Garden Isle for its beautiful tropical rainforest, the island is home to the Kaua’i Island Electric Cooperative (KIUC), which serves 33,000 electric accounts. Kauaʻi Electric became a cooperative in 2002 after being bought out from Citizens Utilities by a group of local business people. Read more
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| US electric cooperatives adopt innovative solutions to encourage wildlife among its solar plants |
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Pollinators and lambs may not be the first thing that crosses one’s mind when thinking about solar plants. Yet three electric cooperatives in the USA are showing they can keep solar projects green by creating the right conditions for wildlife to flourish among their solar plants. Read more
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| Canapro - The co-operative committed to environmental sustainability |
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In an interview for Colombia Co-operative, Professor Édinson Rafael Castro Alvarado, manager of Canapro cooperative, discusses his cooperative's commitment to helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Over the past decade, Canapro has supported environmental sustainability through various projects. Read more
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| Greener Co-op Microgrants for Canadian housing cooperatives |
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Environmental concerns are now high on the list of priorities for cooperatives in Canada, where apex body Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada is encouraging members to design and implement projects to green their communities. To offset greenhouse gasses emitted when staff members travel across the country, in 2016 CHF Canada launched a fund called Greener Co-op Microgrants. Read more
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Go Green campaign goes live! |
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| Young co-operators across the world will celebrate the International Day of Co-operatives by planting trees, through an initiative led by the ICA Asia-Pacific Youth Network: Go Green 3.0. The Go Green campaign is now in its third year and builds on previous initiatives carried out in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the campaign was expanded to include youth from Africa. This year, Go Green 3.0 is being celebrated as World Goes Green, with the Youth Committees of ICA-Africa and ICA-Americas. Read more |
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| World Cooperative Congress rescheduled |
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| The 33rd Congress, originally scheduled for December 2020, is now rescheduled to take place from 1-3 March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two preparatory research events will take place between 26 and 28 February 2021. Read more |
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| Become part of the cooperative family! |
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| Are you interested in becoming a member of the ICA? Learn all about the ICA and the value membership in our newly updated Membership Package. Click here to download it! |
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| Cooperative buzz |
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How healthcare cooperatives are making a difference during the COVID-19 crisis. Read more
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| New worker cooperative legislation for Japan. Read more |
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| IFFCO helps rural communities in India cope with COVID-19. Read more |
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| New members from Eswatini and Kenya. Read more |
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| Start.coop |
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Start.coop accelerates the growth and development of the next generation of scalable co-operative businesses by providing entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and financing necessary to build businesses that share prosperity among the many, not just the few. Read more
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| CEDP: Taking Action Against Climate Change |
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By sharing knowledge on issues of international development policy and implementation a group of ten members of Cooperatives Europe is helping to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. Set up in 2008, the Cooperatives Europe Development Platform (CEDP) enables members to bring different expertise to the table. Building on the work of the network, the ICA and its regional offices entered into a partnership with the European Commission in 2016. Read more
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| Remembering Elinor Ostrom: A champion for community leadership |
Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012) was the first woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences. The prize was awarded for Ostrom’s work that demonstrated how common property could be successfully managed by groups using it. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Ostrom’s research “brought this topic from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention, by showing how common resources – forests, fisheries, oil fields of grazing lands – can be managed successfully by the people who use them rather than by governments or private companies.” Read more
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| Mutual insurers: Investing in the fight against climate change |
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Many cooperative and mutual insurers are at the forefront of dealing with the impact of the climate crisis. Among them is cooperative insurer Länsförsäkringar from Sweden, a member of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF). During the first quarter of 2020 Länsförsäkringar increased its investments in green, social and other sustainable bonds by SEK 3 billion (USD 310 million).
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| Tackling climate change in Africa: Two cooperative case studies |
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| In recent years, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced more frequent and intense climate extremes. Additional temperature increases have resulted in greater droughts, heatwaves, and raising the potential for crop failures. At the same time, heavier than usual rainfall during rainy seasons is destroying harvests and displacing communities. Climate change is negatively impacting crop yields and putting food security in Africa at further risk. Read more |
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| How European agri and forestry cooperatives contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals |
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European agri-food, forestry and fishery cooperatives recognise the need for efficiency and are taking every available opportunity to cut emissions. As the voice of EU agricultural cooperatives, Cogeca is working to make the EU agriculture and agri-food sector sustainable, market-oriented, innovative and competitive. In 2019 Cogeca launched the campaign 17 Reasons to Coop with an online interactive map to show long-term progress on sustainability. Read more
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| Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific are fighting climate change |
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Cooperatives in the Asia-Pacific region are addressing climate change by reducing waste and energy consumption, protecting the environment, and preparing communities to cope with natural disasters. These actions are particularly important since the impact of climate change and extreme weather will mostly be felt by nations in this region. Without radical change, this region will emit 48% of the world’s share of CO2 emissions by 2030. So how are cooperatives making a difference?
Read more
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