Are you part of a co-op or community owned business in England looking to green your business?
Funding matched to community shares is now available to help you invest in energy efficiency measures which will reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint. This could include specific items such as heat pumps or solar panels, double glazing or LED lighting, as well as supporting the purchase of energy-efficient equipment and transport.
Not considering a crowdfunder? We might be able to help through The Energy Resilience Fund – a blended loan and grant finance scheme helping co-operatives, community businesses and social enterprises to retrofit energy generating/saving technology on community owned or managed buildings. Find out more right here.
This week, 13th to 19th May, is Mental Health Awareness Week
More and more conversations are being had about Mental Health, in homes, organisations and across the nation. A broader understanding of what’s needed for good mental health is – thankfully – becoming more widespread. You may have heard that some of the key factors for good mental health are Autonomy and Agency.
Autonomy – knowing we have the right to make choices about our lives
Agency – having the capacity to act on those choices, and take our life in the direction we want
On the flip side, it’s understood that a lack of these things can contribute to poor mental health.
Work is a big part of life for many of us, and the quality of our work is critical. In 2022, Co-operatives UK published a report called Offering Hope. Updated in 2023, this report, ‘finds that mental health, job security, career prospects, a lack of control over working lives and climate change are major causes of stress in young people.’. It also finds that co-operatives, due to the very nature of their structures, and the values they are based on, can support improved mental health outcomes. In the report, Steph Rutherford of Village Greens is quoted as saying, “Every day I go into work I come out feeling better, which I know is incredibly rare; knowing you’ve got a support network around you.”
This Mental Health Week we are celebrating the good work and good working environments created by co-operatives and community owned businesses – those we work with, and those we don’t. Co-operatives offer hope, and a better way, and we are proud to be part of supporting that change.
According to a new report from the Social Investment Business (SIB), over 7,300 community buildings in England do not meet basic energy efficiency standards.
7,375 such buildings do not meet a basic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C, which is often suggested as the minimum required for lettings. Further, 790 have an EPC rating of G – the lowest band available.
SIB says this report reveals, ‘a ticking timebomb’ for the social sector.
We know from our work with community businesses and co-ops that heating community buildings, and keeping them safe and comfortable for health of people and the building itself, is an increasing concern.
Are you part of an organisation which uses, manages or has responsibility for a community building? Would you like to find out how your building performs, and make it better?
There is help available.
The VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme can cover the cost and delivery of an independent energy assessment energy assessments to help identify energy-saving opportunities in your building – check the criteria here and apply by the 20th June.
Then, depending on the outcome of the assessment, organisations may then be eligible to apply for a capital grant to install the recommended energy efficiency measures in their premises. Organisations can apply until 14 August 2024
Alongside this, we are part of a partnership offering the Energy Resilience Fund – a blended loan and grant finance product designed to enable co-operatives, community businesses and social enterprises in England to retrofit energy generating/saving technology on community owned or managed buildings, with an initial focus on stabilising or reducing energy costs.
With energy efficiency, energy prices and climate change in the minds of so many of us, we know this is a tough time for community buildings and business. Do explore these avenues for help, and even if they don’t fit, do consider talking to us or another support agency for advice.
Today, May 1st, is International Workers Day – a global celebration of workers and the working classes. Who better to talk about today than workers.coop?
With the stated aim of ‘Liberating Work’, and a belief ‘in a world where everyone has access to rewarding, meaningful and sustainable work’, workers.coop was conceived two years ago, at the Worker Co-op Weekend in May 2022. Five months later, in October 2022, the Co-operative Society was registered and work began apace.
Nineteen months after registration, today, workers.coop has firmly established itself as a part of the UK co-op scene.
It has 87 members, numerous working groups, a busy events calendar and ambitions plans – we particularly like their plans to spread the word about worker cooperation among new generations and groups of workers. In an increasingly task based work environment, with limited opportunities for personal growth and leaning, the need for a focus on workers is only increasing.
They are running the ever popular Worker Co-op Weekend in a few weeks, from May 17th to 19th in Bakewell. A recent addition to their offering is the (bookable online) “Co-op Conversations” service where people can talk through an early stage co-op idea with one of workers.coop supporters. They also have a busy online forum where members can chat, share ideas and ask questions.
Their website is packed with information and resources. There are case studies from across the co-op space demonstrating the scope of the model – Agile Collective, Fruit Works Co-op and Leading Lives covering different sectors; websites, fruit trees and social care. They outline reasons to join – from the values led to the financial. All members of workers.coop can save 50% on their membership of Co-operatives UK, and worker co-ops in start up mode can ‘pay what they can’ for two years.
Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) has launched new episodes of its Reset and Rebuild podcast highlighting the benefits of inclusive business models.
Hosted by Co-operative Development Scotland team leader, Darah Zahran, and featuring experts from Greencity Wholefoods, Co-operate Scotland LLP, Worker Co-op Federation, us and ground-breaking new booking co-operative Kooble, the podcasts have been produced to support CDS’ wider campaign to showcase the role inclusive business models, such as employee ownership and co-operatives, can play in creating a fairer, stronger and more democratic economy. The series showcases success stories from the sector and providing practical information to those considering one of these models.
This series of podcasts sets out to energise businesses, communities, policy makers and the wider eco system in Scotland to consider inclusive business models and encourage them to connect with CDS to access support.
The Reset and Rebuild Podcast series is now available to listen/ download on the Co-operative Development Scotland blog site: https://bit.ly/49eUMag
Our own Business Development manager Tim Coomer features in Episode 16, which explores understanding and accessing finance as a key challenge for new and growing coops. Listen here
Today, the 7th of April, is World Health Day. The theme for World Health Day 2024 is ‘My health, my right’. To mark this day, we’re profiling a co-operative that is working towards more accessible healthcare.
Signalise is a platform co-operative run by its members to provide interpreting services for people who need to book BSL interpreters and other communication professionals in Liverpool and Merseyside.
They aim to have membership from the three user groups involved in Deaf people’s access to health care – Deaf people; other interested parties such as healthcare providers and commissioners who need to purchase services and have a statutory duty to care for Deaf service users, and the communication professionals who facilitate communication between Deaf people and health staff.
A few years ago, when starting up, Signalise were keen to find out what all three user groups thought about interpreting services for Deaf people. They undertook a survey of users across the five boroughs of Merseyside; Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley & St Helens. You can read the report Signing the right path here.
Did you know it costs the NHS £30 million per year in the poor diagnosis and ineffective treatment of Deaf people? The current system doesn’t work and leaves Deaf people without any choice or control. Interpreters have boycotted agencies who demonstrate a lack of knowledge and respect of the Deaf community and interpreting. Agencies have gone into liquidation as a result of traditional working practices that cannot meet demand led services. This is why the work that Signalise does is so important.
UPDATE 23rd April. Signalise are in the running for the Tech Nation People’s Choice Award and they need your support to help them! Like, comment on and share their pitch on Instagram – the pitch that creates the most social media buzz will win, and the winner gets to speak at London Tech Week which would be huge for platform co-op Signalise. Thanks in advance!
This week, from the 18th to the 24th March, is Neurodiversity Week.
Conversations about diversity and inclusion are increasingly including neurodiversity and this week aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about, and celebrate, neurological differences, as part of the infinite variety of ways to be human. How familiar are you with the concept?
The term is a broad one, created in 1998 by Judy Singer, and tends to include varied ways of thinking or experiencing the world such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Autism, ADHD and Tourettes Syndrome. The Neurodoversity Week Resource Hub is packed with information collated from across the internet to help us all understand more about Neurodiversity.
The Week, and the campaign, want to help us all recognise and celebrate those who think differently. As with so many campaigns by and for those of us who stand outside the mainstream, they state that the main problems neurodivergent people face frequently come from systemic and structural issues, inside systems designed by and for the majority.
There are lots of events running throughout the week, starting with an Introduction to Neurodiversity on Monday 18th and including Neurodiversity for HR Professionals, and Good Practice for Neurodiversity Professionals.
Are you part of an organisation that wants to increase your support for neurodivergent people? Check out the full calendar at a glance in a handy table here and sign up through the individual event links below the table.
A multi-stakeholder co-operative has secured a financial package enabling the purchase of a property that will provide affordable tenancies and access to democratically owned accommodation for students in the Birmingham area.
Founded in March 2018, Student Co-operative Homes (SCH) aims to bring together existing and start up student housing co-operatives across the UK and build a portfolio of properties for lease to local self-managing student housing co-ops.
The board is made up of individuals nominated by ‘user members’ – frequently current student residents – along with ‘investor supporter’ members, these are generally individuals with years of experience and expertise in the co-operative sector or established Co-operatives such the Heart of England and Midcounties Retail Co-operatives who bring their experience and capital in support of Student Housing Co-operatives.
Securing loans from both Co-operative & Community Finance and Co-op Loan Fund has enabled Student Co-operative Homes to purchase the property currently resided in by the Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative set up in 2014. The acquisition has helped lay the future roadmap for the property and the local co-operative, enabling a collective long-term vision with renovations, retrofit and a green agenda alongside the existing positive impact for students’ wellbeing of security in the property, affordable rents, democratic control and a purposeful student community.
Consisting of nine bedrooms, the detached two-storey house is located close by to the University of Birmingham (just outside the main student population area of Selly Oak) with excellent transport links to the city centre. Living in the housing co-operative while studying enables tenants to come together, pool resources and collaborate for mutual benefit with the view to passing on the accommodation to other students once they leave. Fostering a sense of autonomy among the students also gives time and opportunity to develop their skills and build local connections in the wider community.
Scott Jennings, Chair of Student Co-op Homes said, “We are massively grateful to both lenders for stepping in and supporting this acquisition at such an important time. This enables us as Multi-Stakeholder Co-op and the local Student Housing Co-operative to step forward together and to enact our plans for the future of the property that are essential to enable affordable student housing into the future that addresses and challenges a fundamentally broken student housing market.”
As a multi-stakeholder co-operative with members (with and without property) in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester, Belfast and Bristol and in Cork (Republic of Ireland); the co-operative is keen to see the development of more student housing co-ops across the UK and beyond, acting as a platform for promoting co-operative values and development particularly amongst young people.
Kevin Lloyd-Evans, Lending and Relationship Manager at Co-operative & Community Finance said: “We are delighted to be able to support Student Co-operative Homes Limited purchase this property. Student Housing Co-operatives are an excellent initiative which can help build the co-operative sector of the future. They are attracting a new generation of co-operative members which is good to see.”
For more information about Student Co-operative Homes, you can visit their website.
As a social investor, we see – daily – the power of investment to drive real change, at a local and national scale. We know that only when all members of a community are involved in driving change, can change come for all.
The UN suggests five key areas for change under the ‘Invest in Women’ header. We will be incorporating these ideas into our Equalities work and planning.
Investing in women, a human rights issue: Time is running out. An additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality. Closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20 per cent.
Ending poverty: Due to the COVID pandemic and conflicts, 75 million more people have fallen into severe poverty since 2020. Immediate action is crucial to prevent over 342 million women and girls living in poverty by 2030.
Implementing gender-responsive financing: Conflicts and rising prices may lead 75% of countries to cut public spending by 2025, negatively impacting women and their essential services. In the UK right now we are seeing cash strapped local councils cut funding to women’s services.
Shifting to a green economy and care society: The current economic system disproportionately affects women. Advocates propose a shift to a green economy and care society to amplify women’s voices. Closing gaps in care and expanding services with decent jobs could spark almost 300 million jobs by 2035.
Supporting feminist change-makers: Despite leading efforts, feminist organisations receive only 0.13% of official development assistance.
After many years of supporting Stir To Action, we’re delighted to announce that once again we’re one of the sponsors of this years Festival, with our sister organisation, the Co-op Loan Fund
The ABCs Festival will be a two-day interactive event at Bristol’s Arts Mansion at Ashton Court from 10-11 July 2024.
Always an inspiring event, providing not only great insights but the opportunity to make great connections – we’ll be there. Join us and hundreds of other people who are transforming their local economy and participate in practical workshops, inspirational panels, and ideas surgeries.
The evening will see entertainment from live bands and DJs from across the UK.
Tickets are on sale now, with Early Bird single day tickets starting at £35. Book now – see you there!