Co-op News

The night the lights were lit: "21 December in 1844, the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society opened a small store in England with five items and little fanfare. Thus humbly began the modern co-operative movement. Let’s step back into that time to get a sense of how co-operative history was made." On the 180th anniversary of the UK co-op movement, David J. Thompson tells a co-op Christmas story that has impacted the whole world: https://lnkd.in/ey_mKSj5

Singapore's Runninghour co-op marks 10th anniversary with sporting day for people with and without special needs

Global agribusiness CHS Inc., the United States’ largest farmer-owned co-operative, has released its sustainability report for the year 2024, looking at climate emissions, deforestation risk and community support https://lnkd.in/g6MX4QBS

Canada's #coops apexes CHF Canada and Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada -- Coopératives et mutuelles Canada welcome cash for federal #communityhousing plan in government's Fall economic statement

The UK’s first co-operatively owned train operator, Go-op Train Co-operative, has launched a £2.6m fundraising campaign after being given the go-ahead to launch by Britain’s railway regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, in November. #coops #railways #transport

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has set out plans for a major reorganisation of local government, which would give every region a mayor with extra powers – but also merge authorities in two-tier areas to streamline services, a plan which has implications for a number of #coops councils https://lnkd.in/gjnkAAcV

A movie short has been produced to trace the UK #coops movement’s use of film, coinciding with the 180th anniversary of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society.  Co-operative Cinema: A Movement in Moving Image, by film maker Ryan the Bird, premiered in Manchester on 5 December, at an event organised by the The Co-operative Heritage Trust in partnership with The Midcounties Co-operative and Co-operatives UK, with a Q&A featuring Bird, co-op archivist Jane Donaldson and actor John Henshaw. https://lnkd.in/dCmTDX4J

Danish potato starch co-operative KMC has reported a 6% increase in revenue to DKK 3.6m (£4m) for the 2023/34 financial year, driven by growth in potato starch sales and stable production capacity.

The Business Support for Co‑ops programme, a partnership between Co-operatives UK and the Co-op Bank, has given direct support to 500 co-ops in nine years, a report reveals. The Bank has pumped more than £3.2m into the programme since its launch in 2016, which Co‑operatives UK says has enabled it to deliver a wide range of initiatives, including expert business support, awareness campaigns, workshops, and the development of innovative tools and accelerators. https://lnkd.in/eEi_fXtv

Central Co-op’s funeral business has launched an online store offering a range of memorialisation gifts. Set up in collaboration with The Lovely Gift Group Ltd, it is the first fully transactional online platform for such products to be offered by a funeralcare business.