Lessons Learnt: New Paradigms for Sustainable Co-operatives Dave Sitaram, Past President, Canadian Co-operative Association CCCU Convention, St. Maarten June 29, 2010

Elements of co-operative sustainability Canadian Co-operative Association Good governance Succession planning/youth engagement Diversity and inclusiveness Environmental sustainability Support from co-operative networks

Canadian Co-operative Association

Why governance matters Corporate scandals, financial crisis largely due to failures in governance Canadian Co-operative Association

Why governance matters Effective governance Effective performance Canadian Co-operative Association

Why governance matters Co-op Boards must be accountable to members and abide by co-operative principles. Not just about the “bottom line” Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Gay Lea Foods Dairy co-operative Owned by 4,000 farmers on 1,200 farms Commissioned governance audit Surveyed members Concerns about transparency and member involvement Canadian Co-operative Association

Gay Lea Foods: improvements to governance model Increased communication with delegates and members Delegates advisory committee New bylaws defining governance roles Delegates appointed to board committees Governance training Canadian Co-operative Association

Gay Lea: Lessons learnt Integrate transparency into co-op structure Focus on co-op principles Involve experts Admit mistakes Train, train, train Communicate, communicate, communicate Canadian Co-operative Association

Succession planning/youth engagement Aging population Aging co-operative leadership Board members recruiting peers 1/3 of co-ops: no term limit Lack of co-op education in schools Canadian Co-operative Association

Engaging young co-operators Co-op summer camps Internship programs Youth-focused membership recruitment campaigns Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Young and Free Alberta Developed in 2007 Campaign of Commonwealth/Servus C.U. Aimed at ages Youth-oriented website Youth spokesperson Youth accounts Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Young and Free Alberta More than 14,000 youth members: half joined Servus since launch of Young and Free Interest in spokesperson competition Thousands of web hits Canadian Co-operative Association

Diversity and inclusiveness Challenge: attracting diverse population to co-operative sector Canada: 1.2 million people of Aboriginal heritage One in five Canadians were born outside Canada Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Affinity Credit Union Targeted recruitment campaign for Aboriginal members Hired Aboriginal Business Development Manager Created First Nations District Opened on-reserve branch Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Assiniboine Credit Union Muslim community: challenge for financial institutions because of religious ban on paying interest Islamic mortgage developed in consultation with religious leaders Canadian Co-operative Association

CCA diversity initiatives Aboriginal co-operative development program: grants to groups interested in co-op model Inventory of immigrant co- ops: first step in forging links between immigrants and broader co-op sector Canadian Co-operative Association

Environmental sustainability Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Vancity First carbon-neutral financial institution in Canada Reduced energy consumption Recycling programs Reduced paper use Bike to Work Week Donations to environmental causes Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Mountain Equipment Co-op 13 stores/3 million members New stores build to “green standards” Environmentally-friendly products Donates 1 per cent of sales to environmental causes Canadian Co-operative Association

Environmental sustainability: Lessons learnt Need to engage employees Need to integrate sustainability into workplace culture Canadian Co-operative Association

Role of co-operative networks Sixth principle: Co-operation among co-operatives Networks can help meet more complex challenges and support co-op sustainability Advocacy, information exchange, training Canadian Co-operative Association

Case study: Co-operative Development Initiative Co-managed jointly by two national co-op associations Funded by Canadian government $16 million for project grants and advisory services Result of nation-wide lobbying campaign Canadian Co-operative Association

Lessons learnt: Speaking with united voice gets results By banding together, we can do things that we cannot do alone! Canadian Co-operative Association

Lessons Learnt: New Paradigms for Sustainable Co-operatives Dave Sitaram, Past President, Canadian Co-operative Association CCCU Convention, St. Maarten June 29, 2010