1. www.bioscoop.gr coopbios@gmail.com tel: +30 2310 811918
Cooperatives, innovation, sustainability: The case of Bios Coop in a dynamic process of economic evolution Kostas Nikolaou
tel: 

2. Establishment of the Cooperative
PRO.S.K.AL.O. (Cooperation Initiative for Social and Solidarity Economy, (late 2011)
Movement of market without mediators
Environmental Education and Scientific Organizations
Citizens’ Initiatives, Water Movement
Ecology Initiatives, Environmental Teams
Trade and labor Unions
e.t.c.

3. Opening the grocery
Our first non-for-profit cooperative grocery opened in at K. Karamanli 42 st. (Eukleidis area), in Thessaloniki.
150€ x 300 members = € (no loans, no checks)
Today: > 410 members

4. «We take our food in our hands!»
Our main target:
«We take our food in our hands!» 4

5. Four pillars of our Cooperative

6. 1. Direct democracy – active participation

7. One person – one vote
= All members of the Cooperative have the right to participate in the General Assembly with only one vote, no matter how many shares they have.
Cooperative-democratic principle: «one person- one vote»

8. Members control and administrate
The members of the Cooperative are responsible for its administration.
The Management Board (M.B.) and the Supervising Board are elected and recalled by the General Assembly, which is the supreme instrument of the Cooperative and decides for all important issues.
Continuous rotation of positions and roles
*18 Open Committees and Working Groups
(quality control, education,
research, evaluation,
operational plan etc)

9. Weekly meetings – Open M.B.
General Assembly every 3 months: Report and programming of future actions.
Open meetings of the M.B. every week and co-decision of all issues with all members participating:
«Wednesday’s assembly»

10. 2. Education

11. Education and training
The members and the workers-members are trained on the cooperative values and the values of Direct Democracy and Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). 11

12. People’s University of Social Solidarity Economy
Created by PRO.S.K.AL.O. in Thessaloniki in 2013.
Addressed to the people involved in all kinds of SSE collectives, but also to any interested citizen.
Aims to promote education, training, retraining and information in the ideas, values and principles of SSE, direct democracy and cooperatives.
Based on the dual nature of cooperatives: Social - Economic and consequently the dual nature of cooperative education: Ideological – Financial/Technical.
27 lectures
9 workshops
Attended by 350 persons (1/4 “Bios Coop” members)
Videotheque: more than views

13. 3. High quality products

14. High quality products
We have made and continue to do extensive control of all products in order to avoid the ones which contain forbidden chemicals or microorganisms, genetically modified organisms, and unsafe substances for the human body and the environment.  open committee for quality control
Our ‘tools’:
-ΕFΕΤ -W.H.O. -Independent Institutions -University research -Certifications -Ingredients

15. Laboratory control in collaboration with University of Ioannina
The Environmental Laboratory of the University of Ioannina Chemistry Department contributes voluntarily to the food samples analysis for the control of pesticide residues and other relevant biocides

16. The 100 basic products of the shopping basket – our identity
Without mediators = better prices

17. Highlighting cooperative and local products
- many cooperative and Greek products, and mainly local.
- not due to localism, but: a) due to their low ecological footprint and b) in order to control and strengthen eco-friendly ways of production

18. International Hellenic University Research Project
“The top 10 products in sales were cucumbers, tomatoes, bottled water, milk, bananas, cheese, melons, lemons and strawberries, generating the 14,99% of the overall sales. As in most of the top 10 products, 90% of the products were locally produced agri-food.
Through the promotion of local food and its support to local producers, Bios Coop reduces its CO2 ecological footprint since it is reducing the emissions of CO2 during the transportation of products.”

19. IHU (2)
“As illustrated in this project, due to Bios Coop business organization and economic orientation, which is guided by the economic democracy and social solidarity, the cooperative can contribute in a significant level to social integration and solidarity while can generate regional employment, since it is distributing mostly locally produced agri-food as expressed by the data analysis of market performance”

20. 4. A new social narrative

21. We cover our needs - we don’t speculate
Bios Coop’s aim is not the profit, but to cover the basic needs of its members and customers.
Prices are the same for all, members or not.

22. Returning our surplus… to those who produced it
All surpluses in the end of the year are returned to those who have produced them: α. Workers β. Members of the cooperative γ. Local society
No one can benefit at the expense others

23. No charity or philanthropy. Social solidarity!
We act for the consumers-producers’ meeting, away from charity logic where the strong rich from above helps the weak poor.
We build horizontally, equally and bottom-up, a new world of social and solidarity economy.

24. Dissemination
Mass media (TV and radio channels, newspapers etc) - more than 200 presentations in 165 European and Greek media Website: - more than 200 posts - more than visits Fb page: - more than connected people we move on...

25. Technological Educational Institution of Thessaloniki Research Project
Profile of Bios Coop customers by their monthly family income:
56% : < euros
34% : euros
10% : > euros

26. The economical results

27. Sales (excluding VAT) 2014

28. Sales (excluding VAT) during the first 19 months

29. Sales (excluding VAT) 2014 vs 2015

30. Cooperative constantly open to new members
In order to become a member:
Accept our Articles of Association
Complete the member form with the necessary data.
Pay the cooperative share fee which is 150€.

31. Thank you very much! site: www.bioscoop.gr
Fb: Bios Coop Κοινωνικός Καταναλωτικός Συνεταιρισμός Θεσσαλονίκης
tel: Kon. Karamanli 42, Thessaloniki