A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. Cooperatives may include:
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by every worker-owner who each have one vote.
The Phone Co-op was an independent consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom until 2018, when facing serious financial difficulties, it transferred itself into a sister society, where it remains today. It provides landline, mobile telephone and Internet services, including web hosting and broadband. It is managed alongside the Electricity and gas Now part of the Midcounties Co-operative, the largest independent co-operative in the UK, it is owned by its customer-members who share in its profits. This makes The Phone Co-op the only telephone co-operative in the UK.
The Scottish Midland Co-operative Society, is an independent retail consumers' co-operative based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7,000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844, though the history of co-operation in Britain can be traced back to before 1800. The British co-operative movement is most commonly associated with The Co-operative brand which has been adopted by several large consumers' co-operative societies; however, there are many thousands of registered co-operative businesses operating in the UK. Alongside these consumers' co-operatives, there exist many prominent agricultural co-operatives (621), co-operative housing providers (619), health and social care cooperatives (111), cooperative schools (834), retail co-operatives, co-operatively run community energy projects, football supporters' trusts, credit unions, and worker-owned businesses.
The Midcounties Co-operative, branded as Your Co-op, is a consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom with over 700,000 members. Registered in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, it is a member of Co-operatives UK and the Co-operative Retail Trading Group.
Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston is a musician-led American orchestra based in Newton, Massachusetts. It is one of only four co-operative orchestras in the US. It had a long-time association with composer and conductor Gunther Schuller, with Isaiah Jackson as Conductor emeritus and, since 2000, Gisele Ben-Dor as Conductor emerita. Recently, Kevin Rhodes has been the orchestra's principal conductor.
CICOPA is a branch of the International Cooperative Alliance. Founded in 1947, CICOPA has a membership of 46 national and regional cooperative federations or support organizations. CICOPA is active in 30 countries, promoting worker cooperatives, social cooperatives and producers' cooperatives in industry and services.
The Co-operative Federal Retail and Trading Services is the central buying group for co-operative retail societies in the United Kingdom. It came into its current structure in 2015, though its predecessor was established in 1993, and it supplies almost all food bought for sale by the over 4,000 co-operative foodstores in the UK. The buying group is owned and controlled by each of its member societies but is managed by The Co-operative Group on their behalf. It operates by pooling the collective £8.5bn buying power for 18 co-operative societies in the UK, allowing them to negotiate better prices from suppliers, so as to compete effectively with other UK supermarket chains.
Unicorn Grocery is a co-operative grocery store located in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England. As a workers co-op, it is controlled democratically by its members/owners, who run the business with a flat management structure and with an equal rate of pay. Ethics form the foundations of the business, and Unicorn's Principles of Purpose are the framework within which the business operates.
Well, formerly known as The Co-operative Pharmacy, is the largest independent pharmacy business and the third largest overall pharmacy chain after Boots UK and Lloyds Pharmacy in the United Kingdom. It is the largest pharmacy chain in Wales.
Daily Bread Co-operative is an English Christian workers' co-operative specialising in packing and selling wholefoods. It was the first workers' co-operative to register under what is now known as the "white rules", and is listed as Co-op number 1 under the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM), which now forms part of Co-operatives UK. One of the founding members, Roger Sawtell, was the first chair of ICOM.
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative is a bicycle retailer with three stores across Scotland, two stores in Northern England, and an online store selling worldwide.
West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative is a housing co-operative and registered social landlord on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated in Cambuslang the co-operative is a social housing provider managing 644 former council housing on the West Whitlawburn estate, housing approximately 2500 residents. As a fully mutual housing co-operative the tenants are members and shareholders and elect a management committee of members to oversee the running of the organisation. Founded in 1989 the co-operative is one of the largest housing co-operatives in Scotland, and one of the few stock transfer social housing co-operatives not to have been converted into a housing association.
The UK Society for Co-operative Studies is a learned society and registered charity in the United Kingdom for the research of co-operatives and the co-operative movement. The society hosts conferences, lectures, and publishes the Journal of Co-operative Studies.
Johnston Birchall (1951–2021) was a leading British academic in the field of co-operative studies and at the time of his death Professor Emeritus at the Social Science Faculty of the University of Stirling.
