Ever considered creating a co-op? We’ve got all the inspiration you need to get started this Co-op Fortnight As a nation, we know that working together to better our communities and local areas is the way to go. Shopping locally, doing your bit for the environment, and helping your neighbours is just the beginning - but what if you could do something more that could transform your life and the lives of those across the country? In the spirit of Co-op Fortnight, running from June 24 to July 7, 2024, allow us to reintroduce co-operatives to you. Co-operative businesses, or co-ops for short, are democratically run, owned and controlled by their members to meet their needs.
They create shared wealth that put people on an equal footing - and they’re strong, diverse and stable businesses. They’re run by the people, for the people - not to profit a small number of stakeholders. And that’s something we can get on board with.
The members are the key to making co-ops different. Membership can be made up of employees, customers, community residents and other businesses - such as suppliers or partners - who all have an interest and a voice in running the co-operative. In Scotland, there are all sorts of co-op businesses including shops, digital agencies, energy suppliers and distilleries, operating using a version of this model.
Any business can be run as a co-op. Co-op models are adopted by a huge variety of organisations, but they have these things in common: Control is placed .
