Democracy
Mondragon Corporation
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 14, 2007 - 10:10am. Mondragon Corporation | Materials | Spain | People | Community | Democracy | Principles/CSRMCC is a business group made of 264 companies and entities active in three sectors: Financial, Industrial and Distribution. It is Spain’s 7th largest industrial company.
Global 300 ranking:
10Number of members:
62,764Member Dividend:
USD $204,832,414Number of employees:
78,455Gender Diversity:
41% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Employee Co-operativeDate founded:
1956Operating Countries:
Spain, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, India, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, United Kingdom and USA.
Website:
People
Stakes in capital: In 2005 worker members held 90.5% of share capital.
Equal opportunities: In the Distribution Area, 80% of the workforce is made up of women, with women occupying 76% of management positions, the highest figure in Spain.
Health and Safety: Ongoing deployment of Systems for the Prevention of Industrial Hazards with many subsidiaries already certified.
Community
Mondragon Unibertsitatea aims to develop knowledge, skills and values. Education is trilingual enabling students to communicate in Basque, Spanish and English. The university offers 7 degree course to some 3,500 students.
Politeknika Ikastegia Txorierri: 435 students were enrolled in formal education during the 2004/5 year. 40 courses in occupational and lifelong training.
The Lea Artibai Ikastetxea catered for around 2,000 students. In addition to formal education (Secondary Education and Occupational Training Courses) the school offered classes in Polymer Engineering, in co-operation with the London Metropolitan University.
MIK: A Business and Organisational Management Research Centre, has been endorsed by the Ministries of Industry and Education as a CIT (Technology Research Centre) and as an OTRI (Office for the Transfer of Research Results), being the first and only one of its kind in Spain.
The Garaia Innovation Park is involved in the promotion of innovation and technology linking the work of Technology Centres, businesses and higher education. Managed by MCC, its aim is to create a sphere of excellence, fostering the introduction of new technologies.
Arizmendi: Reinforced its project as a vital training centre. A recent highlight was the opening of the crèche, or ‘Umezaintza’, for children up to the age of six.
Distributing earnings: Between 5 and 10% of the surplus generated by MCC is allocated to a Cooperative Education and Development Fund (FEPC). Over the 2002-2005 investment in community schemes has amounted to €112.7m.
Democracy
In 2006 80% of MCC employees were members and have the final say on electing governing bodies. These bodies are both accountable to members in terms of management decisions and strategy.
The Co-operative Congress is the supreme body of the MCC, in terms of sovereignty and representation. It is comprised of 650 delegates representing all of MCC’s co-operatives and its decision are binding. The European Federation of Employee Share Ownership (EFES) has recognised the MCC as a best practice example of a participatory/democratic organisation, putting MCC in 1st place in the European ranking of organisations in which the workers have more than 50% ownership.
The Co-operative Group
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 14, 2007 - 9:58am. The Co-operative Group | Banking and Finance | Food and Agriculture | Insurance | Retailing | UK | Principles | Environment | Democracy | Principles/CSROne of the world's largest consumer co-operative and the UK's largest commercial farming operation. It has over 3000 outlets – comprising food stores, travel, funeralcare, pharmacy, insurance and banking.
Global 300 ranking:
8Number of members:
1,500,000Member Dividend:
USD $9,800,000Number of employees:
67,882Gender Diversity:
53% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Consumer Co-operativeDate founded:
1863Operating Countries:
United Kingdom
Website:
Principles
The Co-operative Group is Britain’s most trusted brand
Research commissioned by the National Consumer Council and AccountAbility (a charity committed to improving businesses’ social and ethical performance) found that
The Co-operative Group was the most trusted business in the UK, with key differentiation in the areas of honesty, the environment and the treatment of employees.
The Group have been committed to responsible retailing since 1863
The Co-operative Group has been trading since 1863, when the Co operative Wholesale Society (formerly North of England Co-op Wholesale Industrial and Provident Society)
was first established. The business was an essential part of the movement which gave people the chance to join together to buy good quality produce at a fair price.
Environment
Winner of the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development 2006-7
- 98% of The Co-operative Group’s electricity is sourced from renewable resources.
- Virtually all of their electricity is sourced from wind and water power.
- They are one of the largest purchasers of wind and water power in the world.
- They were the first retailer in the UK to power all of their outlets on wind and water power.
Wind turbines
Installed on top of the Co-operative Financial Services tower in Manchester, they provide 4% of the electricity needs of the CFS building. As the UK’s largest farmer, the Co-operative Group has installed wind turbines on its farmland supplying enough electricity for 9,000 UK homes each year.
The CIS tower
Europe’s largest vertical solar array created at cost of £5.5million. 7,244 solar photovoltaic panels, designed to convert daylight into electricity, will create 180,000 units of renewable electricity each year.
The Co-operative Recycling Centre, Manchester
The largest in-house recycling centre in the North West of England, there is capacity for over 10,000 tonnes of waste per annum. All of head office paper is turned into own-brand toilet paper sold in the Food Retail outlets. An electric-powered lorry travels between the various Group premises picking up the waste material.
Democracy
The Co-operative Group is wholly owned by 2.5 million members in 2007. Democracy is fundamental to the organisation’s success. The Co-operative Group supports
communities and offers members the opportunity to make a difference locally through The Community Fund, social initiatives, voting rights and volunteering. Members receive a
share of the profits and tell The Group what is important to them. This is done democratically through their network of member representatives.
Area Committees: members represent local committees and discuss issues on how the business can be improved and help the local community.
Regional Boards: The Regional Boards bring together representatives of the area committees. Each Regional Board helps to manage The Group’s business in their region.
National Boards: Regional representatives sit on the National Board. Collectively the National Board is responsible for determining the vision and strategy of the organisation as a whole.
CSR Streams
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 10, 2007 - 4:50pm. People | Products | Principles | Environment | Community | Democracy | Principles/CSR | DevelopmentThe seven CSR streams define corporate/co-operative social responsibility for the Global 300 initiative. They are linked to the seven colours of the ICA brand identity and have been designed to identify the main areas that highlight the co-operative difference around democracy. CSR is a broad subject with no clear definition and the streams focus on the areas that matter.
People
The People/fundamental stakeholder groups are customers and employees, and included are aspects such as: health and safety, training and development, diversity, compensation, volunteering, satisfaction, absenteeism, feedback, and access to services.
Products
Products represent the organisation’s products/services, marketing/labelling, the supply chain and interaction with suppliers, around codes of conduct and sustainability.
Principles
Principles represent the underpinning values and principles, as well as the targets, monitoring and day-to-day implementation of CSR throughout the organisation and externally. It attempts to identify organisations that have truly integrated CSR into their strategy and working culture.
Environment
Environment represents all environmental or green initiatives and data such as renewable energy, waste, transport, energy usage, climate change, transport, paper, animal welfare and biodiversity. Processes, accreditations and targets are also included along with research and green marketing.
Community
Community represents local/national initiatives ranging from youth, healthcare, education, employment, working with Governments/NGOs to culture and sponsorship.
Democracy
Democracy is fundamental to highlighting the co-operative difference and represents members and governance. Criterion includes democratic participation, education, training, diversity, Board representation, dividends and satisfaction.
Development
Development focuses more upon international initiatives, support and collaboration with other co-operatives, from philanthropy, sharing expertise, work with NGOs/Governments, disaster relief and favourable access to products.
