2011 Impact Report

The newly launched 2011 Impact Report is a record of impact we have achieved with our members, for our members over 2011.

Co-operatives UK mission is to promote develop and unite co-operative enterprises. Working closely with our members and partners, the Impact Report 2011 relates twenty-nine impacts to date against the mission in 2011.

"This year has been an active and energetic one in terms of our work to promote, develop, and unite co-operative enterprises" David Button, Chair, Co-operatives UK

Our work in 2011

The  2011 Impact Report allows Co-operatives UK to share successes achieved throughout the year.

Promote

We championed improvements to the Industrial and Provident Society model, which comes in to force in January 2012, during the International Year of Co-operatives. This includes the option of opening membership to all age groups.

The Treasury are to open the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) to energy co-operatives as a result of Co-operatives UK policy work.

We will investigate how to get better deals for shoppers, after the Labour Party asked Ed Mayo to lead a commission on consumer rights.

Develop

We gave co-operative legal and governance advice to 300 enterprises in the last year

We published three new titles to the 'Simply' series resources

We helped more than double the number of societies by means of the Community Shares form of finance.

Unite

We welcomed 130 brand new co-operatives and mutual organisations to membership.

Mary Portas presented at Congress 2011, which involved over 850 people from 105 co-operative and mutual enterprises.

We helped convince the Polish parliament to reject laws against co-operatives that threatened to turn them into shareholder companies, with support from the UK and international movements.

"I would like to thank Co-operatives UK and its members for your support in relation to recent legislative threats to co-operatives in Poland" Alfred Domagalski, President of the Polish Co-operative Council

Next steps

The International Year of Co-operatives forms the core of our work programme including the following objectives:

Serve our members well, including through key events, guidance and co-operative performance support

Deliver a new programme of co-operative innovation

"The impact that we have is evidence of the power of co-operation. Every achievement set out here owes its success to effective collaboration with our members and partners" Ed Mayo, Secretary General, Co-operatives UK