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Co-ops and climate action

Event

Start date / time
Wednesday 02 November 2022, 1:00pm
End date / time
Wednesday 02 November 2022, 2:00pm
Location
Online
Organised by
Co-operatives UK
Event type
Webinar
Image
Webinar series – discover the power of co-ops

Discover what co-operatives are doing to tackle the climate crisis and how people are working to save the planet by coming together to form co-ops. 

About the webinar

One of a series of webinars brought to you by Cooperatives UK in partnership with The Co‑operative Bank as part of The Hive programme which supports new and existing coops.

Want to take action to help tackle the climate emergency? Working collaboratively in businesses and communities is a powerful way to do so. That’s where co‑ops come in – as a grass roots force for climate action.  

Want to be inspired by examples of the collective action others are taking? Join this FREE webinar to hear from a number of co‑ops with sustainable aims, goals and activities, including recycling materials, insulating homes and galvanising communities into using clean energy.  

It will introduce the co‑op model and signpost to how you can you go about setting up a co-op to realise your environmental aims. This is for you if you’re an individual or organisation with an interest in forming a co‑op to tackle climate change – or an organisations currently doing so that would be interested in converting to a co‑op. 

Our inspiring speakers are: 

  • Éva Goudouneix, Community Development Manager at Repowering London (host) 
  • Jonathan Atkinson, co-founder, staff and board member of Carbon Co-op in Manchester
  • Ben Moss, co-op secretary and board member of Bristol Wood Recycling Project

Format

  • An online one-hour webinar on Zoom
  • Presentations from the host and speakers with an opportunity to ask questions at the end

How much does it cost?

This webinar is FREE to everyone who wants to attend.

What attendees will learn:

  • What a co-operative is and the purpose of co-ops
  • The co-operative principles
  • The economic, social, personal and environmental benefits of forming a co-op business
  • How to decide if a co-op is the right business model for you
  • What support is available for those wishing to set up a co-op from Co-operatives UK’s business support programme delivered in partnership with The Co-operative Bank 

Who should attend?

  • People and groups with environmental aims who are looking to start-up a business
  • Anyone wanting to learn more about co-ops: business advisors, local authorities, community leaders, voluntary sector support agencies, etc.

About the speakers


Éva Goudineaux is Community Development Manager for community energy co-op Repowering London. She engages local people living around the organisation’s rooftop and innovation projects, encouraging them to invest in and benefit from community energy. Eva previously worked for Bulb Energy in their customer and industry relations teams – and has an Economics degree and a Masters in Environmental Economics and Policy from UCL.

Jonathan Atkinson. Since completing a degree in Environmental Biology, Jonathan has worked at two research co-ops: Ethical Consumer Magazine and Corporate Watch. Throughout his career, he has explored the potential for co-operative and collective action to create change. Jonathan is a co‑founder of Carbon Co-op, a board member and staff member, developing and project managing innovative, new low-carbon projects.

Ben Moss co-founded Bristol Wood Recycling Project in 2004, which operates as a co‑operatively run social enterprise, where he is co-op secretary and a co-director. Ben is also a director of South-West Co-operative Services. When not co-operating, Ben is passionate about trees (as a founder of Chew Valley Plants Trees), transformative experiences in nature (with Strode Waterfall Land and Story Project) and protesting against the government’s inaction on the climate and ecological emergencies with Extinction Rebellion and other groups. 

Recording the webinar

This webinar will be recorded. We will share the recording with participants shortly afterwards. This webinar is part of a series. If you cannot attend this one, we hope you can join us for another webinar. Alternatively, visit our step by step: start a co-op tool or read about the business support available to start-up co-ops.

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