COOPERATIVES AND THE “TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE”

a presentation for the Annual Conference of the Cooperative Federation of Western Australia – September 2003

by Jill Jordan

INTRODUCTION

n TO THE PRESENTER:

- a resident of Maleny (Sunshine Coast of Qld) for 33 years;

- inspired in 1978 to begin first of “new wave” cooperatives in Maleny;

- has been a member, a manager, a worker, a book-keeper, a secretary, and a director in cooperatives.

n TO THE PRESENTATION:

- the concept of new economic thinking;

- short “story” of the history of cooperation in Maleny;

- Maleny coops and the “triple bottom line”;

- the current profile of cooperatives in Australia;

- the potential for cooperatives to be leaders in the 21^st Century.

THE NEW ECONOMIC THINKING

n “Old-think” – The bottom line is all that really counts in a business!

n The “bottom line” has certainly got to “stack up” …………….. but

n “New-think” - The environmental and social costs (and benefits) are equally as important as the “purely economic” bottom line……….

HENCE: THE “TRIPLE
BOTTOM LINE”

Consisting of:

n ENVIRONMENTAL

n ECONOMIC and

n SOCIAL

aspects of a business’s performance

COOPERATION IN MALENY

n Early days – old dairy cooperative and Butter Factory (late 1800s and early 1900s);

n Kindergarten construction (1939);

n “New wave” of cooperatives and cooperative community organisations (1979 to the future).

COOPS AND COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS IN MALENY (1)

NAME OF ORGANISATION	YEAR STARTED	TYPE OF ORGANISATION
Maple Street Coop Maleny Credit Union Crystal Waters Coop LETSystem Wastebusters Coop Mountain Fare Coop Barung Landcare MENA Inc. Cedarton Foresters Coop Manduka Cooperative Ananda Marga River School	1979 1984 1986 1987 1989 1989 1991 1991 1991 1991 1992	Consumer cooperative Financial cooperative Com. settlement coop Alternative trading Recycling coop Women’s coop Environment assoc. Eco devpt assoc. Com. settlement coop Com. settlement coop Educational institution

COOPS AND COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS IN MALENY (2)

NAME OF ORGANISATION	YEAR STARTED	TYPE OF ORGANISATION
Black Possum Coop	1992	Publishing cooperative
Peace of Green	1992	Arts/craft collective
Maleny Film Society Inc	1993	Film club
Waroo Arts Coop	1994	Performance cooperative
Maleny Coop Club	1994	Licensed club
Green Hills Inc.	1995	Environ/planning assoc.
Booroobin Valley Learning Centre	1995	Educational cooperative
LEED (Local Economic and Enterprise Devpt) Coop	1997	Economic Devpt coop
Neighbourhood Centre	1997	Social service assoc

COOPS AND COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS IN MALENY (3)

NAME OF ORGANISATION	YEAR STARTED	TYPE OF ORGANISATION
FACE (Family and Community Empowerment)	1998	Family support services
YOGI (Young Organic Growers Group)	1999	Youth group
Hinterland FM Radio	2000	Community radio assoc
Maleny Com’ty Forum	2001	Forum for issues
Booroobin Bush Magic	2001	Workers’ cooperative
MENA community portal & aggregated buying group	2001	Intra- and inter-regional networking and buying
Maleny Cultural Learning Exchange	2002	Cultural exchange group
Maleny Working Together	2003	Strategic planning project

NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED

ORGANISATION	F/T JOBS	P/T JOBS	TOTAL JOBS
Maple Street Cooperative	1	12	13
Maleny & District Community Credit Union	5	9	14
LETSystem	-	6	6
Crystal Waters Cooperative	-	3	3
Maleny Enterprise Network Association	1	4	5
Barung Landcare	3	4	7
Ananda Marga River School	2	6	8
Peace of Green	-	23	23
Maleny Film Society	1	3	4
Green Hills Fund	-	2	2
Booroobin Valley Learning Centre	2	2	4
Maleny Cooperative Club	2	11	13
LEED Cooperative	-	5	5
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre	1	4	5
Booroobin Bush Magic Cooperative	1	6	7
MENA Community Portal etc.	1	5	6
Cultural Learning Exchange	2	2	4
TOTAL	22	107	129

DISTRIBUTIVE AND NON-DISTRIBUTIVE COOPS

DISTRIBUTIVE	NON-DISTRIBUTIVE
· Maple Street Cooperative · Crystal Waters Cooperative · Cedarton Foresters Cooperative · Manduka Community Settlement Cooperative · Peace of Green · Booroobin Bush Magic · Maleny Community Portal and Aggregated Buying Group · Maleny Cultural Learning Exchange	· Maleny and District Community Credit Union · LETSystem · Mountain Fare Cooperative · Barung Landcare · MENA Inc. · Ananda Marga River School · Maleny Film Society · Maleny Cooperative Club · Green Hills Fund · Booroobin Valley Learning Centre · LEED Cooperative · Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Inc. · Maleny Community Garden

GOALS OF DISTRIBUTIVE COOPS

DISTRIBUTIVE	GOALS
· Maple Street Coop · Crystal Waters Cooperative · Cedarton Foresters Cooperative · Manduka Community Settlement Cooperative · Peace of Green · Booroobin Bush Magic · Maleny Community Portal and Aggregated Buying Group · Maleny Cultural Learning Exchange	· Economic;Environmental;Social (health) · Economic;Environmental; Social (& cultural) · Environmental; social · Environmental; social · Economic · Economic; Environmental · Economic · Social (and cultural)

GOALS OF NON-DISTRIBUTIVE COOPS

NON-DISTRIBUTIVE	GOALS
· Maleny and District Community Credit Union · LETSystem · Mountain Fare Cooperative · Barung Landcare · MENA Inc. · Ananda Marga River School · Maleny Film Society · Maleny Cooperative Club · Green Hills Fund · Booroobin Valley Learning Centre · LEED Cooperative · Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Inc. · Maleny Community Garden	· Economic; Environmental; Social · Economic; Social · Economic; Environmental; Social · Environmental; Economic · Economic · Social; Environmental · Social (& cultural) · Social (& cultural); · Environmental · Social (& cultural); Environmental · Economic · Social · Social; Environmental; Economic

ECONOMIC BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE COOPS IN MALENY

n Increased range of goods and services;

n Increased employment;

n Increase in skills (both technical, and inter-personal);

n Access to capital and other resources;

n Capacity for young people to remain in their community and access employment.

SOCIAL BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE COOPS IN MALENY

n Increased self-esteem (through inclusion and skill-building);

n Increased social contact and opportunities for participation;

n Unlocking potential in previously disempowered community members;

n Increased sense of community ownership;

n Increased “cooperative culture”, and ability to work together.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE COOPS IN MALENY

n Some (such as Barung and Green Hills) have solely environmental aims;

n Others (such as the Credit Union; Coop Club and Crystal Waters) conduct environmental audits along with their statutory audits;

n Practices such as buying (and selling) organic; re-using and recycling; minimising paper waste; paying an “eco-tax” are common.

HOW THE COOPERATIVES WORK TOGETHER

n Buying from and selling to each other;

n Cross memberships (therefore cross-fertilisation of new ideas);

n Some common directors/ management members (cross fertilisation of cooperative knowledge);

n Financial benefits (eg. Credit Union provides cheaper loans to coops etc.);

n Cross promotion (joint magazine, as well as newsletters for individual oganisations);

n Cooperative Development Centre concept.

THE CHALLENGE FOR COOPERATIVES IN THE 21^ST CENTURY

TO BECOME ENTITIES THAT ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR RELEVANCE

(CURRENTLY THEY ARE LITTLE KNOWN, AND EVEN LESS UNDERSTOOD – BY LAWYERS; SOLICITORS; ACCOUNTANTS;
BANKERS; AND THE GOVERNMENT)

HOW CAN THEY DO THIS?

BY BECOMING “LEADING EDGE” ORGANISATIONS IN ADOPTING “TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE” ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES.

THE END

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS ON ANY ASPECT OF MY TALK