The Robert Owen Society and our other partner businesses may seem from the outside like any other business in this troubled modern world.
However, it is what happens inside that makes each of them so different. All members of our co-operative family are based on the same principles and they share a common set of values which go to the heart of our governance.
There are seven co-operative principles that define how co-ops in our family operate:
A co-op is owned and controlled by its members . It exists for the benefit of its members, who may be customers, workers, suppliers or the wider community
A co-op is democratic – this means that every member has an equal say in how it is run and how excess income is used
Every member contributes financially in some way – from buying products, consuming services, working for the co-op, investing in it or deciding how to spend its profits
A co-op is an independent business, owned and controlled by its members
It offers education and training to everyone involved, so they can develop the co-op and promote the benefits of co-operation
It co-operates , works with and supports other co-ops
A co-op supports the communities it works with
In their both their business planning and addressing radical thinking to improve the lives of our people everything we do and write is guided by the co-operative values :
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Caring for others
Democracy
Equity
Honesty
Openness
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Self help
Self responsibility
Solidarity
Social responsibility
Self help
Self responsibility
Solidarity
Social responsibility
