A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

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Institute of Business Ethics

Co-operation sounds obvious, but is in fact a radical break with traditional forms of organisation. Instead of hierarchy, everyone who depends on the enterprise has one vote on how it is managed. Whether you are a co-operative or not, the values listed (right) are a healthy way to work.

These are the six internationally agreed co-operative principles:
Membership is open and voluntary
Equal control, by members only
Outside investors do not have control, and receive only a limited return
Any profits distributed among members should be done so fairly
There are educational and social objectives, not just commercial ones
Co-ops try to co-operate with each other.

Types of Co-operative

Worker co-operative: Owned and controlled by its employees. Members participate in the co-operative by working for it.

Consumer (Retail) Co-operative: Owned and controlled by its customers. Members participate in the co-operative by purchasing from it.

Food Co-operative: a local bulk-buying consortium, small scale versions of the consumer co-operatives and used in some areas as part of an anti-poverty strategy.

Co-operative consortium: Owned and controlled by the users of the service provided. Members participate by purchasing the services.

Agricultural and fisheries co-operatives: Established structures for particular industries, a variation on the co-operative consortium.

Credit Union: A form of financial co-operative; owned and controlled by the users of the service provided. Members participate by Saving with and borrowing from the credit union.

Housing co-operative: Owned and controlled by the tenants. Members participate by residing in the co-operative's property.

Tenant-management co-operative: A form of housing co-operative where the co-operative itself does not own the property occupied but manages it under contract.

Community Co-operative: Owned and controlled by those members of a community who participate in a business, which involves the whole community, or a large part of it.