Stream 16

Reporting on Co-operative Sustainability

Stream leads: Fiona Duguid (CEARC, SMU), Daphne Rixon (CEARC, SMU)

Stream Committee: Paula Arzadum (ICA Americas), Fiona Duguid (CEARC, SMU), Carlos Gonzalez (ICA Americas), Daphne Rixon (CEARC, SMU)

Description:

Currently there are considerable expectations for business enterprises to report on their sustainability efforts. While sustainability reporting has to date been largely voluntary in nature, there are movements towards mandatory reporting. For example, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation established the International Sustainability Standards Board which has issued two sustainability reporting guidelines. Other organizations such as the United States Securities Exchange Commission and the European Union have also signaled their intent to provide more guidance on sustainability reporting. The sustainability reporting environment is still fragmented as various countries and regions work towards a standardization model that also reflects their unique needs.

It could be argued that co-operatives should be leading the way in terms of setting an example of not only reporting on their sustainability performance but also taking action to contribute towards improving sustainability. Since co-operatives are not exclusively focused on profit maximization, many are in a financial position to make positive contributions to sustainability. The ICA’s seven principles of co-operatives do not expressly address sustainability, it is currently included in Principle 7 – Concern for Community. It is somewhat surprising that overall, there is minimal reporting by co-operatives on their sustainability performance.

This stream calls for contributions to frameworks that facilitate co-operatives’ reporting on their sustainability performance, application of sustainability reporting by co-operatives and exploration of how sustainability reporting can be linked to the co-operative principles.

Presenters in this stream will have the opportunity to submit their research to the International Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Management special edition on Reporting on Co-operative Sustainability.

Suggested topics for the panel are:

• Frameworks to facilitate sustainability reporting

• Linkage of sustainability to the seven principles of co-operatives

• Development of sustainability benchmarks for co-operatives

• Should co-operatives have unique sustainability reporting that differentiates co-operatives from investor-owned businesses?

• How can the ICA and various co-operative apex organizations help small to medium-sized co-operatives report on sustainability?

• How can the co-operative sector raise the profile of co-operatives’ sustainability efforts?

• Should the ICA introduce a new principle for sustainability?

References:

Beishenaly, N. & Eum, H. (November 10, 2021). How Co-operatives Drive the Change: A SDG Framework for Co-operatives, International Co-operative Alliance. Presentation. ICA and the Centre for Cooperative Entrepreneurship of the University of Leuven.

Duguid, F. and D. Balkin (2016). Talking the Talk: Canadian Co-operatives and Sustainability Reporting, Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Reporting, 4 (1).

Rixon, D. and F. Duguid (2022), Co-operative Leaders Need to Lead the Way on Global and Local SDG Adoption, Policy Brief, Emerald Publishing.

Goyannes Gusmão Caiado. (2018). A literature-based review on potentials and constraints in the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198(October), 1276–1288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.102

ICA. (n/d). Retrieved from https://www.ica.coop/en/co-operatives/co-operative-identity

Novkovic, S. (2020). Sustainability Indicators from the Cooperative Perspective. Prepared for the UNRISD project Sustainable Development Performance Indicators. SMU, Halifax.

Rixon, D. and F. Duguid (2018). A Framework for Developing Co-operative Benchmarks, Journal of Co-operative Studies, Vol. 5. No. 1, 5 - 16.

Rowlston, N. and F. Duguid (2020). Co-operative Sustainability Performance Measurement: The Role of the Co-op Principles and UN Sustainable Development Goals in the Reporting Model, International Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Management, 3 (2), 4 - 19.

Sustainable Development Solutions Network. (2015). Indicators and Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals: Launching a Data Revolution for the SDGs. Geneva: United Nations.

Stafford-Smith, M., D. Griggs, O. Gaffney, F. Ullah, B. Reyers, N. Kanie, B. Stigson, P. Shrivastava, M. Leach & D. O’Connell (2017). Integration: the key to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability Science, 12, 911-919.

Wanyama, F. O. (2014). Cooperatives and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Contribution to the Post-2015 Development Debate. A policy brief [Publication]. http://www.ilo.org/empent/Publications/WCMS_240640/lang--en/index.htm