The Green Party has pledged to deliver a “radical green economy” with a key role for co-operatives.
Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Bristol on 5-7 October, deputy leader Amelia Womack said corporate social responsibility had to mean “more than a glossy brochure and good intentions”.
She said she was committing to working with business to bring forward policies that would “reward green investment and innovation, outlaw the environmental pirates and build a future for pioneers”.
She added: “A radical Green economy isn’t just about the state and the individual.
“It embraces start-ups and co-operatives, land trusts and community interest companies, social enterprises, enterprising communities, new models of worker ownership and things we haven’t even begun to imagine.
“It fearlessly reimagines business as a force for good, for creativity, with a positive role to play – in an economy where wealth is shared and our environment enhanced.”
Other policies announced at the conference that could impact co-ops were guaranteeing equal pay for everyone under 21, providing official support for a living wage for apprentices and committing to reducing plastic and food waste, as well as investing in green energy.
The party also called for a “free time index” as a new economic indicator to measure people’s leisure time.
Joint party leader Sian Berry echoed these commitments in her speech. She said the party would support community renewable energy projects.
