Ten per cent of a retail co-op’s profits are given back to the community. This is more than double the amount that competitors give, which is the equivalent of 4.5% back.
Last year, co-ops gave a total £12m to good causes, which cover areas such as staff/member fundraising for charities, dividend grants given to community groups, in-kind support through donations of equipment and giving staff time off to volunteer for local projects.
Our latest analysis brings all of these figures up to date. The collective pre-dividend/tax profit for the top nine co-operatives topped £93m. Before that amount, £12m is also given to good causes, which is the equivalent of 10.8% of profit.
When looking at retail competitors, such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, they only gave 4.5% of profit back to communities. In the last financial year, they recorded a collective £3.3bn profit – and they gave £158m to communities.
So co-operatives give more than double back to communities. If the competitor supermarkets were co-operatives, we would expect to see that £158m investment to turn into £350m.
What % of their turnover do co-ops (green) give back to communities compared with their retail competitors (orange)?
[infogram id=”61695b7f-ca5b-4788-95d7-f57b5ae5bb58″ prefix=”HYm”]
But, the Community Impact Index isn’t a definitive statement on how much work co-ops do in communities – and whether one does more or less. It shows the good work that co-operatives do for their neighbours. This is the co-operative difference in action.
As we note throughout the index, many co-operatives and competitors use different reporting methods. But they all amount to similar inputs, such as charity donations. And no matter what method is used, the final totals tally up to one figure.
So, what does the future look like for community investment? Throughout our interviews with community specialists, all agree that putting the members first is the priority and the starting point when being there for the community.
We may see an increase in financial contributions next year. The Co-operative Group’s relaunched membership scheme is to donate 1% of all sales of own-branded products to local communities. Plus the Group and other societies will be taking an increased amount of donations through the 5p carrier bag surcharge that came into force in England last year (Wales and Scotland already had the charge).
The one thing for co-operatives to remember, though, comes from Business in the Community’s Andy Melia, who says: “The sharing of economic and social value is at the heart of everything a co-operative does and that in itself sets it apart.”
The community investment index combines all charitable and community givings, along with co-operative and community investments.
The largest UK consumer co-operatives
[table id=15 /]
NOTES:
n/a: No information available. Does not necessarily denote lack of activity.
(a) Does not include calculation for the Co-operative Group, which made a loss in 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 years
(b) Central England Co-operative was formed through the merger of Midlands Co-operative and Anglia Co-operative during the year.
(c) Includes management time of £115,050
The largest UK competitors
[table id=16 /]
- View the full data from previous years here: http://bit.ly/2fqHIr4.
- To see our full analysis, visit thenews.coop/collection/community-impact-index-2016.
