The ACT! website has now been up and running for just over a month. As ACT! gains the support of influential leaders and organisations at sector and national level, we decided to take a look at one of the first businesses to support and sponsor ACT!, The Midcounties Co-operative in the UK.

The Mid Counties Co-operative is a consumer co-operative made up of six businesses, Food, Pharmacy, Childcare, Funerals, Travel, and Motor services.

From the outset, The Midcounties Co-operative have been great supporters of the ACT! campaign. In particular they were pleased to associate with Co-operatives Europe, viewing ACT! as a way in which they could combine their own efforts on climate change with other co-operatives around the world, while allowing their members to be heard at a global level.

This member involvement was key in the Midcounties decision to sponsor the ACT! campaign, as Environment Manager, Mike Pickering explained,

"ACT! (Addressing the Climate Threat) is a fantastic co-operative campaign. Firstly the use of the word 'threat' makes the campaigns urgency apparent and highlights the importance of taking action and joining in. Secondly the campaign not only allows your voice to be heard at the highest level but it also encourages you to make a difference in your own life in reducing carbon emissions. A campaign that encourages action at both these levels is very rare and often complicated. The ACT! campaign achieves this at a simple level, allowing all co-operators to get involved and make a
difference. The Midcounties Co-operative is proud to be part of the ACT! campaign and encourages all to sign up and get involved in this campaign. This really will make a difference in defending our environment"

Mid Counties have shown that for co-operative businesses already doing a great deal to fight the climate threat, ACT! can be used to engage colleagues, members and customers in an issue that reaches beyond national and organisational boundaries.

It is hoped that the communication streams of the co-operative movement will now begin to reach more co-operative businesses and that they will take this opportunity to engage with their members and ask them to take part in the ACT! campaign.

Midcounties have to date promoted ACT! through member mailings, delivery of information postcards, and presentations. A second member mailing along with futher actions are planned over the next few weeks.

The Case Study of Midcounties Co-operative can also be found on the ACT! website. This was submitted in support of cross sector sharing of ideas and initiatives, undertaken by co-operatives around the world. We hope that other co-operatives will join them in adding their own case studies to the database.

"As consumer co-operatives, we need to show full support of the co-operatives ACT! campaign. It is essential that as consumer co-operatives we combine our own efforts on climate action with that of the other sectors." Said Duncan Bowdler, Chair of the Eurocoop's Environmental Policy Working Group.

Climate change is the biggest challenge of our lifetime. The co-operative movement as an intenational organisation must merge sector efforts on this subject, if we are to make a real and significnt impact. Eurocoop are just one example of a sector organisation that share many of the objectives of the ACT! campaign. Eurocoop have made significant progress in mapping the activities of their own members and hope to encourage wider uptake of climate action across the whole sector. By the same reasoning they will be working closely with ACT! by both encouraging their members to support the campaign, and also filtering case studies of best practise through to the ACT! team. These examples of best practise will come together with similar information from other sectors to act as evidence, behind what will be a single co-operative voice on climate change.

On the subject of individual co-operative societies and national organisations supporting ACT!, Duncan Bowdler added, "I would like to see consumer co-operatives get behind the ACT! campaign by asking their members to visit the ACT! website, http://www.actonclimate.coop/ , to sign the climate petition and take the 10:10 pledge. This way we can facilitate our members in creating a united global voice, which is so desperately needed."

Organisations such as Mid Counties, a consumer co-operative in the UK and Ecopower of Belgium, have already gone to great lengths to ask their members to sign the climate petition. From newsletters to television adverts and from postcards to weblinks, the methods of filtering information on ACT! to individual members have already taken many forms. It is hoped that these kinds of initiatives will be taken up by an increasing amount of organisations, as the level of support from sectors such as Eurocoop, CECOP/CICOPA, ICMIF, and CECHODA's is increasingly clear.

Duncan Bowdler, reiterated the potential for cross sectoral, multi organisational, international work against climate the threat, "Co-operatives are able to demonstrate a positive impact well beyond their own abilities through working towards the same goals as others. We have an opportunity not only to make huge steps towards tackling climate change but also through ACT! , create a global co-operative brand message on climate change, that so many organisations currently strive for independently of each other. Let the world know that co-operatives offer an answer to a sustainable future in all sectors and support ACT! a global co-operative campaign to fight the climate threat."

Cooperatives Europe's ACT! is pleased to gain the support outlined below from Hungarian co-operatives.

In addition to his Hungarian roles, Zoltan Szoke is vice president of Consumer Cooperatives Worldwide and a member of the Co-operatives Europe Board.

Dr Zoltan Zs Szoke, President of AFEOSZ, National Federation of Consumer Co-operatives and Trade Associations; Vice President, National Co-operative Council said in support of ACT!

"Hungarian Co-operatives welcome ACT!. We think it is very important for co-operatives everywhere and of all types to work together to combat the climate threat. This is very important.

So, we welcome and support ACT!, which we think is an excellent resource to help co-operatives unite and work together to address the climate threat."

The world-renowned Italian APEX group, Legacoop proposes to give a major boost to the efforts of Co-operatives Europe's ACT! to address the climate threat.

"Cooperambiente" is Legacoop's overall project to address the climate threat, including a focus on the production and use of renewable energy, objectives that it shares with ACT!.

Cooperambiente has arranged an exclusively co-operative facility in the main Italian Event on the environment and climate change, Ecomondo taking place in Rimini, Italy October 28-30th, and which will be addressed by Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Report. (See http://www.cooperambiente.it/ )

Now, Legacoop has arranged a special event on the 30th October for Ecomondo delegates and the Italian media under the title:-

"Let's ACT! now; Environment Is Our Business, Who Can Do Better Than Us?"

Bob Burlton, Principal of Cooperatives Europe ACT! has been invited to be the main speaker to explain the importance of co-operatives working together to Address the Climate Threat, and in particular, to introduce ACT!

In part of its plans to engage with ACT! Legacoop has also announced a wide range of activities in support of ACT! , including a special message from its President Giuliano Poletti, to all its co-operative members asking them to support ACT!.

He said "A Co-operative is an enterprise that can not exist as a co-operative, without rigorous attention to the environment. Therefore lets ACT!."

"Co-operatives are the most suitable structures, ALL OVER THE WORLD, to foster the transition towards an alternative energy model. It is time to ACT!." Explained the President of Legacoop, a national co-operative organisation with over 8.3million members and a combined turnover of 56 billion Euros.

Bob Burlton the Principal of the ACT! project welcomed Mr Poletti's views by adding, "Co-operatives have historically risen in time of hardship. Climate change will bring the greatest hardship of all, if we do not alter the wy in which we consume the earth's resources. Co-operatives offer a unique answer to the quetion of sustainability, one that is highlighted by successful co-operatives taking a lead in climate action such as Legacoop. Legacoop, clearly consider their environmental impact a priority."

Mr Poletti comented, "Environmental exploitation means limiting if not impeding the development of future generations"

Bob Burlton, followed this by calling on all co-operatives to unite on climate action, "The ACT! campaign hopes to showcase those co-operatives that already lead the way in the fight against climate threat, but will also offfer support to co-operatives who want to make a difference but are perhaps not already doing so. Legacoop are just one example of how co-operative can make a difference, however as co-operatives we all have a duty to respect our responsibility to face up to the climate threat."

This view of a co-operative responsibility was shared by Mr Poletti, "Surely we are fully aware that not all co-operative enterprises have a proper attention to sustainable development and environmental policies. We do believe also these aspects, as well as others, should be elements for evaluating their degree of conformity to the Co-operative Principles. Therefore due to it's
nature we would define a co-operative as an enterprise that can not exist, as a co-operative, without rigouresly paying attention to the environment. Thus let's ACT!."