Cooperatives for Sustainable Development: International Day of Cooperatives held on July 1
Cooperators from all over the world celebrated the International Day of Cooperatives on Saturday, July 1, 2023, under the theme “Cooperatives for Sustainable Development” and demonstrated how the cooperative way of working, which is motivated by cooperative values and principles, has the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of its DNA, #CoopsDay
This yearly event honours the cooperative movement’s major contribution to the world economy and its role in fostering a more sustainable future.
The worldwide community will recognise the halfway point in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2023 and look for measures to speed up progress towards the SDGs. Thus, it is a crucial time to show how cooperatives have aided in the advancement of the SDGs.
The cooperative movement, one of the largest and oldest business networks in the world, was the first organisation of businesses to accept the SDGs and be acknowledged as a partner in attaining these goals.
Cooperatives contribute to economic, social, and environmental sustainability across geographies and economic sectors as natural agents of collaborative cooperation and success for all. They have an innate desire to protect local relationships, develop regional assets, promote social responsibility, and implement sustainable business practises.
“Efforts at the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda must be intensified, and this can only be done with greater cooperation. Businesses that are in charge of planning the production and distribution of goods and services must put the needs of people and the environment first. According to Ariel Guarco, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), cooperatives have a model for doing this and have been showing it for almost 200 years.
