The Co-operative Principles

To understand what a co-operative is and what makes one different from other forms of business you need to understand some key concepts and ideas.

The Statement on the Co-operative Identity adopted in 1995 defines a co-operative as:

"An autonomous association of persons united
voluntarily to meet their common economic,
social, and cultural needs and aspirations through
a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled
enterprise".

Ever since people have come together to do business as a co-operative they have been driven by political and ethical values. It is for this reason that co-operatives are often described as values led buinesses. Co-operative enterprise has been described as people centred sustainable development.  Underlying this idea are some basic philosophical concepts:

• a fundamental respect for human beings and a belief in their capacity to improve themselves through mutual self help
• that democratic procedures applied to economic activities are feasable, desirable, and efficient
• that democratically controlled businesses make a contribution to the common good

The Co-operative Principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice. These are:

• Voluntary and Open Membership
• Democratic Member Control
• Member Economic Participation
• Autonomy and Independence
• Education, Training and Information
• Co-operation among Co-operatives
• Concern for Community

There are several kinds of co-operative. R-ECO is a 'workers' co-operative, which means that it is owned and controlled it's employees. There can not be any share holders of the company which ensures that we always act in the interest of our customers and the community. R-ECO is a member of Co-operatives^UK.