Annual General Meeting 2022

Every year, Co-op holds its Annual General Meeting, which gives Co-op Members the chance to find out the latest news, as well as cast votes on a number of motions. Member Pioneer Co-ordinator, Luke Cashin held an AGM watch party at the Abbey Wood Co-op store. Here, he tells us more…

The 2022 Co-op Annual General Meeting was the first in-person meeting since 2019. As a Member Pioneer Co-ordinator, I was proud to see everything that has been achieved this year and, most importantly, see people come together. Members, non-members and colleagues in the Abbey Wood store, London, were given the opportunity to watch the AGM on a live stream – bringing us together with the in-person AGM in Manchester Central Convention Complex.

The results are in…

This year, eligible Co-op Members voted on key motions around member participation, inequality and climate change. You can view the full results here.

With an overwhelming majority across all motions, members voted for the Co-op to continue to work to address inequality in communities. Additionally, thanks to another huge majority, Co-op will lead other businesses in becoming more climate conscious, as part of its ‘Co-operating for a Fairer World’ vision.

Other motions covered included working towards greater member engagement, and for members to receive this year’s annual reports and accounts. For the first time, members were also asked to vote to receive our Co-operate Report, which includes updates on all the great work we’re doing to make a difference and create a fairer world.

Commenting on the passed motions, Co-op Chair, Allan Leighton, said: ‘We are living in a volatile and uncertain period, which is having a clear and demonstrable effect on people’s lives and their surrounding communities. 

Our Members have provided clear direction for our Co-op to further face into those issues which exacerbate inequality within society.’     

Introducing Caboodle

It was also brilliant to hear about new and exciting community and food redistribution initiatives, including Caboodle, which was exclusively announced at the AGM.

Caboodle is a brand-new digital platform that will enable supermarkets, cafés and restaurants to connect with community groups and volunteers, in order to redistribute surplus food. The platform will be rolled out across all Co-op stores in the summer, before becoming available to other outlets later in the year. It’s been created by Microsoft and is supported by environmental charity Hubbub, BJSS and Team ITG.

Our Abbey Wood watch party

Having an in-store watch party helped bring our members, colleagues and customers together. My ‘Your Membership Live’ event not only encouraged those in-store to sign up to the benefits of Co-op Membership, but also gave our members and customers the opportunity to interact with our AGM by seeing our past successes, as well as our vision for the future. Many of those who stopped by had not realised the direct correlation between purchasing Co-op products and supporting local causes, so it was great to showcase this and tell them more about all the ways they can have an impact.

One member commented: ‘I’ve always believed in the values of Co-op and seeing the democracy of the AGM is a brilliant experience.’

Hosting a live watch party in the Abbey Wood store was a fantastic opportunity to share Co-op’s values with a diverse audience and engage with our members, customers and colleagues.

Find out the full results from the 2022 Annual General Meeting here.

If you missed the live event on Saturday 21 May 2022, you can watch it here