Sustainability and mutuality

24 February 2022

An important aspect of the BCCM member’s ESG Partners Program is the exploration of the theory that co-operatives and mutuals behave differently as a result of their mutual business purpose. Without the inherent conflict between investor owners and members, co-operative and mutual enterprises (CMEs) ought to have a built-in advantage over proprietary competitors in terms of their ability to deliver against social and governance expectations.

Two upcoming webinars for the members of the BCCM’s ESG Partners Program will explore this in more detail.  On 7 March, with King & Wood Mallesons, the BCCM will look at the expectations on businesses in addressing social issues in ensuring their license to operate. A second webinar will drill deeper into CME behaviours on 28 April with Monash University, and examine how mutual value can be expressed through the Mutual Value Measurement© tool.

Together, this will begin to help set a narrative for CMEs when considering the components for their ESG reporting credentials.