International Day of Cooperatives

Saturday, July 7

On July 7th, the worldwide cooperative movement will celebrate the 2018 International Day of Cooperatives with the slogan 'Sustainable societies through cooperation.'

As International Cooperative Alliance members we believe co-ops consume, produce and use the resources that the planet gives us, but in solidarity with the environment and with our communities. That’s why the world’s 1.2 billion co-op members are working with the United Nations to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, rising consumption has seen the planet’s extraction of resources triple from 22 billion tons in 1970 to 70 billion tons today. That's why on the International Day of Cooperatives we are going to show the world it is necessary to defend nature at the same time that we grow the economy.

The UN also calculates that the livelihood of 3 billion people, or half of world's population, is made secure by co-ops. Today we are calling for sustainable consumption of all goods and services so we can continue to secure our livelihoods into the future!

Keywords: Cooperatives, International Co-operative Alliance