COOPERATIVES IN SPAIN. A SOLUTION TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS? AGRESTA S. COOP. A CASE STUDY Budapest. 7th June 2012 Pablo Ascasíbar. AGRESTA. S. COOP.
Jan 19, 2016
COOPERATIVES IN SPAIN.
A SOLUTION TO THE
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS?
AGRESTA S. COOP. A CASE STUDY
Budapest. 7th June 2012
Pablo Ascasíbar. AGRESTA. S. COOP.
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Contents
1. 2012. International Year of Cooperatives (IYC)
& Co-coperatives in Europe
2. Labour situation in Spain. Any solution?
3. Cooperatives in Spain
4. AGRESTA S. COOP. A case study
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
2012-International Year of Cooperatives
“Co-operatives are a reminder to the internacional community that it is posible to pursue both
economic viability and social responsability”
Ban Ki-moon,
United Nations Secretary-General
July 2010
“Co-operatives are economic actors featuring a human dimension, which must be a specificity of
the European model”
Gianni Pittella
Vice-President of the European Parliament
31 May 2011
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
2012-International Year of Cooperatives
Cooperative…, what is a cooperative?
A co-operative enterprise is a group of people acting together to meet the common needs and aspirations
of its members, sharing ownership and making decisions democratically
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
2012-International Year of Cooperatives
Why cooperatives?
A different purpose: a union of people ≠ a union of capital
A different strategy: long term economic activity ≠ short term financial return
A different control structure: “1 member=1vote” ≠ “1share=1vote”
A different allocation of profit: Profit belongs to all members and is reinvested in the enteprise ≠ return for a small number of investors
Co-operatives are businesses with unique qualities and ways of working that provide a long-term
approach to economic growth
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
2012-International Year of Cooperatives
An overview of Europe´s cooperatives
Co-operative figures:
- 5 400 000 employees
- 160 000 enterprises
- 123 000 000 members
All types and sizes:
- from small companies owned by employees, to large banks owned by clients
In all economic sectors:
- Agriculture, industry, banking, housing, …
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Labour situation in Spain
Although originated in the financial sector, the global crisis has had different characteristics across countries.
In Spain the impact on unemployment is tremendous!!!
5,639,500 unemployed
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Labour situation in Spain
The last data (april 2012) says that the cooperatives are creating jobs
19 602 jobs created from January to March 2012
Maybe to strenghten cooperatives is part of the solution
And what about the cooperatives?
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
Our Constitution of 1978 has an article about cooperatives
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
Different types of cooperatives
• Workers cooperatives
• Agricultural & livestock cooperative
• Banking cooperatives
• Consumers cooperatives
• Education cooperatives
• Housing cooperatives
•Transportation cooperatives
PUBLIC SECTOR
Administration&
Publiccompanies
PRIVATE SECTOR
TraditionalCompanies
Cooperatives
rela
tionsh
ip
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
Some examples with numbers:
• Workers cooperatives: (owned by employees)
- 16 949 cooperatives
- 205 700 jobs
- 22 030 M € of income
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
Some examples with numbers:
•Agricultural & livestock cooperatives: (union of producers)
- 3 039 cooperatives
- 1 160 337 members
- 99 079 jobs
- 18 322 M € of income
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
Some examples with numbers:
•Cooperatives of banking: (owned by the clients)
- 78 cooperatives
- 2 320 634 members
- 20 352 jobs
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Cooperatives in Spain
How do we organise?
COCETA: Spanish Confederation of Workers Cooperatives
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
FIR
ST A
SS
EM
BLIE
S
Our beginings…
AGRESTA S. COOP. A CASE STUDY
At the end of 1999, 10 friends from School of Forestry at the Polytechnic University of Madrid decided to create a cooperative.
Agresta is an environmental consulting firm, specializing in forestry, engineering in the natural environment and environmental impact studies
With a solid professional experience acquired since the year 2000, our work focuses on making projects, studies, advice and reports, as well as the supervision and direction of environmental works throughout the national territory.
Locally rooted, with 5 offices all over the territory and 3 business delegations in order to be close to the client and to know the best solutions to the rural needs.
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
AGRESTA nowadays
We are a network all over
the country!!
People
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Agresta is a multidisciplinary team of over 30 professionals, graduates in:
General Assembly (Valdeavellano, Soria 2011)
Forestry engineering
Surveying engineering
Biology
Statistics
Geography
Economics
Environmental sciences
Technical management and organization of natural resources
Fundamental issues for us
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Ethical financePreferent use of ethical and cooperative banking
Social measuresWork as part of personal development
Agresta participates in other Social Economy Networks
Participation in othe social networks
Cooperative formula
One person, one vote. Co-operative principles:
Voluntary and Open Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Co-operation among Co-operatives
Concern for Comunity
Forest Management
Land planning
Natural Environment Engineering
Environmental impacts
Forest Property
Geographic Information System & GPS
Use of forest resources-energy (forest biomass)
Carbon consultancy
LiDAR technology applied to forest
Products & Services
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
How are we facing the crisis?
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
The Co-operative model
• People before profit
• Before losing a job we share work
Innovatión
• New products and new technologies...
Searching partners-Intercooperation
• Anyone in Hungary wants to cooperate with us?
agresta Gestión Técnica Ambiental y Desarrollo Rural
Agresta in 2012 is…
THANKS