ABOUT US OUR BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY NEWS & REPORTS CAREERS CONTACT US Your browser does not support SVG Home > About Us > About Co-operatives WHAT IS A CO-OPERATIVE? It’s a different way of doing business. A co-operative is a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise that meets the common economic, social and cultural needs of its members. Members can be any group of people – customers, employees or residents – or organizations. Co-operatives play a significant role in Canada, with one study stating the co-operative sector contributes over $50 billion to the economy and supports over 600,000 jobs. INFOGRAPHIC: The Economic Impact of Co-operatives in Canada There are different co-operatives in different industries around the world. In spite of these differences, there exists a common co-operative identity that the International Co-operative Alliance has summarized in seven principles shared by co-operatives globally: 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 Federated Co-operatives Limited is a co-operative. It is owned by more than 160 independent retail co-operatives in Western Canada, which are in turn owned by more than 1.9 million individuals. FCL shares its success with members by distributing a portion of profits as an allocation based on patronage, which is the value of products and services purchased by a member. A patronage allocation is equity, essentially an investment or shares in the company, which the co-operative may pay back in cash (share redemption). ABOUT US Our Story Board of Directors Leadership About Co-operatives Associations OUR BUSINESS Overview Agriculture Energy Food Home and Building Refinery Suppliers Ethanol SUSTAINABILITY Overview Reports NEWS & REPORTS Overview News Media Reports CAREERS Overview Current Opportunities Why FCL Our People CONTACT US Contact Info Location Finder Sponsorship and Donations Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Copyright 2021 Federated Co-operatives Limited. All rights reserved. Privacy & Terms of Use