Book contents
- Reviews
- The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability
- The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Forewords
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Global Business and Fragmented Regulation
- Part II Corporate Law, Financial Markets and Sustainability
- Part III Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Case Studies
- Part IV Potential Drivers for Change
- 37 Disclosure Regulation and Sustainability
- 38 Sustainability Reporting in Africa
- 39 Global Supply Chains and Sustainability
- 40 Aligning Social Investing with Nature’s Timescales
- 41 Shareholder Stewardship
- 42 Green Bonds and Beyond
- 43 Conflicts and Coalitions
- 44 Gender as a Catalyst for Corporate Reform
- 45 Amenable Controls
- 46 Social Enterprise Law
- 47 Certifying ‘Good’ Companies
- 48 The Cooperative as a Platform for Sustainable Business Operations
- 49 Realising the Potential of the Board for Corporate Sustainability
- Conclusion
- Index
48 - The Cooperative as a Platform for Sustainable Business Operations
from Part IV - Potential Drivers for Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 November 2019
- Reviews
- The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability
- The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Forewords
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Global Business and Fragmented Regulation
- Part II Corporate Law, Financial Markets and Sustainability
- Part III Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Case Studies
- Part IV Potential Drivers for Change
- 37 Disclosure Regulation and Sustainability
- 38 Sustainability Reporting in Africa
- 39 Global Supply Chains and Sustainability
- 40 Aligning Social Investing with Nature’s Timescales
- 41 Shareholder Stewardship
- 42 Green Bonds and Beyond
- 43 Conflicts and Coalitions
- 44 Gender as a Catalyst for Corporate Reform
- 45 Amenable Controls
- 46 Social Enterprise Law
- 47 Certifying ‘Good’ Companies
- 48 The Cooperative as a Platform for Sustainable Business Operations
- 49 Realising the Potential of the Board for Corporate Sustainability
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
The modern corporation is often praised as the ultimate form of association. The purpose of this chapter is to challenge this claim by demonstrating the possibilities of the cooperative business model. In other words the aim is to examine how cooperatives differ from corporations, especially in terms of sustainability, to what extent cooperatives, in theory and practice, facilitate sustainability, and how cooperative law should be developed to ensure that person-oriented cooperative societies do not transform into capital-centered cooperative corporations. The findings of this chapter show that cooperatives are, in several ways, better alternatives for sustainable business operations than corporations. Concern for community is an organic part of the cooperative business model, whereas altruistic measures in the corporate context are often artificial and motivated by investor interests. However, the question yet remains whether cooperatives facilitate sustainability enough or whether they put too much emphasis on their members’ interests.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019