Climate Co-ops
Climate change requires a re-engineering of society; too often it is reduced to a list of duties and obligations for individuals to take on, when the infrastructure and opportunities around them do not support them to do so. We want to bring people together and equip them with the skills and contacts to form self-sustaining leadership teams for social enterprises which deliver climate-optimal goods and services at scale. That way, the passion and energy of people who are committed to protecting the climate are applied to creating realistic, desirable and affordable options for a much larger number of people.
By turning a daunting expense (for example, buying an electric car, or building a hydroponic greenhouse) into an accessible and affordable product co-produced with friends and neighbours (membership of a car club, or food co-op), participation in sustainable lifestyles becomes both accessible and convivial.
Why not rely on big and established businesses?
A lot of work has been done, quite rightly, to encourage businesses to ‘go green’ and introduce more sustainable products, technologies and processes themselves. But it doesn’t always get very far: managers (and even CEOs) who try to be bold on climate get replaced by people more focused on shareholder value. Eco-products are put in a ‘niche’ for green consumers, while the old, carbon-intensive goods are peddled to everyone else. And some of the biggest businesses have balance sheets so stuffed with carbon-heavy ‘assets’ that if real change did happen they’d face an existential crisis ( sometimes referred to as ‘the carbon bubble’). So it makes sense to have a new cohort of small but scalable businesses that are trustworthy (because they are member owned), that have zero carbon business models from the outset, and are not carrying baggage from the past.
What might they look like?
Co-ops have already taken the lead with car clubs, solar energy co-ops and village shops. However, we need a fresh round of innovation to take this further. The four areas where we think new social enterprises can make a big difference now are co-housing and sustainable construction; renewable heat networks; solar powered public and shared transport; and low carbon food systems. In each case, cost-of-living pressures intersect with the ‘just transition’ to climate friendly lifestyles. Many marketplace solutions are individualistic, high cost and aimed at niche audiences. However, in each case there are new technologies emerging that are both low cost and low impact; typically, these thrive on collective action.
How you can get involved
New co-ops need leadership – that could come both from people seeking careers and employment in these new businesses, but also from community activists seeking to enable their formation and bring together a team of staff who over time become increasingly self-managing.
We are staging three types of events in 2026 and 2027 to bring people together to gain skills, confidence, support and new contacts. Building on the ‘transition town’ model of practical action towards a positive vision of sustainability, we will provide a mix of seminar-style workshops, one each on housing, energy, transport and food. In addition we will stage two ‘Commonweal’ mini-conferences (see ‘Projects and Campaigns’) which are for larger numbers of people dipping into a range of short sessions covering both those four topics and wider skills and information about co-operatives community enterprise. Lastly, at least three hands-on demonstration projects taking place over a few days will enable people to engage directly with actual installations – both learning and volunteering.
Events and activities are coming soon!
Check the ‘Events’ page above for the current list of events that we’re planning.
MODEL CLIMATE Co-ops: energy
Heat networks, pipes and pumps
Solar panels have been game changers, and remain the backbone of energy co-ops. But . wind and solar combined are still providing only a quarter as much UK energy as oil and gas – because we don’t have enough seasonal storage, renewable heating or ‘baseload’ supply. The answers might lie in pipes, pumps and networks – and co-ops are all about connectivity and distribution.
heat networks
In other countries it is common to distribute heat in urban areas through pipes underground – and our feasibility study (see Projects and Campaigns) found it could work here too. The key is to make use of solar powered heat pumps and storage of summer heat underground.
PUmped storage
It might seem old fashioned, but pumped storage in reservoirs remains one of the few cost-effective ways to store energy over months rather than hours. We also have new reasons to store water as weather becomes more extreme, and biodiverse habitats more scarce.
we’re the installers
One of the biggest obstacles to installation of heat pumps and pumped networks is a shortage of capacity in the plumbing industry – too many old habits, too few new entrants. It’s time for co-ops to bring together the workers rather than just the kit.
tidal potential
Tidal power has enormous potential on both large and small scales – but who is trusted enough to intervene in our beloved coastline? Community energy needs to step up to give assurance that habitats and navigation will be sensitively managed.
MODEL CLIMATE Co-ops: transport
Sharing the charge to share the ride
In transport, Car Clubs and Bus Co-ops have a proud history in the UK but have yet to break through and scale up. Now, however, transportation is being turned on its head with the introduction of cheap, high performance batteries that can be rapidly charged at central hubs. Who else should manage these but co-operatives?
A matter of timing
Fast chargers are becoming common on our motorways, but public transport isn’t yet getting the benefit. That’s strange, because vehicles that work to a timetable can make very effective use of battery-based charging hubs – reducing the burden on local grids as well.
Making connections
Most businesses have a narrow focus – bus companies don’t usually install solar panels. But they should: by making generation, storage and vehicle operation part of the same system, costs can be radically cut. It’s the kind of job co-ops excel at.
can car sharing work?
It’s been a tough few years for car sharing in the UK. The idea was sound, but the transition to EVs proved too much for many. Partnerships with EU based service co-ops, and sharing charging points with public transport, might revive the sector.
New routes, new stations
It all adds up to a package that might see real additions to our static (and even diminishing) public transport routes. And that’s before we consider the use of autonomous driving technology – another thing that only a co-op should really be trusted with.
MODEL CLIMATE Co-ops: construction
Building change
Construction is one of the most environmentally damaging sectors, and yet the need for construction of affordable, sustainable places to live and the green infrastructure to accompany it has never been more urgent. It could be co-ops that find ways to do things differently.
the great refit
Most houses are already built, and yet they waste energy and are unaffordable to many. Co-ops could do whole-building refurbs, before transferring the upgraded and enlarged property to a housing co-op to manage.
Low cost modules
Modular housing is all the rage, and hey the abundance of proprietorial designs and high-energy materials has yet to deliver cost savings. A new generation of open source designs based on straw and timber could be the basis for co-operative housing factories.
Housing is power
In the future, all homes will be power stations. Most construction firms haven’t grasped this yet – it needs a co-operative building contractor to make the links.
Community builders
The Community Land Trust movement,(joined by Housing Co-ops) is increasingly looking for builders they can work with who share their values, can work effectively with volunteers and community, and know how to deliver affordability. It’s a job for a co-op.
MODEL CLIMATE Co-ops: agriculture
Farming without farms
Our food systems are at risk of collapse. The traditional farm – large, diesel powered, with with huge monocultural fields – is a model that is barely viable any more. The alternatives range from the forest garden to the robotic greenhouse – and co-ops have a track record in the delivery of both.
city growers
Who says farming needs to happen in the countryside? Sun and rain fall on cities too, and there are the foundations on which to build enclosed, controlled and highly productive growing spaces. Green City Growers in the US are an inspiring example.
food infrastructure
In an age of climate chaos, co-ops have more jobs than ever to support food production – water storage and management using reservoirs and canals, distribution systems that spread risk fairly to give farmers confidence, and green deliveries to community distribution hubs.
New Foods
Tastes are changing, and that could cut the climate impact of high carbon foods. Co-ops can grow and prepare fermented. processed, and novel foods without being suspected of neglecting the wellbeing of their consumers.
health for all
As the impact of diet on health becomes better understood, public health agencies will need partners in food preparation and delivery that are fully aligned with their goals of public service. Mass catering should be done to the highest standards – not the lowest.