Adoption of energy efficiency options by co-operatives in regional Australia: An early stage explorative study

According to the Blueprint for a co-operative decade, co-operatives are making a crucial contribution towards the shift to a low carbon economy and by 2020, co-operatives are expected to position themselves as builders of sustainability. Regarding the environment sustainability the co-operatives in all sectors are looking at some innovations to reduce their carbon footprints, to be carbon neutral, at investing in energy efficient technologies (ICC report). On the same note, the International Co-operative Alliance added the principle No. 7: Concerns for Community which is supposed to also encompass the notion of environmental sustainability. However, some research on the relevance of the co-operative principles as based on the evidence from the Australian co-operative sector argues that perhaps this principle may not capture the environmental issues (Oczkowski, Krivokapic-Skoko, and Plummer, 2013). Instead, the members of co-operatives tend to view their community sponsorship more as marketing/advertising spending rather than as an expression of concern for the community and the environment related issues.