by Ashwini Rao, Board Member
The Co-op’s ENDS Policy reads
“Willy Street Grocery Co-op will be at the forefront of a cooperative and just society that:
- has a robust local economy built around equitable relationships;
- nourishes and enriches our community and environment; and
- has a culture of respect, generosity, and authenticity."
The past few years have seen significant challenges for the retail industry and the Co-op is no exception. However, in the midst of these challenges, the Co-op has made some strides towards meeting the ENDS policy. A few things to note:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In 2020, the Co-op management contracted with Step Up, a local consulting group, to help lead the Co-op’s efforts to be more equitable and inclusive for customers, staff, and other organizational stakeholders. Since then, we conducted an organizational assessment, provided leadership training to the general management team and offered bias and crucial conversations training to all staff. Step Up launched additional training on biases and microaggressions for all Co-op staff in November. The Co-op is moving forward with integrating this training into onboarding and orientation of new hires.
Strategic Planning
The Board also engaged with Step Up on embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into the Co-op’s strategy and goals. An ad-hoc committee of the Board of Directors is also looking at embedding strategic thinking into board work through future training with Step Up, Columinate, and additional educational resources. The Board is looking at our existing mission statement and reevaluating it in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is also discussing vision and purpose statements that make DEI a primary consideration. Stay tuned for more updates and learn more about Step Up’s work here: www.stepupforequity.com.
Climate Change Initiative
Earlier this year, the Co-op Board voted to join the Climate Collaborative. In doing so, the Co-op pledged to continue its efforts in the areas of increasing energy efficiency, reducing food waste and decreasing short-lived climate pollutant emissions. You can read more about the efforts of the Climate Collaborative at www.climatecollaborative.com.
Community Engagement
Cooperative principle #6—cooperation among cooperatives. Cooperatives serve their Owners most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, regional, national and international structures. In October, Willy Street Co-op joined other local cooperatives for the 10th Co-op Connection celebrating cooperatives and community. Perhaps you met Board Member Carol Weidel there? If not, there will be other opportunities for Owners to meet with the Board as the Board will be actively engaging with the community in the coming year. We will be at neighborhood association meetings, festivals, and other events hosted by partnering organizations. So the next time you are out and about and see the Co-op table, stop by and say hello!