JCCU reported the activities of consumer co-ops at the "SDG Global Festival of Action 2019" by UN

2019.05.28

The SDG Global Festival of Action 2019 was held in Bonn, Germany from May 2 to 4, 2019, and ITO Jiro, Operating Officer/Director, Public Relations Division of JCCU participated as a speaker.

The SDG Global Festival of Action is an international event organized by the UN SDG Action Campaign which attracts a thousand people from around the world. It has been held in Bonn since 2017 with the support of the German Republic Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Participants include government officials, business leaders, social activists, researchers, United Nations officials and the media who are working towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this year’s festival, discussions were held and best practices for the realization of SDGs were shared through plenary and subcommittees, workshops, network events and exhibitions.

JCCU participated in this festival as one of the five companies and organizations that received the 2nd Japan SDGs Award in December last year. JCCU is the only co-operative organization from Japan to take part. The five organizations introduced their actions plans for the achievement of their respective SDGs at the SDG Studio. The state of the presentations is shown on UN Web TV.

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ynJORnpaAqGR?t=2h3m18s

ITO Jiro gave a presentation on behalf of JCCU and stated the following:

That, co-op members are not just customers, but are an integral part and the main players in the co-op organization. Co-op members in Japan carry out various activities that lead to the achievement of SDGs such as environmental activities, disaster recovery support, regional revitalization and food banks. At the JCCU’s General Assembly held in 2018 with member co-ops, the ‘Co-op Action Plan for SDGs’ which is committed to contributing to SDGs was adopted. One of the action plans is "Ethical consumption". Consumer co-ops in Japan deal with a variety of sustainable conscious products such as fair trade, environmental friendly, MSC and FSC certified products. In addition, an increasing number of consumer co-ops nationwide have started operating their own electricity retail business that uses renewable energy. Co-op members can take a fresh look at their consumer lives through the purchase of sustainable products which can also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.

At the end of his presentation, he quoted a part of JCCU’s founding declaration” For Peace and Better Life”, highlighting the affinity of Japanese co-ops and SDGs, and also the possibility that co-operatives could contribute to achieving SDGs.