Leaders from the world's largest cooperative and mutual businesses met in Madrid, Spain, on 21-22 May to discuss collaborative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The Cooperative and Mutuals 50 (CM50) leadership circle explored how to strengthen a shared vision, co-created a unified commitment plan, and prepared for the upcoming UN World Social Summit in Doha this November.
Convened by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) – the global business network for cooperatives – the CM50 group aims to foster growth and innovation amongst C-suite leaders from cooperatives and mutuals worldwide; advocate for national commitments from governments to support and expand cooperative and mutual businesses; influence global policy outcomes at the World Social Summit; and promote cooperatives as catalysts for a fairer and more sustainable future. The Madrid meeting was supported by the Espriu Foundation, Assistència Sanitària, and the ASISA Group.
Jeroen Douglas, ICA Director General, said: “Cooperatives, as people-centred enterprises jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realise common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, are well-placed to accelerate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“As we witness social, economic and political challenges play out on a global stage – and in the context of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives – it is vital that cooperatives work together to demonstrate the difference we can make. Through the CM50 we are not only showcasing our ability to advance a more sustainable future, but highlighting how our organisations, as models of good business, are able to impact and transform society, and increase the market share for cooperatives which in turn will help to build a better world.”
In Madrid, the CM50 group finalised key advocacy strategies and the CM50 manifesto for the World Social Summit. Attendees also co-developed a concrete commitment plan for 2025 (UN International Year of Cooperatives) and the 2026–2030 strategic period and outlined a long-term roadmap for cooperative and mutual engagement beyond 2030, aligned with emerging global policy priorities.
Many of the CM50 businesses represented are featured in the World Cooperative Monitor list of the globe’s largest 300 cooperative and mutual businesses, a publication edited by the ICA and Euricse since 2012 l. Members are from every country and sector – demonstrating the equitable and independent nature of cooperative and mutual businesses – activities including agriculture, finance, engineering, technology, retail and health.
The Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, closed the meeting. "Cooperativism is a transformative force that goes beyond economics and is capable of addressing the climate, geopolitical, and social challenges we face. In the current global context—marked by war and climate crises—the answer lies in more cooperativism and more social economy, not to displace the traditional economy, but to compete on equal footing," she said.
“Those of us gathered here share two fundamental values: solidarity over individualism, and democracy over the concentration of power. That is why this is not just another meeting, but a fertile space for shared work, from which proposals will emerge to serve as a roadmap for political decision-making in defence of these values,” she added.
Dr Carlos Zarco, President of the International Health Cooperative Organisation (an ICA sectoral organisation) and the host of the CM50 event in Madrid, said:
“As collectively owned and socially driven enterprises, cooperatives are uniquely positioned to tackle today’s global challenges and advance inclusive, sustainable development. The World Social Summit in Doha is a key opportunity for governments to support this potential through enabling policies that make cooperatives central to the 2030 Agenda. Health cooperatives are already showing how to deliver accessible, people-centred care, helping to achieve universal health coverage. Fundación Espriu is proud to host the CM50, which sends a clear message: fostering cooperative enterprises is essential to building a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable world.”
Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of Co-op (the UK’s largest retail cooperative), said:
“The unique power of the co-operative movement is that we are global with 3 million coops worldwide and 1.2 billion members, with co-operators and cooperatives working to deliver value for their members.
“This global network also gives cooperatives the opportunity to apply Principle 6 to make a difference on the world stage.
“Cooperation among cooperatives is our movement's superpower, with one example being our relationships to the cooperative Fairtrade producers of the coffee, tea, sugar and so much more that we sell.
“We haven't always made the most of this internationalism which is why I am so excited by the potential of the CM50 group. It will bring together many of the leaders of our movement with the explicit and ambitious purpose of making a real difference for our members around the world, and for their communities.”
