The Contribution of Large Cooperatives to a Sustainable Development: Data and Examples from the World Cooperative Monitor

This chapter offers an overview of the size of large cooperatives active in different areas of the world and their contribution to achieving a productive model promoting more equitable and sustainable development. This overview is based on the main results of the World Cooperative Monitor (WCM), a project promoted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) with the scientific support of the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse) to gather robust data on large cooperatives, mutuals, and non-cooperative organisations controlled by cooperatives all around the world—data that shows not only such enterprises’ economic importance but also the impact that cooperatives and mutuals around the world have on their members and communities. In detail, the chapter presents some of the main results obtained in the 12 editions of the project focusing on the economic size of cooperatives, their contribution during the Covid-19 crisis and, more generally, their contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).