After a gap of three years, we’re back with an in person / hybrid AGM celebration event. We will re-cap of Carbon Co-op’s work in tackling climate change through collective action and highlight the progress made over the last few years and the plans and challenges ahead. Come along to get hear about our work, offer your views and meet other members. The event features a celebratory meal and a film showing of the Oil Machine plus a Q&A.
- When: 10-3pm, Saturday 25th March 2023
- Where: Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Manchester M4 7HR; and online
- Who: the event is aimed at members but open to all!
- Booking: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/carbon-co-op-agm-and-celebration-2023-tickets-562939014747 (NB When booking select member or non-member and in person or online – if you are not sure whether you are a member get in touch).
Q&A panel
The film showing will be followed by a Q&A featuring a range of panelists talking about the oil industry and the challenge of decommissioning. The panel features:
David Whyte
David Whyte is Professor of Climate Justice at Queen Mary University of London, where he is Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice. His work is concerned with the role of law in both controlling and enabling social and environmental damage, with a focus on capitalism and profit making corporations. He is author of Ecocide: kill the corporation before it kills us (Manchester University Press, 2020).
Running order
- 10:00 – 10:30 – Registration, tea and coffee
- 10:30 – 12:00 – AGM (including feedback member survey 2023, input into the organisational strategy and election of board)
- 12:00 – 12:45 – Lunch
- 12:45 – 14:45 – Film + Q&A
- 15:00 – 15:00 – End
Join the Carbon Co-op board
Could you help tackle climate change whilst being part of an inspiring and unique community energy organisation? Carbon Co-op’s Annual General Meeting is approaching and we are recruiting new board members. Board members are elected by the membership, from the membership, so if you’d like to stand you need to be a current member or intend to join the membership.
We’re not only looking for board members, if you’re curious you can become an observer and attend meetings to get a feel for what’s involved before joining at a later date. Board membership involves attending six, 2 hour meetings a year, in person or by video call.
To express an interest in joining the board or becoming an observer, please follow this link: https://forms.gle/JEmHQ1LDuVyd4Kds6 (Deadline is 5pm, Thursday 23rd March 2023).
Agenda
- Members present and apologies
- Minutes of last meeting
- Report on the year & Future Plans
- Presentation of accounts 2020/2021
- Appointment of Auditor resolution
“Proposal to dis-apply the requirement to appoint an auditor in line with the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.” - Board Election
Board papers
Carbon Co-op Accounts 2021
Take a look at our annual accounts for the year ending September 2021
Our current projects
Read more about some of the projects being undertaken at Carbon Co-Op:Board Members standing for election
Meet the potential board members who’ve put themselves forward as member representatives for 2023/24Dr Chris Jones – “I’m a Knowledge Exchange Fellow at Manchester University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. I’d like to continue as a board member to support the great work of Carbon Coop and feed in insights and opportunities from the University sector that might support that work.”
Ivana Jakubkova – “I’ve been on the board since 2020 and am keen to continue supporting the co-operative and representing the members.”
Jonathan Atkinson – staff member, Director – “As a co-founder and long-standing board member I have extensive experience and insight into the sector and policy developments around the low carbon transition. I’d like to continue in the role and be an advocate for collective, co-operative solutions.”
Dr Lloyd Hamilton – “I have a background in research, innovation and applied sciences, most notably in biological and biochemical sciences and my day job involves reducing the environmental impact on skin and hair. In 2017, we started to renovating our home, utilising some assistance with contacts and information from Carbon Coop. We have addressed fabric and are incorporated smart tech and measurements, with a future eye on renewables. I’d be happy to continue and share my limited knowledge and skills with others making the retrofit journey.”
Matt Fawcett – staff member, Director – “I’ve been involved in Carbon Co-op and involved in steering the organisation since before we were constituted. Most of my working life has been in the co-operative sector and I’ve been involved as a founder or board member of 6 co-operatives / social enterprises which are still operating in the city. I’d like to continue in my role to help maintain the organisation memory.”
Peter Livesey – “I’ve been a board member since 2019, I’ve had a long career running my own business and providing services to financial service organisations. I’m keen to continue supporting Carbon Co-op’s work.”
Michael Hemingway – “I support the Carbon Co-op model, working with like-minded people at grass roots level to bring about change. I am a longstanding member of the board and would like to continue in this role.”
Eddie Sheehy – “My home was retrofitted in 2014 with the scheme fully planned and delivered by Carbon Coop. The planned reductions of at least 40% in energy consumption has been achieved and exceeded. This has ensured that my carbon footprint has fallen significantly as well. I worked as a lecturer in education in Manchester and was also a Councillor in Salford for 15 years. In that time, I have helped set up a number of groups and many are working on environmental and community projects to this day. Over the last few years I have devoted time to helping set up carbon reduction and solar energy schemes in my local area.”
Chris Medrano – “I have c35 years experience in the social housing sector. I’m really interested in the work that the carbon co-op do, put simply it is the future. Whilst RSL’s have been improving homes and reducing reliance on carbon, I do not think it is moving quickly enough, for our customers or for our planet. We are making headway on new builds to higher specification, but retrofit is much more difficult. I’d like the opportunity to explore and better understand what the blockages are from all perspectives and be part of a team trying to resolve these issues so that this type of essential work becomes mainstream.”
Richard Amos – “I have self-built an AECB level retrofit on my own property and have significant technical and practical knowledge in this area. I also work for a startup specialising in corporate sustainability and have considerable interest in policy/system driven change. I would like to hep provide my experience and skills in helping define pragmatic but impactful ways to help retrofitting in a sustainable way that grows the skillset of trades and takes it out of the realm of only being truly possible with (a lot of) money, or (a lot of) personal time.”
Graham Lock – “My business runs the UK’s largest retrofit network and stages regional retrofits summits across the UK. I’m very interested in the Carbon Coop model and am keen to learn more about it, but also to see who it might inspire others across the UK. I am also at the early stage of considering setting up a local retrofit community where I live in the West Midlands, so it will also help me understand the challenges and pitfalls of embarking on that journey.”
Christopher Price – “I have experience working on the UK & EU regulatory roadmap, my day job with Knauf focuses on the technical side of insulation and I also sit on the Passivhaus Trust technical committee. I’ve been a member for some time and have been meaning to get a bit closer to the activity of the carbon co-op and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available to members. This seems like a way to do that and contribute something back. I hope my career in social housing, climate education and insulation manufacturing puts me in a place to contribute a different but complimentary perspective.”
Christina Brooks – “I believe in retrofit and being able to support people to live in green homes and use them correctly. Reducing our carbon footprint is beneficial to us all.”
Thomas Barlow – “I am a qualified project manager and co-founder of two cooperatives and am currently the treasurer for a multi-stakeholder cooperative, the Independent Media Association, I’m also in the process of co-founding a third cooperative focussing on property management. I’d like to bring my project management skills to Carbon Coop and help support and publicise the work being done.”
Harriet Harper – “I’m an experienced project manager and am proud to have worked in the Zero Carbon Team at Salford City Council. I’m passionate about the power of people to come together to solve problems, like climate change, by drawing on the skills and experience of each-other. I know Carbon Co-op are doing great work across Greater Manchester to engage people and empower them to make changes in their own homes and communities, while working with councils to support their zero carbon ambitions. I’d be delighted to help support this.”