Fulfilling the Co-op’s Ends Bobby Sullivan, GM
Every year around this time it is my duty to report to our Board of Directors on how well we did the previous year in achieving our Ends Policies. This entails meeting, as best we can, policies regarding products, education, finance, staff environment and our community. It’s a great time to reflect on how we’ve done, so we can move forward effectively to accomplish more in the future. The overall goal is stated in our Global Ends Policy: to be a transformative force in our community and in our work, and to serve as a model of a sustainable business alternative that nurtures social and economic well-being in an environmentally sensitive manner. My reporting starts with an interpretation of the policies to make sure the board and I are on the same page with our perception of what the policy actually means. After all, being a “transformative force” could be interpreted in many ways. For that reason I am also asked to provide an operational definition, so all can be observant of what the policy means to me in the day-to-day operations of the store. My interpretation of the Global Ends Policy is currently this: “The FBFC exists to cause or to be an impetus of a major change in the character or condition of our local area, the people in it and the work we do. We are also here to serve as a model of a sustainable business alternative, so the processes we adopt to do this work should always have the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance. Our financial health should not be at the cost of the social and environmental health of our area, or the planet.” Because of the expansive scope of the above policy, it is helpful to focus in on the individual Ends Policies that govern how we run the business. Therefore, my operational definition is essentially - that by fulfilling the individual Ends Policies, we will thus fulfill our Global Ends. Below are the individual policies and the data points that support our accomplishments.
I’ve abbreviated these as I’m guessing you don’t want to read the eleven pages I turned into the board. PRODUCTS: Maximized availability of healthful and organic foods and non-food products grown, manufactured, or produced locally with ecological and social responsibility for the community. Interpretation: The Co-op will make available as many local products as possible, as long as they are produced with ecological and social responsibility for our community. “Local” as defined by the Co-op means products coming from within a 150-mile radius of the store.
We continue to serve as a first outlet for many new local companies. Because we don’t require them to have a bar code, we are able to bring their products in before any other store and this helps these companies figure out what works and what doesn’t, before they have to make significant investments in their operations.
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