Cameron: UK ‘must build a better economy’
David Cameron has announced plans for a Co-operatives Bill and says he wants more social responsibility from firms.

“There is a great need to provide opportunities today that help entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and build the businesses of tomorrow. Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011 will kick-start the conversations that are needed to make this happen.” Andrew Devenport, Chief Executive, Youth Business International
Every day in the UK people talk about making a change in their life and consider starting up a business. By connecting individuals to practical support and those who have done it already, Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011 will help turn these exchanges into the businesses of tomorrow.

Roald Dahl Day takes place every year on 13 September, on the birthday of the World’s No. 1 Storyteller. And 2011 will be no different! There are events happening all over the world.
This year celebrating the very special 50th anniversary of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH so why not join the fun and organise your own Peach-themed event at school or at home? Just don’t forget to invite loads of friends!

Total Coverage would like to say a huge thanks to Sarah Hill from Profit from Principles for supporting our Greener Together initiative. Here’s Sarah pictured with her hamper of lovely goodies which we sent to her as a token of our appreciation. Sarah works with organisations to help them become more effective by taking a values-based approach to their work.

Climate Week is a supercharged national occasion that offers an annual renewal of our ambition and confidence to combat climate change. It is for everyone wanting to do their bit to protect our planet and create a secure future. To see Total Coverage’s policy, have a look at our ethics page, or for more details about Climate Week, click here.

Kingsley Brown, Total Coverage Director will be at Voice 11, the Social Enterprise Coalition’s annual conference, on Wednesday 30 March.

Kingsley says: “I’m looking forward to meeting so many people who are really interested in wanting to challenge the way business is done. I’m hoping to show people that businesses working to a triple bottom line can be sustainable, Total Coverage graphic design co-operative is in its 23rd year, so we are living proof that the business model works. It’s good to know the clients we work with would rather spend their money with businesses that have social, environmental and economic aims, rather than lining the pockets of some private faceless investor”.

Southampton-based graphic design company, Total Coverage, has been named ‘Co-operative of the Month’, after completing an initiative to become greener and reduce their carbon footprint. The business, established in 1988, which specialises in delivering engaging communications including marketing literature, corporate publications, display graphics and websites, received the award in recognition for completing the Greener Together – the co-operative way project.

A total of 49 members of the creative co-operative got involved and over the course of the project, managed to reduce 26 tonnes of CO2 emissions in areas such as energy and transport and also saved nearly a tonne of waste being deposited at landfill sites. And the green team is not stopping there! They are continuing to reduce their CO2 emissions by making use of the prizes they have won from the competition, which include a wormery, energy monitor and radiator booster.

Linda Bratcher, Sales and Marketing Director at Total Coverage, said: “We are delighted to be named ‘Co-operative of the Month’ for completing the Greener Together challenge and we’re thrilled with the prizes we have won.

“As a co-operative, we have a very ethical and environmental ethos at our heart and we had been looking at ways in which we could do our bit for the planet, and so joining up to the Greener Together project was ideal for us. We have been very committed to the project from day one and being named ‘Co-operative of the Month’ is just the icing on the cake.”

Greener Together – the co-operative way, is a major project run by Co-operatives UK, the national trade body for co-operative enterprises, which encourages and supports individuals to overcome the barriers of lifestyle change and live in a more sustainable way. The project helps co-operatives make a significant impact on climate change, and reduce their environmental impact in the three key areas of energy, waste and personal transport. To date, thanks to Greener Together, 19 tonnes of waste has been saved from being deposited at landfill and over 460 tonnes of CO2 has been reduced in energy and transport.

Total Coverage will now look forward to joining other co-operatives across the country to celebrate their participation in the project, during the first ever National Campaign to celebrate Greener Together, during Greener Together Week (21 to 27 March 2011).

Part of the Greener Living Fund, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the project aims to help people to live in a more sustainable way, by focusing on the small actions every individual can take in their daily lives and enables member organisations of Co-operatives UK, the Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH) and the Plunkett Foundation to work with their members and customers in achieving greener behaviour.

To find out more about Greener Together, visit the website at www.greenertogether.coop

Over the last twelve months Ainslie Chivers has been involved in Total Coverage’s Greener Together initiative and has become more eco aware because of it. Total Coverage Director, Kingsley Brown (pictured right) presents Ainslie with a hamper full of locally sourced edible goodies for getting involved with the initiative. The hamper from Bay Leaves Larder, a nearby community store, was a thank you to Ainslie for being so supportive. Greener Together aims to help people to live in a more sustainable way. It does this by focusing on the small actions we can each take in our daily lives towards achieving bigger changes in the wider world.

Thanks to winning an eco prize in a recent Greener Together competition, Mark Bratcher from Southampton is the proud owner of a wormery.

Mark says: “I’ve had the thing for a couple of months now, but the worms don’t seem to be that active at the moment, probably due to the cold. I am hoping for great things come summer! A wormery is not a home for my pet worms, as most people seem to think, when I tell them about my recent acquisition; it turns cooked and uncooked food leftovers (plus things like toilet roll tubes, egg boxes and paper towels) into a rich compost and an excellent liquid feed for plants, so we’ll see how it goes…!