Cooperatives and Social Progress: People-Centred Pathways to Inclusion

The United Nations Secretary-General has issued a new report, Cooperatives in Social Development (A/80/168), underscoring the role of cooperatives in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development. The report highlights their contributions to poverty eradication, decent work, and social inclusion, and reviews ongoing initiatives linked to the International Year of Cooperatives 2025.

Despite progress since the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration, inequality and exclusion persist. Social cohesion and trust are eroding, undermining development.

To respond to these challenges, the report outlines a cooperative model, in which cooperatives balance economic viability with member and community needs. Cooperatives strengthen democratic governance, empower marginalized groups, and act as counteracts to market failures.

Cooperatives can also be a powerful tool in eradicating poverty, as they enable access to markets, fair prices, and resources. They also provide jobs for 280 million people globally, with several worker cooperatives showing lower wage gaps and greater stability.

The report offers several recommendations for Member States, including:

• Reform cooperative laws to ensure autonomy, fair taxation, and access to capital
• Integrate cooperatives into national development plans and sectoral strategies
• Provide targeted budgetary support to strengthen cooperative capacity, especially for marginalized groups
• Collaborate with international organizations to develop statistics and evidence-based policies
• Support training, leadership, digital innovation, and market access to scale the impact of cooperatives

By embedding cooperatives into laws and policies, governments can advance the SDGs, strengthen democratic governance, and realize the Copenhagen Declaration’s vision of a just and inclusive society. Social progress cannot be achieved without rebuilding trust, empowering communities, and ensuring no one is left behind. Cooperatives offer a proven, people-centred model to achieve this. As the world prepares for the Second World Social Summit in Doha, they stand as living proof that solidarity and shared ownership are not only values—they are pathways to a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world.

To read the full report, click here.