Cooperative work for Sustainable Development: a Labour law approach to the Seventh Principle of International cooperation

The paper analyses cooperative work for sustainable development as a tool for a just and inclusive Green Transition, deepening the relevance of the Seventh Principle of the Statement on the Cooperative Identity adopted by the ICA in 1995, according to which cooperatives, through policies approved by members, work for the sustainable development of the community. This principle is realized in the Italian system if we consider the participatory, inclusive and democratic governance adopted by the cooperative model and directly involving the member (also) worker. In this regard, community or public benefit cooperatives, which aim to pursue the general interest, fully realize this principle, because they contribute to the sustainable development of the community in which they operate thanks to the work of the members-workers, allowing the realization of a fair and inclusive Green Transition. Cooperatives therefore play a fundamental role both internationally and nationally for the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the country. In this regard, the cooperative model is opposed to the profit enterprise, because it considers as priority the needs of the person and the community.