We’re a Community Benefit Society - What does that mean for Retrofit?

We aren’t a charity, we aren’t a Community Interest Company (CIC), nor are we a limited company. So what are we? And why does our governance model matter for retrofit?

You might not have realised, but People Powered Retrofit is a Community Benefit Society, sometimes known as a Community Co-operative, a lesser known cooperative model that legally requires us to serve the broader interests of the community - rather than just a handful of shareholders, or purely our members. This distinction makes us different from a traditional cooperative (maximises benefit for members), a community interest company (a limited business with a social purpose) and a company (maximises benefit for shareholders). We are a democratic, community-owned society.

And this shapes every service we offer and every decision we make.

Community Benefit Societies are required to have a clear purpose, set out in their rules. Unlike a charity, which can have lots of purposes or objectives, we can have only one - and it cannot change.

Our purpose is set out in our rules and requires us to generate a benefit for the community, in our case tackling climate change, through home retrofitting, rather than maximising profits for shareholders like a private company does.

This means we walk a very deliberate line in how we operate and generate revenue. While financial sustainability is important (we do need to keep the lights hot and our staff paid!), our primary objective is not to solely maximise surplus - it is to work towards our purpose.

We don’t have any venture capitalist investors or shareholders trading on the stock market and pushing for a payout, nor do we have a private owner shaping an agenda. Where most businesses ask ‘how do we make more profit?’, we ask ‘how do we grow our impact?’.

As with most societies, we have members. We have around 350 in all, individuals and organisations who have invested ~£750,000 into People Powered Retrofit to support our purpose.

Our membership looks a little different, however. Unlike a Company Limited by Shares where the number of shares affords you more or less control over the business, the democratic rights in a community benefit society is based on a one-member-one-vote system.

This means that there is no concentration of power, no majority shareholders and no single voice of authority. Nor is there an incentive to trade and speculate on the value of shares.

Our members invested because they believe in the power of retrofit to tackle climate change, and our direction is influenced by their interest in this cause.

Surpluses are reinvested into the society; we can’t pay dividends to our members as we have to generate income for the community benefit. Interest can be paid on shares when funds allow and is considered an operating expense and has to be approved by the board.

Simply put, money stays within the society to keep us working towards our purpose.

Our rules include an asset lock, something you might be familiar with if you’ve been involved in, or worked with, a CIC or Charity. An asset lock means that any value we build, any assets we create or purchase must always be used for the community. If People Powered Retrofit was to be wound up, we couldn’t just disseminate the value amongst ourselves and our members.

Value and assets always return to the community - in our case, our rules outline other community-based organisations that must take on ownership of those assets. The asset lock provides protection long-term, and ensures our work continues to protect community decarbonisation efforts.

In short, it helps us live up to our name: We are People Powered. Our society starts with, and is built for, people.

Unbiased advice

We’re not beholden to private shareholders demanding increasingly restrictive dividends, nor are we ‘owned’ by a specific agenda. This means we can offer genuinely unbiased retrofit advice - designed to ensure our clients actually achieve their goals in a way that suits them best - without the pressure of sales quotas or product promotion.

An accountable board

Our board is run voluntarily, pulled from and voted for by our membership based, selected for their varied expertise in retrofit, architecture, research and community development. They keep us accountable and direct our focus, bringing their broad experience and judgement to better our operations - rather than requiring us to grow financially.

Your money helps others, too

Our profits are reinvested into our business, helping us to build services and tools that can help a wider group of people wanting to retrofit their homes. Your money stays within our organisation and opens up opportunities for others to begin decarbonising their home.

Championing retrofit for all

Alongside our work with householders, our consultancy projects help us amplify and champion retrofit at a much higher, national level. We work with other partner organisations to share best practices, learn from each other, and build a more resilient network of retrofit knowledge across the UK and beyond.

We are People Powered Retrofit!

Being part of the cooperative movement means that we're supporting something much bigger than just ourselves, and as our clients and collaborators - you are too!

We are part of a growing movement of organisations working to build a fairer, more democratic economy.

Alongside delivering retrofit, we actively support and contribute to the wider co-operative sector. If you’d like to learn more about how co-operatives work and the impact they’re having across the UK, visit Co-operatives UK.