2009-09-07
Some weeks ago, it was named one of the world’s most inspiring Skype companies. Now the success continues for incubator company CAmpus ReDesign. On 4 September, it was announced that the company won the award of “Cooperative of the Year in Värmland”.
“We hade no great difficulty in agreeing on the cooperative to be selected, thereby also representing Värmland in the national competition,” the jury reasoned.The jury was unanimous in its decision to pick CAmpus ReDesign as the worthy winner of “Cooperative of the Year in Värmland” award.
Particularly attention was drawn to the fact that the company started its operations within the framework of a completely new corporate form: CAmpus ReDesign is the first European Cooperative Society in Sweden.
Creating an entirely new form of company has required hard work and patience from founder Jonas Lagneryd, but it will also yield positive results.
- We’re not the only ones to have learned something new, says Leif Tyrén of Värmlandskooperativen (the Cooperative Development Agency in Värmland).
- This is new stuff to Bolagsverket (the Swedish Companies Registration Office), Swedbank, the tax authorities and others as well, and it’s a lesson that’ll now be documented as a manual for others choosing this form of business enterprise in the future, he continues.
The unique business concept was another important reason for the award. The service developed by the company is based on connecting several of the world’s most prominent sustainability experts, who then give courses and offer their competence in sustainable development. The purpose is for the service, called CARD.COOP, to facilitate sustainable and profitable business, primarily in product development and urban design. Another factor the jury found particularly impressive was the global partnership. The founders of CAmpus ReDesign come from the USA, Japan, France, Canada, China, Belgium and Sweden.
In October, CAmpus ReDesign will launch its offer on the market. According to Jonas Lagneryd, the recent awards were just right in time to provide valuable marketing and further inspiration for the launch. And when setting up a new business, any financial contributions are of course welcome.
- The SEK 10,000 prize cheque for the award will be used for continued product development and marketing, Jonas explains.
The award was presented by Värmlandskooperativen in collaboration with Folksam, Konsum Värmland, HSB central Värmland, OK Värmland and Riksbyggen – all well-known cooperative enterprises. It is a scholarship given to a cooperative business or operation that has achieved a feat of some kind. It may be a newly-started cooperative or one with a specific orientation.
The winning cooperative qualifies as Värmland’s candidate for the “Cooperative of the Year in Sweden” award. The national prize ceremony takes place in November. Then we will know if the award rain on Jonas Lagneryd continues.
