The shareholders voted on adopting the following changes to the co-op’s rulebook.
- Promotion of diverse membership and governance participation.
- Ensure meetings are held in a manner that encourages attendance and participation by diverse members.
- Introduction of postal, electronic and hybrid voting for elections of members of the board.
- Updating of language in the rules to reflect a modern society e.g. chairperson replacing chairman
Speaking after the SGM, Lakeland Dairies’ chairperson, Niall Matthews, welcomed the outcome of the vote.“I am pleased to see such a strong turnout from our shareholders and, equally, I am delighted to see the votes pass in such a comprehensive manner.“This is one of the most transformative times in the history of the co-operative movement. We are seeing considerable change coming to farming and with change comes opportunity. I’m a firm believer that having as many voices as possible from diverse backgrounds within our co-operative helps continually to foster progressive ideas and strategies.“We are a modern co-op with a large supplier base. Therefore, I am also pleased to see the option for in-person as well as hybrid voting for board elections being carried. We want to ensure that every eligible shareholder has a voice in an election for their board and this will help farmers have options on how to vote – which is a critical component of a democratic co-operative.”