We are descended from animals and yet we contain an essence, call it spirit or soul or consciousness, that has the potential to transform our lives so that society rises above the basic animal urge for gratifcation. Do we wait for political, spiritual or business leaders to effect that transformation or can we ordinary folk begin that process in our family, our neighborhood, our wider community?

After a successful but somewhat selfish life in the business world I was presented with such an opportunity. I, along with several hundred others, responded to a plea for support for the construction of a small community wind farm in the north of England. We bought shares in a new co-operative. I did so not with the expectation of making money but because it is a way by which a small community can come together and help make the world a better place.

Shortly afterwards I responded again. The co-op needed local volunteer directors to help run it. The co-op’s three small wind turbines didn’t generate sufficient revenue to pay for effective administration, and so I took it upon myself to find more revenue.

I contacted farmers, land-owners, wind farm developers and other communities and with the help of a small bank loan succeeded in buying three additional turbines next door. Now we could afford to pay a full-time employee and though still vulnerable the co-op was just about viable. We explained to our members what we were trying to achieve and they were totally supportive. The majority were more interested in helping fight climate change than in increasing the dividends on their investments. They offered advice and ideas as to how we might become bigger. And they helped educate us, the directors, on wider issues. We were gently admonished because the tea and biscuits we provided at our first members’ meeting weren’t Fair Trade. They encouraged us to call meetings at venues accessible by public transport. Directors and shareholders helped each other become better global citizens.

In time, my discussions with a farmer in the south of England led to another opportunity for growth, the erection of five large wind turbines. More money was needed, which meant a new public share offer, and we created a new co-op. First priority was given to people living close to the proposed site; second priority to members of our first co-op.

Shortly afterwards, talks with two developers began to bear fruit. There were mutual benefits: the developers could be seen to embrace the community, and we ensured that some of the profits earned would be retained in the community. We set up two more co-ops, one in East Anglia, one in Scotland. With each new public share offering we gave first priority to the local community, second priority to existing co-op members. We were creating a family of co-ops, each one with a local board of directors and a large percentage of local members, but with many individuals investing in multiple co-ops and becoming part of a non-geographic, renewable energy community.

We realised that our growing administrative and development function needed to be separated from the co-ops, and we created a new company which, rather grandiosely, we called Energy4All. A conventional hierarchical group wouldn’t work with the co-operative model. Energy4All couldn’t be a head office, a holding company; it became a held company, owned by the co-ops it served.

Eventually we became large enough to start paying ourselves as directors. We had been happy as volunteers, but we were running out of steam and couldn’t expect our replacements to work for nothing. We gradually eased ourselves out of the picture and Energy4All became viable in its own right, non-profit making but self-supporting from administrative fees charged to the co-ops. More new co-ops were created throughout the UK. Most were wind farms, but then came a solar park, a biomass community boiler, solar panels for schools. At the latest count there were fifteen co-ops and more than 10,000 members, and I can almost guarantee that the majority of these ordinary people are ambassadors and activists for sustainable, responsible living. They will talk to their friends and colleagues about climate change, and they respond if we ask them to challenge the government when legislation is proposed that would make renewable energy projects more difficult. And the projects themselves stand for all to see, real proof that individuals can work together in harmony with nature to make the world a better place. The largest co-op, our second, has received 7,000 visitors in the last five years.

If this all seems idealistic, it is worth pointing out that along the way the co-ops have been profitable, providing attractive returns for their members. They are a model of good global corporate citizenship, transforming the communities they represent.