Involvement of the World’s Largest Cooperatives in Sustainable Development Processes

The main objective of the study is the analysis of 300 leading global cooperative enterprises. The dynamics of the turnover of companies, their industry, and country affiliation are reviewed. Also, the authors consider the involvement of the leaders of world cooperation in the problems of sustainable development and the achievement of the 17 goals of sustainable development. To achieve the goal, a number of scientific methods were applied: analysis, synthesis grouping, comparison, tabular and graphical methods, etc. The cooperative sector is most developed in: agriculture and agricultural production, insurance, wholesale, and retail trade. The leading countries in the field of cooperative development include the USA, France, and Germany. The research shows that a quarter of companies from 300 leading global cooperatives share the goals of sustainable development and strive to comply with the United Nations Global Compact or Global Reporting Initiative standards. The results of the study provide the possibility of their application in further scientific developments on this or similar topics. The paper analyzes unique data on the turnover of the world’s leading cooperative enterprises, as well as an analysis of their involvement in sustainable development.