NZPM Co-operative, made up of their two main operating businesses Plumbing World and Metrix Imports, was awarded the Co-operative Business of the Year award for 2021 at February’s virtual awards ceremony.
The co-operative demonstrated considerable strong growth and a resilient and sustainable performance over the past year, leading them to their win of this coveted award.
The award is presented to a co-operative who has shown the true spirit of co-operative principles through making a significant and positive impact within the co-operative community, returning benefits to members, and in addition, possibly to local communities, for the 2020 – 2021 period.
What stood out in NZPM’s winning nomination was their evidence of “walking the talk” of all seven Rochdale Co-operative Principles, and the initiatives and projects they’ve worked on to support this.
Some standouts were:
- They saw 5.8% of membership growth in 2021 and declared a gross rebate dividend of 8% Grade-A cash – allowing the co-operative to pay an appropriate share of profit to shareholders while managing their future commitments to growth
- They progressed with investments for sourcing plumbing products from Asia, which secured their long-term supply channel while also enabling them to influence key ethical and sustainable purchasing behaviours
On the topic of ethical and sustainable practices, they got well underway with a Social Responsibility Plan Initiative. With this, NZPM has set benchmarks for improvement in their carbon emissions, product labelling, recycling and packing. Part of this has included involving members and staff to ‘buy in’ and stay informed on these initiatives, allowing everyone in the team to contribute to meeting these benchmarks.
NZPM also actively engaged with education and training opportunities – a standout being their support for women in the industry through the National Association of Women in Construction Heel and Steel Events held at 5 of their branches.
The co-operative stayed active in the community with their shareholders generously raising over $30,000 in support of numerous fundraising efforts. Not only that, they continue to give back to the Plumbing Industry to help nurture it with several initiatives such as the Young Plumbers Club, which focuses on upskilling and engaging the next generation
CEO Roz Henry says, “it is clear through their initiatives that NZPM is living and breathing the co-operative guiding principles. Their work over the past year has put them in good stead to continue to succeed with their strategies going forward.”
Congratulations NZPM!
The other finalists in the Co-operative Business of the Year Category for 2021 were:
With thanks to Anderson Lloyd and LBMX. The Annual Awards would not be possible without your support.
