Yesterday, Cogeca proudly celebrated the 6th edition of the European Award countries, for Cooperative Innovation, recognising 11 outstanding awardees, from across four categories for their groundbreaking contributions to sustainability, digitalisation, community empowerment and economic development within Europe’s agri-food cooperative sector. This celebration took place in the context of the UN International Year of Cooperatives.
Hosted at the European Parliament and co-chaired by MEP André Françqueira Rodrigues and MEP Francisco Assis (S&D, Portugal), the ceremony highlighted the cooperative model’s unique capacity to drive long-term rural resilience, farmer-led innovation, and equitable economic value distribution. This year’s edition had a new structure as awards were organised into four key categories: Economic; Environmental; Social; Cooperation for Sustainability.
In their opening remarks Roberto García Torrente (Cajamar), and Hélène-Diane Dage (European Commission, DG GROW) underscored the transformative power of cooperatives in combining technological advancement with social responsibility. They emphasised how cooperatives deliver practical, farmer-centred solutions to the environmental and economic challenges facing rural Europe.
“Cooperatives are not just economic actors, they are engines of innovation, sustainability, and community strength,” said Lennart Nilsson, Cogeca’s President. “This year’s awardees exemplify how collective action can turn challenges into opportunities, ensuring a thriving future for European agriculture.”
On one hand, the event gave pride of place to tech & climate as several winners prove coops are pioneers in AI, carbon farming & circularity. On the other hand, youth & communities took center stage as cement of rural activities.
The 2025 edition attracted applications from cooperatives across 7 european countries, showcasing the diverse and dynamic innovation emerging from the sector. Following a rigorous evaluation, the Jury selected 11 winners across four key categories:
Economic Value Creation
- VICASOL (Spain) – Operational efficiency through automation and control
- Deutscher Raiffeisenverband e.V. (Germany) – Digital transformation for cooperative efficiency
- Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España (Spain) – Strategic branding to enhance market value
Environmental Value Creation
- Tereos (France) – Decarbonisation and accelerating the green transition
- SAT 2803 TROPS (Spain) – Systemic change through integrated digitalisation and governance
- Tirlán (Ireland) – Science-based model for national water-quality improvement
Social Value Creation
- Raiffeisen Agri Leese eG (Germany) – Strengthening rural communities through cooperative care networks
- Valio (Finland) – Empowering young farmers through cooperative training
- Farmers’ Cooperative of the Southern Great Plain (Hungary) – Bridging theory and practice for sustainable farming skills
Cooperation for Sustainability
- Legacoop (Italy) – Public-private cooperation for climate resilience
- VIVESCIA (France) – Low-carbon value-chain innovation
The Jury also awarded four Special Awards for exceptional achievement:
- VICASOL (Spain) – Special Award for Economic Value Creation
- Tereos (France) – Special Award for Environmental Value Creation
- Raiffeisen Agri Leese eG (Germany) – Special Award for Social Value Creation
- Legacoop (Italy) – Special Award for Cooperation for Sustainability
Congratulations to all participating cooperatives for their commitment to innovative, sustainable and community-focused agricultural systems!
Discovers winning initiatives: https://copa-cogeca.eu/Flexpage/DownloadFile/?id=13607915
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
