Newcastle Building Society has become the first UK organisation to receive Mutual Value Measurement Accreditation, recognising our ongoing commitment to create value and better serve our members and their communities.
Developed in Australia by The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals and researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, the Mutual Value Measurement (MVM) Framework assists co-operatives and mutuals to understand, measure, and report their positive impact on members, the economy, and their communities.
So far, eight leading co-operatives and mutuals in Australia have achieved MVM Accreditation, which not only make us the first UK organisation to adopt the Framework but also the first outside of Australia.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive officer at Newcastle Building Society, said: “As a mutual, member-owned organisation, our purpose is to 'connect our communities with a better financial future’. For us, delivering our purpose and creating value for our customers and communities is about much more than just the consistently good rates we aim to offer through our savings and mortgage products.
“Traditional reporting and accounting metrics tell us a great deal of essential information about the financial health and performance of the business but tend not to focus on the long-term positive impact we deliver for members and their communities. That’s why the Mutual Value Measurement Framework is such a useful additional perspective in defining goals and measuring performance, helping us capture and understand the value for members of being part of this mutual organisation and how we bring the Society’s purpose to life. That’s particularly important to us because we see member value is a key element of our purpose-led strategy and a fundamental factor in how we maintain a relevant, robust and sustainable business for generations to come.”
“We’ve worked closely with creators of the framework and learned from other mutuals who have adopted so I’m delighted that we are the first organisation to take MVM outside Australia."
The academic analysis behind the MVM framework identified six dimensions to the key value that cooperatives and mutuals generate:
- Commerciality
- Shaping markets
- Member relationships
- Community relationships
- Ecosystem and reciprocity
- Mutual mindset
Organisations in Australia with MVM Accreditation include CivicRisk Mutual, G&C Mutual Bank, and Futurity Investment Group.
Andrew added: “MVM Accreditation is a helpful step for Newcastle Building Society, as we better understand our impact and demonstrate value to our present and future members and customers. Importantly, we’re also using insight from our application of the framework to help us focus our strategic planning, engage further with all stakeholders, and ensure even greater relevance for our members and the communities we serve.
Download the press release (PDF, 169kB).
Image caption: Newcastle Building Society colleagues celebrating outside of their Cobalt Business Park headquarters.
