Environmental aspects to consider in the training of cooperatives members

The purpose of this paper lies in answering the question of why cooperatives need to focus the attention on the training of their members and workers in environmental aspects. As the main hypothesis, we consider that there are three reasons that lead to the concern of cooperatives about the environment and, therefore, to the need of training in this issue, in coherence with the fifth cooperative principle. In this sense, firstly, we will address the impact that the exposure to certain means or environments can cause on the cooperative members and workers. It entails the need to study the ways in which the prevention is organized and managed in front of environmental risks in cooperatives, as well as to see the peculiarities of cooperatives in this regard. Secondly, we will study the impact of the cooperative work in the environment. Therefore, we will address the way in which that impact can be managed in cooperatives before the mandate derived from the seventh cooperative principle. Finally, we will delve into the importance of considering environment for the purpose of looking for new markets in the green and blue economy. From a methodological perspective, we will follow, on the one hand, the descriptive and comparative methods in order to analyse the applicable rules applicable in the subject, and, on the other hand, the proactive method in order to give an answer to the issues that are not contemplated in regulations.