The difference we can all make

Paul Chandler, Co-op Board Director

In an incredibly inspiring episode, Paul Chandler shows how the small actions of individuals can make big changes.  And that we all hold the power to make positive change in our own way.

More about Paul

Paul Chandler was Chief Executive of Traidcraft (one of the founders of Cafédirect and a distributor of its products) from 2001-2013, and was President of the European Fair Trade Association from 2005-11. From 2006-11 he was also a director of the Cafédirect Guardian Share Company, which was responsible for ensuring the company remained true to its fair trade values and principles.

Among other roles, Paul is currently a Member Nominated Director on the Board of the Co-op Group, a non-executive director of Shared Interest (the fair trade lending society), and Treasurer of the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels.

What to expect

We discuss the need for the right guardianship in any business with purpose, to ensure it stays true to its values – and how credibility and diversity is critical for this.

Paul reflects on the growth of Fairtrade movement over his career, from a time when big corporations thought it had no future, to customers demanding Fairtrade products in their supermarkets.