Carbon Co-op is a community-owned energy services and advocacy organisation based in Greater Manchester, England. Its official registered name is The Society for the Reduction of Carbon Limited, trading as Carbon Co-op; it is a Community Benefit Society owned by individual household members and governed by a board elected by its membership.24
The organisation’s roots date to 2005, when Jonathan Atkinson and Nick Dodd initiated the Hulme Solar Co-op project in South Manchester. Carbon Co-op developed from this work and was incorporated as a Community Benefit Society in August 2011.2 Atkinson is identified as a co-founder and director.5
Its work focuses on helping householders and communities reduce home energy use and carbon emissions. Activities include providing knowledge and technical expertise for home energy improvements, supporting whole-house retrofits, and promoting energy-efficiency measures and small-scale renewables.26 Its membership-based model is intended to help residents share experience and pursue improvements collectively.9
Carbon Co-op’s work is centred on Greater Manchester, though its activities have also connected with wider UK and European initiatives.811 In 2021, it partnered with urban design and research co-operative URBED on People Powered Retrofit, a Greater Manchester service that sought community investment to retrofit homes and train local contractors. The offer aimed to raise £550,000, with targets of refurbishing 1,150 homes and training 3,500 contractors over five years.1 People Powered Retrofit subsequently became an independent Community Benefit Society, with Carbon Co-op among its supporters.712