Sustainable development goals on the cooperative sector: A comprehensive systematic literature review

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a global framework for promoting inclusive and sustainable development, and cooperatives have increasingly been recognized as important institutional actors in advancing these objectives through their community-oriented governance structures, member participation, and collective ownership principles. Despite this potential, the academic literature examining how cooperatives contribute to the SDGs remains fragmented across different research streams, making it difficult to identify the dominant themes and current state of knowledge within the field. This study systematically reviews and synthesizes existing scholarly literature on the role of the cooperative sector in supporting the SDGs. A systematic literature review approach was employed and guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. The literature search was conducted using Scopus and Web of Science through an advanced search strategy combining SDG-related terms and cooperative-related terms. After screening, eligibility assessment, and quality appraisal, 31 primary studies were included in the final thematic synthesis. The synthesis revealed three major themes. The first theme highlights the role of cooperatives in socio-economic development and empowerment, particularly through financial inclusion, employment opportunities, women’s empowerment, community participation, and inclusive economic activities. The second theme focuses on environmental sustainability and climate action, where cooperatives contribute through sustainable agriculture, cleaner production, waste management, resource protection, and climate adaptation initiatives. The third theme addresses governance, policy, and SDG measurement, emphasizing the importance of compliance mechanisms, institutional frameworks, policy support, sustainability reporting, and measurement tools in aligning cooperative activities with the SDG agenda. Overall, the findings demonstrate that cooperatives contribute to sustainable development through interconnected economic, social, environmental, and governance roles. However, the review also shows that cooperative contributions depend on governance quality, member capacity, institutional support, and reliable measurement systems. The study contributes to the literature by organizing fragmented evidence into a clearer thematic structure and identifying future directions for research on cooperatives and the SDGs.