A compact in eleven
articles.
The public text of the founding charter, revised four times since 2008 and last ratified in Reykjavík, MMXXIV. Members are bound to all eleven.
On Purpose
Retail is the public interface of civilisation. We convene because the problems worth solving will not solve themselves, and because this interface deserves stewards.
On Admission
Admission is by review, never by purchase. No firm is admitted without the independent endorsement of three sitting Governors, read in separate rooms, in separate cities.
On Confidentiality
What is said inside the Collective remains inside the Collective. The Chatham-House rule is the floor, not the ceiling. Disclosure of a fellow member’s words is grounds for immediate expulsion.
On Contribution
Every member firm commits to a minimum of one published study in their area of practice each year, and to service on at least one working group. Seats without contribution are forfeit.
On Candor
Members may not mislead the Collective about their firms. Quarterly disclosures are signed by the principal; a misrepresentation ends the membership.
On the Workforce
No member may knowingly violate the International Labour Standards within their supply chain. Members commit to the WCOR Fair-Wage Audit within eighteen months of admission.
On the Environment
Members commit to Science-Based Targets for their scope-one and scope-two emissions, and to an annual scope-three disclosure within the Collective.
On Governance
The Collective is governed by a Board of twelve, elected for staggered six-year terms by the full membership. The Chair serves a single non-renewable term of four years.
On Dissent
Members are expected to disagree, and to do so in writing. The Quarterly publishes dissenting briefs alongside majority positions. Consensus is never assumed.
On Resignation
A member firm may resign at any time, in writing, to the Secretariat. The resignation is read aloud at the next convening; no comment is offered.
On Succession
The Collective will outlive us. Article XI requires every member firm to nominate a successor principal, in writing, annually.