Do you prefer to spend your money buying from a business that has society and the environment at its heart?
Social enterprises plough the majority of their profits back into activities that benefit people and planet, rather than just lining shareholders pockets. Wouldn’t it be better if your local authority thought like this when buying local services?
The Social Enterprise Mark will establish social enterprise as the business of choice for everyone. The Mark is a social enterprise guarantee when a business is trading for people and planet – just look for the Social Enterprise Mark.
If you want to be a certified social enterprise, REGISTER for the Mark.
Inspired by the Fairtrade Mark as a movement to change how people buy, the Social Enterprise Mark identifies and differentiates unique businesses:
The Social Enterprise Mark is the only international certification for social enterprises.
When you see the Social Enterprise Mark displayed, it guarantees that the business is directed by the needs of society and the environment, first and foremost. The Social Enterprise Mark means the business is not led by creating profits for shareholders. You could say the business is ‘not-for-private-profit’ or ‘not-for-dividend’.
As a certification scheme, the Social Enterprise Mark is needed because anyone can call themselves a social enterprise because there is no UK-wide legal definition (although there is a very broad government definition). Until now, there has been no way to guarantee the ethics, behaviours or motivations of that business. In addition, many social enterprises are frustrated that they are not able to explain easily the differences to potential customers, commissioners and investors. The Mark protects social enterprise integrity and provides an easy way to understand social enterprise.
Being a social enterprise means they provide products or services like other businesses, competing on quality, customer service and price. In reality, they work harder managing their business because on top of trading for people and planet, they also have to make things stack up business-wise. They are not a free or cut-price option.
In fact, independent research shows that:
- 74% of customers would rather buy from a company that makes decisions based on concern for society and the environment.
- 88% of commissioners said that (assuming other contract requirements were met) they would prefer a bidder that has a public service ethos.
The term social enterprise is relatively new which means there are a whole host of businesses that are operating like this but have not identified themselves as a social enterprise. The Social Enterprise Mark is bringing these businesses together, to lobby collectively and change society in favour of businesses making a difference, rather than putting shareholder or personal profit first.
Most importantly, you can look for and buy from them – find certified social enterprises near you in the directory or on the map.
What can the Social Enterprise Mark do for my business?
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