Social Enterprises are businesses that:
- Trade for social and/or environmental purposes
- Reinvest profit back into the business or other related or unrelated activities
- Ownership and governance structures based on participation and not for personal gain
- Compete in the market like any other business
Well known examples include The Big Issue, Cafedirect and Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen.
Social enterprises are commonly defined as:
“...businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners”.
They operate across a wide range of industries and sectors:
Agriculture e.g. 7Y, Leominster
Childcare e.g. TLC Neighbourhood Nursery, Wolverhampton
Construction e.g. The Jericho Foundation, Birmingham
Education e.g. Robert Owen Society,Leominster
Events and conferencing e.g. Bhat Singh Sabha, Birmingham
Environmental services e.g. Envirowarm, Dudley
Financial services e.g. Impetus, Marches
Health and social care e.g. Future Health and Social Care Services, Birmingham
Landscaping, gardening e.g. Heartlands RSO, Birmingham
Leisure and Sports e.g. Birmingham Community Sports
Print, design and media services e.g. Ignite Creative, Coventry
Property and maintenance services e.g. B-Trac Services, Sandwell
Transport e.g. Car-go-bus (Warwickshire)
Training and skills e.g. Black Swan Centre, Coventry
Recycling e.g. South Shropshire Furniture Recycling Scheme (Ludlow)
Social Enterprises can take a wide variety of legal forms:
- Limited Liability Company (either a company limited by shares or a company limited by guarantee)
- Industrial & Provident Society
- Limited Liability Partnership
- Community Interest Company