What is a social enterprise?
Social enterprises are businesses that exist to create public or community benefit. Unlike traditional businesses, primarily driven by profit, social enterprises embed purpose into everything they do. It's business at its best.
There are over 12,000 social enterprises in Australia contributing to 206,000 jobs and $21.3 billion to our economy.
Social Traders is Australia's national certifier of social enterprises. Since 2018, we've done more than 2,500 certifications and re-certifications, building the largest validated dataset of social enterprises in the country.
Internationally, there are five key features that are recognised:
- Purpose: Their reason for being is to solve a social or environmental problem.
- Operations: They prioritise purpose, people and planet over profit in day-to-day decisions.
- Revenue: They operate with a self-sustaining revenue model.
- Use of surplus: The majority of any surplus is reinvested towards their mission.
- Structure: Their legal and financial structures are designed to protect and lock in purpose for the long term.
Clothing the Gaps
Social enterprises create impact in three ways
Creating jobs
Providing employment and training opportunities for people who would otherwise be shut out of work.
Affordable and accessible community services
Supplying products and services that address unmet community needs in underserved markets.
Supporting charity partners
Donating at least 50% of profits through strategic charitable partnerships.
Certification
Whilst purpose is at the heart of why a social enterprise operates, it can be hard to quantify or explain and there are many different legal structures. Social Traders provides national social enterprise certification for Australia.
Our certification framework is world-leading in its depth and adaptability, and we have certified more than 750 social enterprises across the country to date. Social Traders certification is:
- Backed by international research
- Co-designed with Minter Ellison and EY
- Overseen by an independent expert advisory group
- Endorsed by the social enterprise sector, and adapted ongoing based on sector needs
- Inclusive of all social enterprises models, legal structures and stages of development
Social impact in action
Explore some of the certified social enterprises and how they're creating a fairer, more equitable Australia.
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