Social enterprises are unique because they exist to create impact through trade. Purpose is at their heart, but it can be hard to quantify or explain, and they use many different legal structures.
That’s why we set up the certification process – so everyone can have confidence that the Social Enterprise model really does create social or environmental impact through trade.
We work with Social Enterprises to articulate their social impact model, and the activities and costs associated with it. This allows us to spotlight Social Enterprise and ensures everyone trusts its extraordinary impact.
Certification demonstrates that a social enterprise exists to create impact through trade by doing three things:
Our certification process is supportive, offering Social Enterprises the flexibility they need across diverse models and stages of development.
Sometimes certification applications can be complex. Our Social Traders Certification Advisory Group provides an independent, third-party perspective on these matters. They also provide general advice to Social Traders on certification as the social enterprise sector continues to evolve.
Social Traders maintains an audit and review process and will investigate issues or complaints raised against a certified social enterprise. The scope of any review that is conducted will be based on issues aligned with our certification framework.
Full details can be found in our Certification Complaints and Review Process document.