The CREATE Foundation has today been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, which identifies them as trading for social and environmental purposes.
The Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises and was launched 1st February, 2010. The Mark identifies businesses which meet defined criteria for social enterprise, and consumers will recognise that businesses displaying the Mark are trading to benefit people and planet.
CREATE joins a distinguished group of nationally recognised ethical businesses that have been awarded the Mark such as the Eden Project and the Big Issue. The Social Enterprise Mark builds off the pilot run by RISE, the voice for South West social enterprise.
Government data estimates that there are 62,000 social enterprises across the UK, contributing £24 billion to the economy and employing around 800,000 people.
Recent research found that social enterprises are twice as confident of growth compared to typical small to medium enterprises (SMEs), with 48% of social enterprises saying they are positive about the future as opposed to just 24% of SMEs (The Social Enterprise Coalition’s State of Social Enterprise Survey 2009).
Social enterprises are working to make a difference across the UK and beyond, but not enough people know what they are or how they work. The Social Enterprise Mark aims to raise awareness of what social enterprises do in order to get more people to buy from, engage with, start up and work for social enterprises.
Sarah Dunwell said, “We’re really proud to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark. CREATE is absolutely committed to supporting sustainable businesses and consequently helping local communities to thrive and prosper”.
Lucy Findlay champion from the Social Enterprise Mark Company (manager of the Mark),
"With more and more opportunities opening up every day for social enterprises to deliver health services, the Social Enterprise Mark has an important role to play in helping people understand when their health provider is genuinely socially motivated. The Social Enterprise Mark will be available across the country and we hope its the next 'Fair Trade'-type success story in helping people buy in a more ‘ethical’ way."
find out more about the social enterprise mark here, or watch the video.
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