What is a Social Enterprise? Surprisingly not many people know….
Who else is doing it? The Big Issue, the Eden Project and Jamie Oliver’s restaurant fifteen are some of the most popular examples of social enterprises.
A social enterprise’s sole purpose is its social mission – attempting to increase the good it does for society and balance against its financial goals. Being a social enterprise is about adopting a set of operational principles such as; generating the majority of their income through trade and then reinvesting the majority of their profit into their social aims and having a clear social and/ or environmental mission (set out in their governing documents).
According to 2012 data from the BIS Survey of Small Business UK, there are approximately 70,000 social enterprises in the UK, employing 723,000 people and contributing £18.5 billion to the UK economy.
That is an outstanding achievement for Social Entrepreneurs that put the community before profit!!
- Social enterprises share the same values
- They have a clear social and/or environmental mission (set out in their governing documents)
- They can be a range of legal structures including CIC (community interest company) LTD (private limited with written Articles of the intended social mission) Charities, CLG and more
- Making its money from selling goods and services
- Reinvest the majority of their profits into furthering their social mission and making a big difference in the community
- Covering its own costs in the long-term (though like any business, it may need help to get started)
Using Social Enterprises in your supply chain can make a massive difference to your organisation in a number of ways –
- Your staff will appreciate and be proud of the good you are doing and increase their productivity.
- You will increase your company’s own Corporate Social Responsibility as profits from your transaction goes for the benefit of the community.
- Increase your company’s Social Impact at no extra cost to you.
- Your own customers may favour your company over competitors
Statistics show that 88% of customers will use a company that has a social impact in the community than one that does not. Questions on a company’s social impact is always on tender documents and is usually part of its weighting.
A look at our Social Enterprise………..
Fire Safety Managers Ltd – is the only fire safety company in the UK that operates as a Social Enterprise putting others safety before profits….
Fire Safety Managers is a social enterprise that focuses on reinvesting up to half of its profits into fire prevention to help save lives.
By delivering free fire safety workshops
> To teach children within their classrooms fire safety techniques by our unique methods. A survey of 200 parents was conducted within the West Midlands and 99.7% said they want their children to be taught fire safety whilst at school.
New Fire Safety Projects are continuously being considered and the viable ones being actioned. If you want to put forward some ideas then let us know by emailing us below.
“Prevention is always better than cure, which is why we work tirelessly everyday to bring awareness to the importance of fire safety in our homes reaching them on the streets, via Social Media and by teaching their children” –CEO”
Our operations are the same as any other fire company, with qualified engineers and NEBOSH qualified Risk Assessors, it’s just our focus is on ensuring communities benefit from our company’s existence!
Unfortunately the Government continues to cut the budgets of our emergency services, including the fire service, which means and rightly so emergencies will take precedence over community work.
The staff at Fire Safety Managers are keen to ensure that people, especially children do not suffer because of it by increasing awareness of the importance of fire safety in our homes at the same time teaching children fire safety techniques to keep them safe.
