Global Social Enterprise Day – 21 November 2024

To mark Global Social Enterprise Day, I want to take a moment to explain how social enterprises contribute to our community.

A social enterprise operates like a regular business with the exception that the primary goal is to create a positive social or environmental impact. It’s not just about making profit.

While a regular business focuses on maximising its profits and returns for shareholders, a social enterprise reinvests most of its profits back into the organisation and mission. This might be to provide jobs for disadvantaged groups, reducing waste, or improving community well-being.

I like to think it's about using business as a lever for good.

Social enterprises tend to be very specific about their purpose, and so they’re important in that they tackle specific pressing social and environmental issues in sustainable ways. They create opportunities for people who might be left out of the traditional job market, contribute to the environment, and strengthen communities. By reinvesting profits into their mission, they effectively combine the efficiency of business with the heart of a not-for-profit, driving real, lasting impact.

Like the saying goes, commercial mind, social heart.

Social enterprises are especially important for young people in a couple of ways. Firstly, because they represent a different way of doing business, and one that probably aligns with the values many young people care about, like the environment, sustainability, fairness, or social justice.

But social enterprises can also show that you don’t have to choose between making a living and making a difference; you can actually do both.

Social enterprises are often innovative and dynamic. When I was thinking about starting my career at Workpower as a young person, the concept of helping to contribute to a better future was an attractive one.

Workpower is a social enterprise that creates employment and community opportunities for people with disability. We do this by owning and operating a wide range of commercial enterprises, from environmental services and waste recovery to packaging and manufacturing, horticulture and grounds and gardens. All these businesses are tools by which we can provide jobs, training, and social inclusion.

Workpower’s model is to combine successful commercial business with social impact, helping people build skills, independence, and maintain that sense of purpose that we all strive for.