A social enterprise is a business that uses its commercial activities to address a social or environmental issue. While they generate revenue like a conventional company, their profits are primarily reinvested back into their mission, rather than being paid out to private owners or shareholders. This blended value proposition allows them to be financially self-sustaining while creating a positive impact.
Examples of Social Enterprises
Social enterprises operate across a wide range of sectors, demonstrating that a mission-driven approach can be applied to almost any business.
- Change Please: This UK-based coffee company trains and employs people experiencing homelessness as baristas. The revenue from their coffee sales funds their training and support programs, helping individuals move out of homelessness and into stable employment.
- Toast Ale: Tackling the issue of food waste, Toast Ale brews craft beer using surplus, unsold bread. By turning a wasted resource into a high-quality product, they not only reduce food waste but also donate all their profits to environmental charities.
- The Big Issue: This well-known UK social enterprise sells a magazine through a network of vendors who are experiencing homelessness or poverty. The vendors buy the magazines at a reduced rate and keep the profit from the sales, providing them with a legitimate income and a path to financial stability.
Social Enterprises in the UK Brewing Sector
The UK brewing industry has several innovative social enterprises that are using beer as a force for good. These breweries prove that a passion for craft beer can be combined with a commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability.
- Tap Social Movement: Based in Oxford, this brewery provides training and employment opportunities for people serving prison sentences and those who have recently been released. By offering meaningful work and a supportive community, they help to reduce reoffending rates and support individuals in making a successful transition back into society. They have a core range of “criminally good beer” and run several community venues across Oxfordshire.
- Brewgooder: This Scottish craft beer company has a mission to provide clean water to communities around the world. It donates 100% of its profits to clean water projects in countries like Malawi and Cambodia. The company’s vision is that for every person who enjoys a Brewgooder beer, another person gets to enjoy clean drinking water.
- Crumbs Brewing: A microbrewery that, similar to Toast Ale, uses waste bread from local bakeries to create its beers. This creative approach to brewing tackles food waste while producing a delicious and unique product.