05/20/2021

For Social Business to Become the Norm, We Need a Social Business Infrastructure

We must change the broader business ecosystem

Organizations that pursue social and environmental goals—alongside financial ones—are called “social businesses,” and there are many examples: Revolution Foods provides healthy school meals in the United States, Envie is a work integration social enterprise specialized in recycling activities in France, and salaUno provides low-cost vision care in Mexico.

Public excitement for social business models like these has grown significantly—particularly among younger generations. Yet most businesses have continued to operate in the same old way: focused solely on maximizing profit and shareholder value, no matter what the social and environmental consequences of their actions are.

We find ourselves at a crossroads: either the social economy will remain separate from the rest of the economy, or it will permeate the broader global economy and contribute to changing the way all business is done. If social businesses remain a niche in an ecosystem designed to support profit-oriented businesses, then it will be difficult for them to survive, let alone thrive. More critically, if the exclusive pursuit of profit and shareholder value remains the core force driving our economic and social systems, then inequalities will only increase, and we will continue to destroy our natural ecosystems at a speed that endangers not only other species but also humanity itself.

Please select this link to read the complete article from SSIR.