The Social Enterprise Mark

The new Social Enterprise Mark has now been launched. There are high hopes that it will create a much better understanding of what social enterprise is and get more people to buy from, engage with, start up and work for social enterprises. The Mark identifies businesses that meet defined criteria for social enterprise and offers consumers an instantly recognisable logo that represents enterprises working for social and environmental aims,trading to benefit people and the planet.

The Social Enterprise Mark was successfully piloted in the South West by RISE as a social enterprise identifier and this national learning project initially worked to further develop the Mark in the South West. However it was soon realised that the Mark had much wider potential and this project began contributing to the development of a Social Enterprise Mark with national reach.

The Social Enterprise Mark was developed by RISE, the Social Enterprise Coalition and the Office of the Third Sector, with funding from the Big Lottery and Capacity builders. As a direct consequence of this innovative partnership work, RISE and the Social Enterprise Coalition have established a new joint venture, the Social Enterprise Mark CIC, to manage the new Social Enterprise Mark.

After much research and planning, the Social Enterprise Mark was launched at the Social Enterprise Coalition's annual conference, Voice 10, on 1 February 2010. It is about driving awareness of social enterprise and setting a new standard for business. It is more than just a logo; it is the brand for social enterprise and will work to transform the sector.