I wasn’t aware of this until I read the press release letting me know that Mark Lazarowicz MP (Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith) was visiting The Melting Pot. I was sitting in The Melting Pot at the time.
In case you’ve not heard of The Melting Pot it’s a not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to ‘inspire and support people to realise their ideas for a better world’.
Reading the release as Mark left I realised many people might not be clear on what ‘social enterprise’ means.
The press release has the following to say
Social enterprises are businesses working towards a double-bottom line – as well as profits, they chase social or environmental change – and most of their profits go straight back into the business itself or the community it works in.
And some stats
There are 55,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of £27 billion. Social enterprises account for 5% of all businesses with employees and contribute £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy.
Not bad for people who aren’t interested in the bottom line.
Links of interest on Social Enterprise