Navigating the impact economy
A guide to Impact Enterprise
The characteristics, applications & diversity of organisations using business as a force for good
Social Enterprise, B Corp, Charitable business, Co-operative, Profit-with-purpose…What’s the difference? And does it matter? If yes… how and why?
We have developed this guide in response to the growing interest in business being used as a force for ‘good’, and to help people navigate the diverse range of organisations who are doing it.
Beyond definitions and continuums, we want to help you distinguish between the various identities, motivations and models of ‘impact enterprise’, and appreciate that any given approach is highly dependent on context and purpose.
We use impact enterprise as our umbrella term because it’s relatively new and not yet owned by any particular group. When we talk about impact enterprise we’re more often indicating a way of doing business, than a specific type of organisation.
By broadening how we interpret the nature and diversity of enterprises creating impact, we hope to improve debate and co-operation, and also the quality of strategies and criteria used to support the growth of impact enterprise activity.
