Deep Dive | The what and why of certification

What makes social enterprise unique is that they exist to create impact through trade. Purpose is at the heart of why a social enterprise operates, but purpose can be hard to quantify or define. Not to mention social enterprise can have various business models and different legal structures.

That’s why we set up certification – to make sure everyone can have confidence that the social enterprise model is grounded in social or environmental impact through trade.

Our certification process is inclusive and supportive, offering social enterprises with the flexibility they need. It caters for all legal types, impact models and all stages of social enterprise development - including start-ups. We are constantly evolving certificate to cater for the diverse range of social enterprise models and unique business needs.

We work with social enterprise to articulate their social impact model, and the activities and costs associated with delivering their mission. We have a team that supports them through the application process along the way.

Ultimately, we aim to put a spotlight on social enterprise and ensure that everyone trusts its sustainable impacts.

Certification demonstrates that a social enterprise exists to create impact through trade by doing three things:

1. Have a defined primary social, cultural or environmental purpose consistent with a public or community benefit.
2. Derive a substantial portion of their income from trade.
3. Invest efforts and resources into their purpose such that public/community benefit outweighs private benefit.

Social Traders provides the only social enterprise certification in Australia. We have certified more than 450 social enterprises to date, right across the country.

Our framework is world-leading in its depth and adaptability. It gives government and business buyers the confidence that a social enterprise has been independently verified, so more of them feel confident in directing their procurement spend to social enterprise. Contributing to a fairer and more equitable Australia.