Welcome to Part 5 of our blog series with our certification, accreditations and memberships partners to help demystify their world and help both ethical businesses and consumers understand their value. This time we’re speaking with our partners, Social Enterprise UK.

Our goal is to empower businesses to understand how these organisations can help evidence and communicate their commitments, practices and impact and to increase consumer understanding in how these organisations can help them trust business claims and how they become accredited. Peeling back the curtain, we're striving for a new level of transparency in the certification, awards and memberships space.

What is Your name and position at the Social Enterprise UK?

Joanna Fianu, Project Lead at Social Enterprise UK

What is the Social Enterprise UK mission and goals?

Our vision is of a more equal society – we believe that social enterprise is our best chance of creating a fairer world and protecting the planet. Our mission is to achieve that through creating a favourable environment in which social enterprises can thrive.

How does membership of Social Enterprise UK help the success of a business? What support do you offer?

Members get access to the support of over 3,000 like-minded social entrepreneurs via our Member Area, a thriving online community. We also bring members to new markets via our Buy Social Corporate Challenge and Social Procurement Connect programmes, as well as opening them up to millions of retail customers via our eBay for Change programme.

How can a business join your community? Does it cost anything?

Membership is free for social enterprises while their turnover is under £100,000 with a sliding scale of membership fees as they grow. Application is via a simple online form.

Why do you think ethical/ sustainable business is important right now?

People are tired of the same old, and are desperate for change. We all work in the UK’s economy but it is not currently working for us, with people and planet too often coming a poor third behind the profit motive. Social enterprises are at the forefront of the campaign to make business work better for all of us.

What led you as an individual to join Social Enterprise UK?

I’ve been running my own fair trade social enterprise for almost twenty years so the opportunity to work with other small businesses with different social missions but the same goal of making the world a fairer place was too good to miss.

Why did Social Enterprise UK decide to partner with In Good Company?

In Good Company is doing a great job of linking ethical and sustainable businesses with each other and customers, so it fits perfectly with the work we do with social enterprises.

Do you have a favourite ‘good’ business or one you visit regularly? How did you find out about them?

I love Just Trade which is a fair trade jewellery business based in Peckham. They work closely with groups of fair trade artisans in Peru, India, Indonesia and Vietnam and their commitment to supporting incomes through training and development is second to none. I came across them because they are members of both BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK and Social Enterprise UK.

Enjoyed this post? Keep an eye out for more of our upcoming blogs demystifying the certifications space. You can also catch up on our earlier conversations with Planet Mark, the Good Business Charter and the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

And, if you want to get the latest news, updates and good business recommendations straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.