Greening the social economy
[This article first appeared in Social Enterprise magazine]
When he set out his priorities for the Governmentłs new social enterprise unit
last autumn DTI Minister Douglas Alexander made it clear that its key
priorities would be to develop the social and economic impact of the sector. At
a conference in Nottinghamshire this month the Unitłs Assistant Director
Carolyn Campbell was urged to add another priority to the list by considering
the environmental value of social enterprises.
The conference was organised by the environmental regeneration charity
Groundwork and brought together speakers from central and local government,
think tanks, business and the voluntary sector to consider the role of the
social economy in contributing to local sustainable development.
The link between community-based employment initiatives and environmental
protection and improvement is well established. For a number of years
Groundwork has been delivering employment programmes providing confidence and
skills to the long-term unemployed by creating practical jobs in the
environmental sector
industries such as horticulture, countryside management,
energy efficiency and recycling.
These ILM (intermediate labour market) projects, building on the Governmentłs
New Deal programme, have been targeted at those furthest removed from the
labour market and carefully designed to integrate with wider environmental and
community regeneration initiatives.
In many parts of the country, however, preparing people for work is only one
part of the equation. If the jobs donłt exist for ILM participants to
ęgraduateł into then the programmes can only ever be partly successful.
Meanwhile, it is also clear that any attempt to regenerate run-down communities
will only be sustainable if the local economy itself is thriving.
These two imperatives have led a number of Groundwork Trusts to seek to develop
their environmental ILMs into stand-alone enterprises. A national partnership
between Groundwork and The Royal Bank of Scotland has provided development and
kick-start capital to ten ILM enterprises. However, the transition from
grant-funded training programmes to revenue-generating businesses is a
difficult path on which Groundwork is only just embarking.
There are, however, encouraging precedents. ęBulky Bobłsł is an offshoot of
Liverpoolłs Furniture Resource Centre which, on contract to the city council,
undertakes collections of bulky household waste with 30% of the total tonnage
re-used, recycled or refurbished.
In France, meanwhile, ENVIE has been recycling electrical appliances for
redistribution or sale since 1984 and now employs more than 100 permanent
administrators and executives working alongside 400 trainees and a similar
number of volunteers.
It is interesting to note, however, that, although there are clear
environmental benefits to both of these enterprise operations, neither place
themselves within the ęenvironmental sectorł, concentrating instead on their
contribution to social regeneration and local economic recovery.
And yet the ęgreen jobł sector is an obvious growth area for the social
economy. For a start the sector itself is expanding providing exciting new
avenues for enterprise development. The EU has predicted that up to 1million
jobs could be created in the renewable energy sector alone by 2010. In its most
recent report on the environment and employment the EU points to significant
growth potential in areas such as clean technologies, renewable energies,
recycling, urban and rural renovation and nature conservation. What's more,
given Douglas Alexander's enthusiasm for the social economy to contribute to
the delivery of public services, it is worth remembering that the environment
is our most fundamental of public goods.
Just as the environment is good for growth in the social economy, however,
social enterprises are also particularly well suited for delivering
environmental benefits through practical sustainable development.
In an age when we are all global citizens environmental social enterprises
provide a unique bridge between the individual and that wider responsibility.
They connect together personal benefits to the employee with their place in the
community and their responsibility to the wider environment.
In other words they are where individual opportunity, community regeneration
and global sustainability meet.
This represents a huge opportunity for the Government to demonstrate its
commitment to joined-up thinking and a real chance to embed sustainable
development principles at the heart of our national policies on regeneration
and competitiveness.
DTI and DTLR have already recognised the value of the social economy in
addressing poverty and stimulating enterprise in deprived communities. Now is
the time for DEFRA to get in on the act, using its role as sustainable
development champion to demonstrate to the Treasury the value of investing in
an economy that delivers environmental as well as social justice.
Case study 1
EnProve
EnProve is a wholly owned subsidiary of Groundwork Ashfield and Mansfield. The
company was established to deliver Groundworkłs ILM programmes in
Nottinghamshire which enable local unemployed people to participate in the
regeneration of their neighbourhood while gaining new transferable skills and
ultimately jobs.
EnProve offers temporary and permanent employment to long term unemployed local
people who, under supervision, deliver a range of services in sectors such as
land reclamation and maintenance, home repair and insulation and computer
recycling.
This next year will be pivotal for EnProve as it seeks to secure 50% of its
income through the delivery of services, a move away from grant dependency
which is clearly challenging. According to EnProvełs Director Graham Parry the
switch towards a focus on income generation has had to be carefully managed.
"It has required careful consultation with our staff, partners and potential
clients and wełve had to develop clear messages and structures to explain
complex issues and avoid harmful misconceptions about job substitution and
double funding." Over the coming years, EnProve will aim for targets of
generated income of 60%-70%. However, according to Graham Parry grant aid will
always be part of the EnProve funding regime. "To move completely away from
grant would compromise our ability to work with significant numbers people who
are regarded as the hardest to help."
Case study 2
Black Country Timber Products
The Wolverhampton Environment Centre is home to Groundwork Black Country's
Timber Products initiative. Through the scheme local unemployed people have
been recruited to learn woodland management skills within the Black Country
Urban Forest and then convert the wood into products for sale locally.
The training programme is supported by the Single Regeneration Budget and was
awarded business development funding through the Youth Enterprise Initiative, a
partnership between Groundwork and The Royal Bank of Scotland which was set up
to help develop intermediate labour markets into new green enterprises.
The business revolves around generating a range of products which are used as
part of local landscaping or environmental regeneration programmes. These have
included planters, signage and a dovecote as well as a selection of smaller
garden items for general public sale. All proceeds are used to support the
ongoing woodland management programme. The project already has its own sawmill
complete with environmentally friendly solar panels and a wind turbine and an
industrial drying kiln.
According to Mick Moreton who runs the project for Groundwork Black Country,
the challenges of developing a professional business from an employment
training scheme are considerable. "The very nature of the project means that we
are working with a client group with a considerable skill shortage. Many have
no experience at all of a working environment and therefore meeting the needs
of customers in a timely and professional manner will always be a challenge.
We're also very conscious of our need to maintain our environmental integrity
which again requires innovative business thinking."
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