social enterprise – VolResource

A separate page covers International Aid and Development – training, codes of conduct, etc. as well as contacts.

Environment, including Sustainable Development

Black Environment Network.
Centre for Human Ecology Think tank which also runs professional development courses.
Community Recycling Network for Scotland, London Community Resource Network.
Community Land Scotland represents Scotland’s new generation of community land owners.
Community Woodlands Association – Scotland.
Campaign to Protect Rural England.
ENDS Europe’s environmental news service.
Environment Agency Governmental body.
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.
Findhorn Foundation Rather too ‘new agey’ for some, but a good source of ideas and info. on environmental living.
Friends of the Earth Loads of material, good links page.
Re-use Network.
Green Alliance A parliamentary forum and service for green issues.
GreenNet Apart from web hosting a stack of organisations dealing with green issues, there is an events calendar and bulletin board.
Greenpeace.
Institute for European Environmental Policy Based London.
International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Pesticides Action Network.
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
UK Food Group network for non-governmental organisations working on global food and agriculture issues.
Wildlife Trusts.
Wildlife and Countryside Link brings together environmental organisations with “common interest in the conservation and enjoyment of the natural and historic environment” (England).
Northern Ireland Environment Link national forum and networking body for organisations interested in the environment.
Scottish Environment Link – the forum for Scotland’s voluntary environment organisations.
Wales Environment Link is the umbrella body for environmental and countryside non-governmental organisations in Wales.

Sustainable Business, Corporate Responsibility, Trade

AccountAbility Institute of social and ethical accountability.
Ashridge Centre for Business and Society.
Business in the Community – see our Information Sources page.
Centre for Business Relationships Accountability Sustainability & Society (BRASS) at Cardiff University closed 2012 – see their Sustainability Places Research Institute for archive etc.
Corporate Watch Radical research and publishing group, aiming to support activism against large corporations.
Ethical Trading Initiative A variety of companies, voluntary orgs and trade unions working together to promote codes, monitoring on labour conditions etc.
GATSwatch European flavoured news and critical information on the current WTO negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
Global Reporting Initiative ‘a common framework for sustainability reporting’.
Institute of Business Ethics Aims ‘to emphasize the essentially ethical nature of wealth creation’, publishes a Code of Business Ethics.
International Business Leaders Forum.
International Chamber of Commerce Look under Business in Society.
mallenbaker.net A personal (but quite broad) look at CSR from the Development Director for Business in the Community.
Net Impact A US based network of ’emerging business leaders committed to using the power of business to create a better world’.
Protect (was Public Concern at Work) Help and advice for whistleblowers.
SustainAbility.
UN Global Compact. Their attempt to get global business to sign up to 9 principles in human rights, labour and environment.

Including co-operatives and community enterprises.

Publications

Co-operative Working 1, 2 and 3 was part of a range of publications produced by Co-operatives Research Unit at the Open University – may still be available at Dept for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise? A selection of learning materials covering different aspects and different stages in the development of worker co-ops. From CRU, Technology Faculty, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, phone 01908 653054, email: A.S.Walters@open.ac.uk

Radical Routes How to set up a workers’ co-op and How to set up a housing co-op booklets. Contact Footprint Workers Co-op to check availability, email: footprint@footprinters.co.uk

Start your social enterprise (pdf, 3.7MB) is one of several publications available from Social Enterprise UK.

UK Society for Co-operative Studies publishes a regular Journal, but probably only for those really interested in all aspects of co-operative activity.

Networks and Educational

Also see: Academic providers such as School for Social Entrepreneurs, can be found on Professional Development page.

CIC Association “the home of regulated social business”. Website disappeared July 2018 – see ning pages instead?
Community Action Network – CAN-online. Links activists and social entrepreneurs.
Co-operative College.
Social Enterprise Academy, in Scotland, providing learning and development programmes for leaders and potential leaders of social enterprises.
Social Enterprise UK aims to provide a voice for the sector. Also see Social Enterprise Scotland.
Social firms are businesses set up to create employment for those job-disadvantaged due to discrimination. See Social Firms England, Social Firms Wales, Social Firms Scotland.

By location

Scotland: Senscot Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland.
Wales Co-operative Centre.
Co-operative Futures supports development of social enterprises in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Swindon and Wiltshire.
Mining the SEEM – news journal from the East Midlands social business body SEEM.
Birmingham & Solihull Social Economy Consortium.
North East Social Enterprise Partnership.

Other websites

Assist Social Capital A Scottish project to promote the concept (and relevant action?).
Community Enterprise Ltd Business Support, Training and Consultancy Services for the Social Economy, based in Edinburgh.
Co-operative Assistance Network Trainers and consultants with various briefing sheets on the web site, including on housing, food and childcare co-ops.
Co-operatives UK is the merged body of co-op ‘trade associations’ – worker, consumer, housing, community and other co-op types. Legal and other services and support, training. Holyoake House, Hanover St, Manchester, M60 0AS. Co-operative & Community Finance is a sister organisation providing loan finance for co-operatives, employee owned businesses and social enterprises.
EMES Research Network European social economy research network.
Grassroots Economic Organizing On-the-ground news from the co-operative world (produced in North America).
LetsLink Information on setting up and running Local Exchange Trading Systems or Schemes – trading locally without money (using ‘complementary currencies’).
Social Economy Legal a blog from a trainee solicitor in Belfast. Note that there are some legal differences between Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK.
Time Banking A variation on Lets (not to be confused with Time Bank, a volunteering set up). Also see Fair Shares.
uk.coop is the online directory of co-operatives.
For an international angle on Social Entrepreneurs, take a look at Ashoka or its online resource Changemakers.
Institute for Social Entrepreneurs.