Social Economy
What is Global Compact Coalition for Social Economy?
The Global Compact Coalition for Social Economy is an association of companies and organizations working for the development of social economy sector in Poland. The main aim of the coalition is to provide active support for the entities such as social enterprises, social cooperatives and to elaborate and implement innovative programmes of social engagement for Polish companies who are willing to engage in the social economy initiative.
The Global Compact Coalition for Social Economy is one of the measures in the project “Searching for a Polish model of the social economy” (www.es.ekonomiaspoleczna.pl) implemented under the EQUAL Initiative of the European Union.
The main goal of the project is to define the optimal conditions which will stimulate the development of social economy sector in Poland as well as elaborate the recommendations for the creation of legal framework and financial, social and institutional infrastructure. The activity of the Coalition includes also monitoring of the social economy sector in Poland, evaluation of the undertaken actions and defining the model enterprises, which can be an example followed by others. It is also planned to build the infrastructure for the social economy development.
Why social economy?
Despite significant economic growth noted in the last few years, the employment rate in Poland is still one of the lowest in Europe. A large group of people is exposed to various forms of discrimination. This group includes people with disabilities or long-term illness, homeless people, ethnic minorities, women (especially single mothers and women over 50 years old) and many others. Creating job places adjusted to the needs of these groups is often non profitable from the economic point of view. This is the reason why social economy and social enterprises can be a successful tool for the social and professional integration of the people excluded from the labour market. Social enterprises are organizations (both cooperatives and companies) which aim to create new job places for disadvantaged people as well as to provide local societies in the fields where private or public sector services are ineffective. The development of social economy sector can influence the decrease in the unemployment rate, elimination of social exclusion and enhance the economic development and social coherence.
What are the benefits of participation in the Coalition?
The potential benefits include:
- Joining a globally recognized and elite group which creates an important social and economical initiative.
- Enhancing the capacity and competitiveness of the company.
- Increasing consumer’s attention and trust to company’s brand.
- Creating a network of contacts with other companies, governmental institutions and non-governmental organization engaged in the issue of socially responsible business.
- Sharing the knowledge and good practice with other partners of the Initiative in the field of partnerships, human capital development, environment, sustainable growth, development support, social exclusion and labour market.
How does the Coalition work?
It is planned to create at least two models of the social engagement in the initiative of companies willing to support the setting of social economy in Poland
Promotion of social economy idea:
Programme is intended to promote the idea of social economy in the business world and provide active support in order to create better and more effective cooperation between social economy entities and business sector.
Programme of Voluntary Support:
The main objective of the programme is to enhance the development potential of the social enterprises using knowledge and experience of the Global Compact participants, who can share their know-how in the field of effective management, effectual use of resources, measurement tools etc. The extend of the cooperation will depend on the individual needs of social enterprises and the character of the actions undertaken by these entities.
Who can join the Coalition?
Every company or organization (regardless the size or sector of economic activity) which declares willingness to disseminate knowledge about social economy and undertake actions which aim to fight social and professional exclusion on the labour market is welcome to join the Coalition.