Businesses around the UK, including those working out of Liverpool offices, are being encouraged to think about how they can make a positive social impact in the work that they do, with a new review making a number of recommendations for supporting and growing mission-led businesses in the country.
These types of companies are profit driven, yes, but they also commit to having a positive impact on both society and the environment as well. Currently, such firms represent more than four per cent of the economy and have a combined turnover of £165 billion, using the power of their business to make a difference and solve issues like supporting those with mental health conditions, improving children’s education and slashing household bills by reducing food waste.
The report, commissioned by minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson and chaired by Nigel Wilson, the chief executive of Legal & General, recommends that mainstream businesses set up talent partnerships so that mission-led start-ups can transform into scale-ups. In addition, it was suggested that business schools build a curriculum around businesses with a purpose so as to embed this particular approach within the business leaders of the future.
The government was also called on to bring social sectors and business together nationally to address social challenges for families and to encourage companies to set out social purposes alongside their obligations to shareholders.
“The UK’s collective economic success will be increasingly led by organisations of all types with a clearer mission and purpose. I’ve particularly been inspired by several leading corporates such as Johnson & Johnson, Centrica and Danone who have deployed their own balance sheets into mission aligned businesses. We are calling for an additional £1 billion from corporate balance sheets and social pension funds to drive more mission led finance into the UK economy,” Mr Wilson said.
Back in October, the government announced that the Inclusive Economy Unit would be launched, staffed by members from the Office for Civil Society’s social investment and finance team, intended to strengthen social impact bonds and the social investment market, as well as supporting mission-led businesses. If you’d like to find out more about this way of working, it might be worth getting in touch with them to see what advice they can give you when starting out.
Not only can giving back to the wider community improve your brand reputation, but you can also potentially take advantage of tax reliefs if you make a qualifying investment in a social enterprise. You could, for example, see a reduction of 30 per cent of that investment in your income tax bill for the year in question and after three years you could sell or give away qualifying investments that have increased in value without having to pay capital gains tax. Find out more about this on the HMRC website.