Ballard Calls for New Vision for 'Ethical' Business
Wed., June 01, 2005. 12:10.
Mark Ballard, Green MSP for Lothians and Green Speaker on Finance, will today call for policy makers to wake up to the potential of ethical and social enterprise as he addresses a fringe meeting at the annual Scottish Social Enterprise Conference: More Than Profit - Making The Case For The Social Economy. The call follows the Green Party success in securing agreement to their amendment to a debate in the Scottish Parliament last week on the social and voluntary sector, which agreed on the need for a specific strategy to develop the social enterprise sector.
Mark Ballard, Green MSP for Lothians and Green Speaker on Finance, will today call for policy makers to wake up to the potential of ethical and social enterprise as he addresses a fringe meeting at the annual Scottish Social Enterprise Conference: More Than Profit - Making The Case For The Social Economy.(1) The call follows the Green Party success in securing agreement to their amendment to a debate in the Scottish Parliament last week on the social and voluntary sector, which agreed on the need for a specific strategy to develop the social enterprise sector.(2)
Greens believe that 'social enterprise' - combining the principles of the voluntary and charitable with the innovative business practice of the private sector, offers a way forward both for the private and public sector. They argue that business which takes social and environmental concerns seriously will provide better services and prove to be more financially sustainable. Equally they argue that new models of development trusts and community-owned business offer an attractive new way to ensure public service delivery.
Mark Ballard said: "I'm glad that policy makers and the parliament are waking up to the potential for ethical business and social enterprise. It is vital that we understand the huge potential this sector has to develop new models of business that aim for more than profit - recognising the importance of social and environmental issues. This sector needs to be properly supported. But organisations that have their roots in the voluntary sector face a huge challenge in adjusting to business ways of working, and we need to aid that transition as well."
For more information contact 0790 99 33 074
Notes
(1) The annual Social Enterprise Institute Conference event is Scotland's largest annual conference for social entrepreneurs and social economy organisations who wish to pursue double and triple bottom lines. This year the conference is called More Than Profit - Making The Case For The Social Economy. Sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Communities Scotland, this years conference is also a joint partnership initiative with the EQUAL Social Economy Scotland Partnership and The Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition.
For more information see: http://www.scvo.org.uk/equal/events/index.htm
James Watt Centre Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh 9.00am - 4.30pm
(2) The Green amendment to a Scottish Executive motion on the social and voluntary sector and the social economy was as follows:
That this parliament, etc .... "recognises the breadth of the social economy in Scotland; further recognises the distinctive contribution that co-operatives and social enterprises make to the social economy; recommends the development of a differentiated strategy to meet the specific needs of the social enterprise sector of the social economy, and further recommends that such a strategy be developed in partnership with social enterprises and their networks beyond the voluntary sector, be aligned with the development of the Co-operative Development Agency and be aligned with the Department of Trade and Industry's strategy to support social enterprise across the rest of the United Kingdom."
The Greens united most parties in the parliament to win the vote by 84 votes for, Against 22(all SNP), Abstentions 5(mostly SSP). For more information go to: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-05/sor0519-02.htm#Col17083
Contact the Scottish Greens' press team on 07909 933 074.