People and Planet First - a new national standard of verification for social enterprises

Social enterprise peak bodies around Australia have unanimously endorsed the rollout of the People and Planet First as the national standard of verification for social enterprises in Australia.

There’s growing demand for businesses that put people and planet first. But it can be hard to tell the real thing from marketing hype.

Until now, Australia’s social enterprise peak bodies have struggled to provide a consistent and broadly accessible way for organisations to know if they’re a social enterprise. And different bodies have been using different definitions.

Social Enterprise Australia announced recently that they have heard loud and clear from stakeholders that this situation needed to change – joining People and Planet First will help us do this. 

 It is simple (taking a few hours) and affordable ($85 USD) for all social enterprises. It’s based on meeting five robust minimum standards and is co-governed by social enterprise sector partners around the world. This helps strengthen integrity, connection to the global community, and long-term sustainability.

In practice, it will help more social enterprises to:

• Be recognised 
• Be part of our growing sector AND a global community
• Connect with buyers and funders
• Be active in global marketplaces 
• Get access to free and discounted services and software

No greenwashing. No social washing. No complication. Just businesses that put people and planet first.

Social Enterprise Australia, as well as all the state and territory social enterprise peak bodies have endorsed use of these global standards to help organisations know if they’re a social enterprise. State and territory peak bodies have also become verification partners, to assist with the document review process and grow uptake of People and Planet First. 

Social enterprises that have Social Traders certification - to meet needs that global verification does not - can get the People and Planet First mark for free, with no additional paperwork.

We believe that People and Planet First will help more social enterprises across Australia to be recognised and thrive. You can find out more about it here and apply here.