Social Business Scorecard

Why SBS?

SBS is the result of a three-year collaborative effort of the CERISE SB Working Group. Made up of NGOs, foundations, and companies that support social businesses worldwide, the group first came together in 2015 to discuss this rapidly developing form of entrepreneurship that lacked a clear definition.

SBS aims to identify clear criteria and a common framework for analyzing social businesses, to boost credibility and avoid misuse of the concept. Indeed, as witnessed in microfinance, the absence of principles to guide practices in a so-called double bottom line sector, opens the door to mission drift and abuse.

Valuable practices to build impactful social businesses

The SBS indicators analyze management practices in 7 dimensions considered key for defining what is important to be a social business. 

• Purpose – refers to the social mission, that is to provide a solution to a social and/or environmental problem.
• Public – refers to who the social business targets. It may be at the demand level (clients) or supply level (the employees themselves, or other actors up the value chain)
• Product – refers to the product or service offered by the social business. It must contribute to reducing or at least mitigating the social issue identified in the project concept.
• HR Policies – refers to HR dimension of a social business. A social business should have exemplary HR practices, and consider employees an asset, not a liability.
• Ethical Principles – refers to the way the social business respects ethical principles regarding the environment, social responsibility and transparency.
• Profits – refers to the fact that a social business should be sustainable. It’s business model should be robust and adapted to its social goals.
• Partners – refers to the partnership that may have a structuring effect on the business. Partners may support operations (procurement, distribution or purchase), may have historical ties with the business, or may be particularly visible in the business’s communications. The partner(s) brings technical expertise and/or capital.

The process of filling in the SBS gives valuable insights into day-to-day management practices and can help social business determine where to focus efforts, to improve their impact and achieve their mission.

Why you should use SBS

• Refine your social strategy
• Define social indicators
• Drive decision making based on your mission
• Improve your services to clients
• Generate an ergonomic dashboard to share your social achievements to your Board, your investors, your partners

Learn more about how to use and make the most of SBS.