Student: Jhana Taylor Valentine
Graduation date: May 2016
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2013
Summary
[This concentration has evolved since it was first approved in 2013 from a narrower focus on social entrepreneurship to the broader category of social enterprises. The original concentration can be found here.]
This concentration examines social enterprises as a model to address social and ecological development goals, and how it fits within the broader themes of ‘development and the environment’ and ‘political economy and the environment’. The theme of Development and the Environment deals with changes in the use and distribution of land and resources, but it also encompases a sociopolitical agenda to understand and implement “sustainable” development (Simonis 1992). Sustainable development became a globally recognized term in 1987 from the United Nations (UN) World Commission on Environment and Development report, titled Our Common Future, in which it was defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). Social enterprises are increasingly being promoted as a promising means to deliver effective, sustainable solutions for development goals (Elkington, 1994, Jacobs 2006, Yunus, 2007). Sustainable development initiatives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, are often intricately connected to my second theme, Political Economy and the Environment. This theme provides a framework to analyze market-based responses to social and ecological issues, such as social enterprises. A social enterprise can be defined as “an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximising profits for external shareholders” (Ridley-Duff & Bull, 2011). All businesses, social enterprises included, are directly influenced by the political and economic state of the country they are based in. Situated within the main themes of Development and Political Economy, my concentration will focus specifically on the position and practices of social enterprises and how they relate to local and national sustainable development goals.
One example of a social enterprise can be found in Guatemala, where a social entrepreneur decided to teach vermicomposting techniques to local farmers so they could produce their own fertilizer at a much lower cost. Now the organization, called Byo-Earth, is funded by a locally staffed factory that produces and sells the affordable organic fertilizer. By providing an alternative fertilizer, Byo-Earth is reducing the use of harmful chemicals on the local farmland and increasing local circulation of financial capital to bring greater wealth to the community. In a country where rural poverty rates are the highest in the region, Byo-earth’s efforts are directly linked to the sustainable development needs of the country (World Bank, 2015). While Byo-earth is a prime example of a successful social enterprise, Guatemala, and Central America in general, is a region with much less reported social enterprise activity than countries such as the U.S. or the U.K. (Terjesen, 2009). In the U.S, organizations such as Ashoka, a global network of social entrepreneurs, Benefit Corporation, the founders of the ‘B-corporation’ certification, and the Social Enterprise Alliance, have made significant contributions to the global social enterprise movement. As this movement develops, the discussion of social enterprises as means to address sustainable development goals is also growing. In light of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, Ashoka organized an online forum of 47 social entrepreneurs from 24 countries to share knowledge and challenges related to their work in the categories of “water, farms, energy, cities, people and the environment and partnerships across sectors” (Ashoka, 2002). There is a growing narrative about the potential for social entrepreneurship and social enterprise to play a role in reaching sustainable development goals. Through this concentration, I hope to gain a better understanding of the extent to which this narrative reflects the experience of the communities where social enterprises are present.
References:
Elkington, John. 1994. “Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development.”California Management Review 36 (2): 90. http://watzekpx.lclark.edu/docview/216128357?accountid=12069.
Jacobs, Alex. 2006. “Helping people is difficult: Growth and performance in social enterprises working for international relief and development.” Social entrepreneurship: New paradigms of sustainable social change (2006): 247-270.
Osborn, Derek; Cutter, Amy, and Ullah, Farooq. 2015.
“Universal Sustainable Development Goals.” Stakeholder Forum.
Ridley-Duff, R. J. and Bull, M. 2011. “Understanding Social Enterprise: Theory and Practice,” London: Sage Publications.
Simonis, Udo E. 1992. “Poverty, Environment and Development.” Intereconomics 27 (2) (March 1): 75–85. doi:10.1007/BF02926179.
Terjesen, Siri; Leboutre, Jan; Justo, Rachida; Bosma, Niels. 2009. “2009 Report of Social Entrepreneurship.” Babson College.
World Bank, 2015. Guatemala Overview. World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guatemala/overview.
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). 1987. “Our common future.” Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yunus, Muhammad, and Karl Weber. 2007. Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. New York: PublicAffairs.
Questions
- Descriptive: To what extent are social enterprises in the U.S. aligned with local and national sustainable development goals? How does this compare to social enterprises in other countries?
- Explanatory: Why are social enterprises more prevalent in some areas versus others? Why are social enterprises more aligned with local sustainable development goals in some countries versus others?
- Instrumental: In what ways do social and ecological solutions developed by social enterprises lead to lasting improvements in quality of life and ecosystem health that align with local sustainable development goals?
Concentration courses
- IA 238 (Political Economy of Development, 4 credits), spring 2015. In this course the review of how government policies affect development and the theoretical debates about government’s role in development will provide perspective on the top-down influences facing social entrepreneurs.
- POLS 253 (Public Policy, 4 credits) Fall 2015. This course addresses the process of public policy formation and the methods for assessing policy effectiveness. It relates to my concentration, social entrepreneurship in peripheral countries, because in recent years there has been a policy push in the US to indtroduce more social enterprise legal structures for businesses.
- ENVS 460 (Environmental Law and Policy, 4 credits), fall 2015. This course will introduce the most influential environmentally-focused laws and policies that have been enacted in the U.S. This material will expose how the legal structure can be used in conjunction with civilian groups to reach environmental goals. in place, their affect on society and business, and the processes through which they change.
- EINV 241 (Methods of Entrepreneurship, 4 credits), fall 2014. This course will provide the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship and delve into different approaches and techniques, such as the entrepreneurial method and social entrepreneurship.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- HIST 134 (US Revolution to Empire, Spring 2016). This course will inform the historical context which underlies the fairly new phenomenon of social enterprises in the U.S.