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Two Midlands-based social enterprises have joined forces with a stunning countryside venue to offer a complete ethical events package which is good for the planet. The team at ChangeKitchen CIC craft innovative ethical menus, specialising in vegetarian, vegan and special diet options, while providing work opportunities for people who face social exclusion. That vision is shared by Jubilee Events, who employ those with multiple barriers to work as part of their marquee hire team and also offer event management services. When paired with the exclusive Meynell Langley estate, it results in bespoke, socially-responsible events for both corporate and private customers. The partnership began when Derby University contacted founder and managing director of Jubilee Events, Matt Parfitt to celebrate DE-Carbonise – a three year collaboration between the University of Derby, Derby City and Derbyshire County Council. Matt then approached director and founder of ChangeKitchen, Dr Birgit Kehrer. Here’s how the partnership developed in their own words: "Jubilee Events was approached by a university who wanted to hold a special celebration event to mark the end of some environmental research. The brief was simple: you have a great venue and a fantastic marquee - can you find us an excellent, social, 100% vegan/vegetarian caterer? My first and only thought was ChangeKitchen. And after the first canapes at the tasting event the client was licking their lips (literally!)" - Matt Parfitt, Founder & Managing Director, Jubilee Events. “As working as environmentally sustainably as possible has been part of our founding principles, we loved it when Matt from Jubilee Events got in touch to cater for an event for Derby University and City to celebrate the DE-Carbonise collaboration.We were even more delighted that the event took part at the beautiful Meynell Llangley Hall near Ashbourne, which is run in a climate friendly way, too. It feels there is so much synergy between the 3 organisations, we really hope to be delivering many more events together in this partnership.” – Dr Birgit Kehrer, Director and Founder of ChangeKitchen. Here's how the partnership with Meynell Langley estate works: Both social enterprises are dedicated to breaking down barriers to the labour market. Jubilee Events is one of two social enterprises set up by Matt Parfitt which are both owned by parent charity – Grace Enterprises, the other being award winning cleaning social enterprise Radiant Cleaners. Both Jubilee Events and Radiant Cleaners have a mission to transform lives through supportive employment offering holistic support to the people they employ from mentoring and coaching to regular reviews. In one season of trading, Jubilee Events have ten Living Wage jobs and run 20 events: ChangeKitchen are an award winning green, climate friendly caterer which began trading in 2010. Its focus is also on employment, supporting people furthest from the labour market, but during the COVID pandemic they also branched out to supporting people in need with healthy meals cooked from surplus. So far they have cooked and delivered over 70,000 meals and are in the end phase of a kitchen expansion that will help them at least double their positive social and environmental impact within a year. You can find out more about ChangeKitchen’s work creating opportunities and tackling the ongoing crisis of food insecurity in this short video: jubileeevents.co.uk changekitchen.co.uk

Here at Data Orchard CIC, our research shows that a lack of knowledge and skills about data is a major problem across the nonprofit sector, and that leaders are generally not making data-informed decisions. We think leaders are the key to advancing data maturity and to securing organisational commitment to drive improvements. With this in mind, we’ve launched a brand new training course designed especially for nonprofit leaders, board members and CEOs to teach the big picture things you need to know and understand about data, so you can lead your organisation’s journey to getting better with data. The 5-week course is available for enrolment now, with the first cohort running 26 April - 24 May. We’re offering a 10% discount to social enterprise leaders, using the code SEUK10 and a discounted rate for the keenest early birds. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BOOK YOUR PLACE

London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) Invites Children, Parents and all Early Years Settings to Join Them on their Pioneering Sustainability Journey with the Publication of its Unique Strategy. LEYF has launched its very first Sustainability Strategy which sets out its ‘Green LEYF’ approach to become a sector-leading sustainability organisation, working in partnership with the Early Years and Schools to lead and amplify best practice whilst preparing children to undertake their roles and responsibilities as dutiful global citizens. As LEYF celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2023 plus its Planet Mark Award for employee engagement and its ongoing carbon footprint measurement as an organisation, the social enterprise organisation is naming 2023 as its Year of Sustainability – with a call for all Early Years settings across the UK to put sustainability at its core. Framed within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations (2015) which are underpinned by the three pillars of sustainability: economic prosperity, social equity and environmental integrity, LEYF’s approach to sustainability is based on its duty to do its bit to give our children the education needed to become rounded global citizens of the future. Sustainability is often focused on environmental issues through climate change issues but it is also critical to how we shape businesses, lead with a social purpose and address unfairness and environmental damage that comes through our current market economy. LEYF demonstrates how a social enterprise can operate an effective business model which allows us to subsidise up to 35% of places to children from more disadvantaged communities who benefit enormously from high quality Early Years education. When LEYF first started to define what was meant by sustainability nearly ten years ago, it sought the support of all the staff. LEYF believes that change needs be championed at every level of an organisation if it is to be fully embraced. The result was a very collaborative approach with engagement from the grassroots right through our governance, pedagogy and operations. LEYF continues to build this into a sustainability community of practice and hope people will join the journey. LEYF initially began looking at ‘little wins’ that would have a big effect such as removing single-use plastics where possible, changing all milk deliveries to glass bottles so they could be reused and recycled, banning glitter and placing wormeries and composters in every nursery garden to help reduce food waste. From that promising beginning, an organisation-wide approach was developed that mapped LEYF’s steps to complete the ISO 14001 and achieve the Planet Mark which provided the framework to plan a strategy that included our governance, operations, procurement and practice. To help educate staff, LEYF also developed and introduced the first Level 4 Cache endorsed qualification - Developing Sustainability in the Early Years and supported this with two books: one on social leadership and the other providing ideas for sustainability in a nursery. All this groundwork helped us make decisions through a stronger sustainable lens  and build a strong strategy. Furthermore, sustainability has been embedded into every element of the organisation including the governance, pedagogy and operations along with an understanding that motivates and empowers children, colleagues and parents. June O’Sullivan, CEO of LEYF says: “Sustainability is finally moving to the centre of political and public agenda, especially as we face huge global issues including growing poverty, inequity in education, environmental degradation and much more. Sustainability needs to be led from the top and engage everyone in the organisation. It needs a holistic strategy if it is to work.  Everyone needs to play their part including the children. People think children don’t understand about sustainability, but they do and they are interested. Our job is to prepare them to undertake their roles and responsibilities as global citizens of the future.” The 8 principles below that are underlying LEYF’s approach to sustainability stem from Permaculture–Permaculture which is a way of creating practical sustainable and self-sufficient ways of living – including principles that align with a holistic approach that can be altered to different scales. leyf.org.uk

Launched as a partnership between Bath Spa University and 3SG, the Bath Social Impact Network brings together like-minded groups and individuals to improve and grow the social economy in B&NES. Created with social enterprises at the heart, along with B Corps, CICs, co-ops, and those interested in the work of these types of organisations, the Bath Social Impact Network will provide the support its members need to flourish through collaboration and idea generation. You can join their launch event in Bath on Thursday 23 February from 5pm-7pm. Find out more and sign up here.

Come along to our monthly networking event and meet other social entrepreneurs and sustainability professionals based in London and beyond! The aim of our event is for you to engage in conversations and build connections with other social entrepreneurs and sustainability/impact-driven professionals in order to spark ideas and maybe even walk away with a business partner or connections to potential clients. Please note there is only a limited amount of seats reserved at our cafe so please reserve your tickets early to ensure access to our event. The next few events will be taking place on: Thursday 16 February Thursday 23 March Thursday 27 April Thursday 25 May CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR PLACE About Trampoline Founded by the team behind NEMI Teas, we share the same objective – to help London’s refugee community integrate, train and become independent citizens. Built on the values of looking forward, being compassionate, and believing in better we’re committed to using our business as a genuine force for good. Building and maintaining relationships that transform lives.

The UK’s largest independent athlete support programme closes its annual Award programme for new applications next month (20 February). Talented athletes from across 65 areas across the UK are invited to apply for a range of support awards which include financial support, access to sport facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and mental health support. The GLL Sport Foundation celebrates its 15th year in 2023 and it is the UK’s largest independent athlete award programme which has so far contributed over £13m to help over 24,000 athletes on their sporting journey. Previous holders of GSF awards include Darryl Neita (athletics), Anna Hursey (table tennis), Charlotte Worthington MBE (BMX), Alex Yee MBE (triathlon), Anthony Joshua OBE, Aiden and Michaela Walsh (boxing), Tom Daley OBE, Matty Lee MBE and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (diving), Tom Dean MBE (swimming), Tully Kearney MBE, Susie Rodgers MBE and Ellie Simmons OBE (Paralympic swimming). The innovative scheme is provided by charitable social enterprise GLL and expects to award £1.2m worth of help in 2023 for successful applicants. Already a popular and essential support programme for athletes, the Foundation is expecting heightened athlete interest as the cost of living crisis hits and training costs, equipment purchases, strength & conditioning costs and travel costs continue to rise.   All successful applicants will be given access to the 250 sport and leisure facilities across the UK operated by GLL under its “Better” trading brand – including the iconic London Aquatics Centre, Copper Box Arena, Manchester Aquatics Centre and National Cycling Centre, Lee Valley VeloPark and White Water Centre. Over the past 15 years, GLL Sport Foundation supported athletes have excelled in major competitions and have gained 76 Olympic and Paralympic medals and 77 Commonwealth Games medals. Peter Bundey, GLL Sport Foundation Chair, said: “With the majority of award holders aged under 21 and 87% receiving no other funding support, our Sports Awards offer a lifeline to many talented young athletes as well as helping local communities discover the opportunities and enrichment that come through sport”.  Applications are open until 20th February 2023 via the website portal – www.gllsportfoundation.org Notes to the editor About GLL/Better Established in 1993, GLL is the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering leisure, health and community services. Operating under the Better brand, we manage 258 public sport and leisure centres, 113 libraries and 10 children’s centres in partnership with 50 local councils, public agencies and sporting organisations. GLL has 850,000 members and welcomes 46 million customer visits per year. www.gll.org For more information, please contact: charles.dean@gll.org or 07813 458 258

We’re proud to officially publish our 2021/2022 Social and Environmental Impact Report! Every day we see the impact our teams have on behalf of their patients, one another and within their local communities, genuinely making a difference to those who need us most. We are therefore thrilled to publish our Social and Environmental Impact Report for 2021/2022 – another truly remarkable year for all of us at Smile Together. The national challenges facing dentistry are well documented and demand for our emergency, referral and private dental care across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly remains at an all-time high. We can’t thank our colleagues, commissioners and other partners enough for their commitment, resilience and support as we continue to navigate our way through the ever-changing dental landscape. This report demonstrates how we’ve continued to innovate our impact and patient care and respond positively to those changes. This is our sixth year as an employee-owned CIC and what an impact we have together through our breadth of patient care and health inclusion initiatives, with such exciting plans for the future. As our report shows, 2021/2022 was another successful year crowned with our achievement of B Corporation certification – independent verification that we meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability in balancing profit and purpose. We hope you enjoy reading our annual Social and Environmental Impact Report. Our thanks as always to Fuel Communications for their creative support and to St Austell Printing Company for ensuring we print in the most environmentally friendly way. Do let us know if you’d like to join us in tackling oral health inequality and improving oral health outcomes. We’d love to have a conversation! Click here to download your digital version of our Social and Environmental Impact Report 2021/2022 and happy reading!

Popular British ethical pioneer coffee brand Cafédirect launches the second season of its podcast today, Building Better Business.  Featuring straight talking conversations with global thought leaders and professionals, the podcast asks: ‘What are businesses doing to protect our future and what more can be done?’ Following the success of the first podcast series which secured a spot within the top 25% of global podcasts**, series two will again be hosted by Cafédirect’s CEO John Steel.  One episode will be released every Wednesday to examine businesses’ efforts in tackling sustainability issues including deforestation, carbon reduction, plastic and big agriculture, and featuring a panel of guests who provide challenge and insight from differing perspectives. Guests on series two include (among others) Jane Aldridge (Managing Director of Coffee, Nestle UK & Ireland), Dorothy Shaver (Global Food Sustainability Director, Unilever),  Lucy Reynolds (VP Communications and CSR, Boots plc.), Mike Berners-Lee (researcher, consultant, professor and writer on sustainability; acclaimed books include ‘There is No Planet B’ and ‘How Bad Are Bananas?’ and ‘The Carbon Footprint of Everything’), Lee Man (Head of Community Fairtrade and Regenerative Sourcing, The Body Shop), Sam Fulton (Director of Corporate Affairs, Nomad Foods (Birds Eye)), Steven Ripley (Group Responsible Sourcing Manager (Forests), Tesco), Mike Barry (former Director of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer (led on Plan A), now founder of sustainability consultancy Mike Barry Eco), Zack Polanski, (Deputy Leader of the Green Party), Sahil Kher (Senior public law and regulatory solicitor, Good Law Project). Cafédirect’s CEO John Steel explains the purpose of the podcast: “We all want a healthier planet and fairer future to look forward to.  This podcast explores how business can have a huge impact - and how, as informed customers, we can encourage better practice.” The podcast responds to Cafédirect’s recent survey* which discovered that 96% of people think that businesses should be responsible for their environmental impact and 92% view companies as entirely or largely responsible for the welfare of people who produce their products. The survey also found that corporate greenwashing made it difficult for people to understand key sustainability issues and identify genuinely ethical and sustainable products.  To address this, the podcast aims to inform and inspire its listeners through a better understanding of the issues at stake. In the episode ‘Why is coffee heading for extinction?’  Erinch Sahan from Doughnut Economics Action Lab questions the Managing Director of coffee at Nestlé (UK & Ireland), Jane Aldridge, on the morality of the company: “What are we celebrating? We pat ourselves on the back, they're (coffee farmers) still poor, they are growing the product we sell, they are stuck in poverty. And every year, the giants of the industry declare a big dividend, and have grown that dividend. That just feels like a juxtaposition, that feels like a moral contradiction.” Similarly, Alex Maitland from Oxfam International challenges James Ghaffari of B Lab on Nespresso becoming certified as a B Corp in the episode ‘Why better business governance matters to us all’. Alex states, “I’m not sure it’s particularly helpful for a consumer [because] to get [B Corp] certification requires a change to the constitution, which puts profit and social purpose on an equal footing. But how can it be the case that Nespresso is doing that, while its parent company, Nestlé are very much a profit maximising business, with the main mission of maximising profit for shareholders.” In the episode ‘What’s farming got to do with climate change?’ Guy Singh-Watson founder of Riverford has a heated discussion with Sam Fulton of frozen food company Nomad Foods, where he questions the company’s use of sustainability certifications and claims, stating: “I am sceptical about claims about sustainability, but they are fundamentally carrying on with the business-as-usual model of food and farming….I wouldn't even call my own farming sustainable.” The podcast is available from 18 January on all major streaming platforms and www.cafedirect.co.uk/podcasts.  The season contains nine episodes with one episode released every Wednesday. cafedirect.co.uk NOTES TO EDITORS For press release enquiries, episode previews and interview requests please contact Lauren Morris on lmorris@cafedirect.co.uk John Steel is also available to write op-eds on any of the topics covered by this series.  *The 2022 Cafédirect survey results of 300 people: 40% are very concerned or extremely concerned about climate change.   96% stated that companies should be responsible for their impact on the environment. 92% think that companies are entirely or largely responsible for the people who produce their products, in terms of living wages and safe working conditions.  40% find that it is quite or very hard to identify which products are genuinely ethical and sustainable. For example, our survey found  93% see the term ‘sustainable’ to mean that a product is good for people and environment or good for the environment and 80% think that ‘carbon neutral’ means that it has a positive impact on climate or that it no impact on the climate (when it has a negative impact on climate). 84% believing that everyone in the supply chain is paid fairly before dividends are paid to shareholders **Source: Buzzsprout, 10 October 2022