What Are Social Economy Businesses?
Social Economy Businesses provide a variety of goods and services, but they are constituted as not-for-profit organizations or cooperatives with a social or environmental mission. They also have transparent and democratic governance structures.
Unlike traditional businesses, their goal is not to generate profits for shareholders. Instead, they offer goods and services as a means of funding activities that contribute to social or environmental progress.
Examples of such goals include:
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Providing training or reintegration programs for at-risk youth.
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Supporting immigrant socio-economic integration
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Protecting biodiversity and creating greener spaces.
Rather than concentrating wealth among a few shareholders, Social Economy Businesses help build public goods (such as more resilient communities) and contribute directly to positive social or environmental outcomes.
Statistics About Social Economy Businesses in Québec
To better understand the impact of Social Economy Businesses in our province, here are some key statistics:
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Approximately 11,200 Social Economy Businesses operate in Québec.
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Together, they generate roughly $47,8 billion in revenues annually.
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They employ around 220 000 people.
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The vast majority are small or very small businesses -only 2.3% have more than 100 employees.
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46% have been operating between 10 and 30 years.
What Goods and Services do they offer, and what could be of interest to universities?
Social Economy Businesses are active in many sectors, including:
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Architecture and planning services
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Communications services
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Events management
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Catering,
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Cleaning services
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Printing and creation of promotional items
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Management consulting
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Graphic design
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Recycling and refurbishing
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Woodworking and cabinetry
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Landscaping
How can McGillians find Social Economy Businesses?
You can find several Social Economy Businesses directly through the McGill MarketPlace, where they are identified with a special Icon:
When creating a New Vendor Profile, we encourage you to check the box confirming the vendor’s Social Economy status, if applicable.
If you are unsure about a business’s Social Economy status, Procurement Services can assist in validating it.
You can also explore external resources:
One excellent resource for finding Social Economy Businesses is the Akcelacheteurs platform, which offers a comprehensive directory and allows users to search by region and by type of product or service: https://akcelacheteurs.ca/
The Conseil d’économie sociale de l’Ile de Montréal (CESIM) also offers a directory of Social Economy Businesses active in the Montréal area. https://www.esmtl.ca/civicrm/repertoire-carte/
Why Does It Matter?
Every purchase made through Social Economy Businesses contributes to the resilience of our local economy and advances McGill’s Sustainable Procurement objectives and overarching Sustainability goals.
Procurement Services encourages the McGill community to explore these businesses whenever possible. We will feature some inspiring examples in future editions of our Procurement Services Newsletter.