CoaST achieve the Social Enterprise Mark

The Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Network have successfully passed strict criteria to achieve the prestigious Social Enterprise Mark which was awarded to them by leading academic Professor Harold Goodwin.

CoaST is the first tourism network in the country to be accredited with the ‘Social Enterprise Mark’. Leading academic, Professor Harold Goodwin, (Professor of Responsible Tourism Management and Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University) presented the award at CoaST's 6th Birthday Celebration in Falmouth.

CoaST is an independent social enterprise based near Truro, which works towards ‘One Planet Tourism’, ensuring that tourism delivers social, environmental and economic benefits.

Manda Brookman, Director of CoaST said: “We’re very proud to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark. Here at CoaST we want to help tourism become as sustainable and resilient as possible by working with our fantastic membership. We do this by investing any surpluses to provide a better service, rather than giving them away to shareholders. More tourism businesses could operate in the same way, so that people and the planet are the ultimate beneficiaries of the service. Social enterprise is a better way of doing business and the Social Enterprise Mark enables us to show local people that we are truly socially motivated."

‘Social enterprise’ is a different way to do business, and is becoming more important to customers, especially following growing mistrust in privately-run banks and businesses. Recent research revealed that consumers are crying out for the Social Enterprise Mark: 7 out of 10 people (in a survey conducted by ICM Research*) said they would prefer to buy from firms who put their profits back into the community rather than into the pockets of shareholders and that they would rather buy from a company that makes decisions based on concern for society and the environment.

Anne Mountjoy from RISE commented:
"With more and more opportunities opening up every day for organisations to benefit from the growing trend in ethical consumerism, the Social Enterprise Mark has an important role to play in helping people understand when a business is genuinely socially-motivated. By the end of this year, the Social Enterprise Mark will be available across the country and we hope it will be the next 'Fair Trade'-type success story in helping people buy in a more responsible way."

*The full research report is available at www.socialenterprisemark.co.uk