The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation launches definitive guide to growing social enterprise
The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation (the ‘Pro Bono Foundation’), a non-profit affiliate of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms, launched a new report on the formation and development of social enterprise globally, Legal reform as a catalyst for social enterprise: an international social enterprise law & policy report. The work, commissioned by Catalyst 2030, a global movement which brings together social entrepreneurs and social innovators from all sectors to attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, is an unprecedented look at legal policies that affect social enterprise around the world.
The report reviews laws and policies across 83 jurisdictions, with insight from hundreds of regional counsel who participated in the project, to offer a comparative analysis of how different countries support and enable the development of social ventures. It includes observations from each inhabited continent and every major legal structure, including key recommendations to assist policymakers in catalyzing the formation and growth of social enterprises in their respective jurisdictions.
As part of its recommendations, the report identifies six pillars in a successful strategy to better support the growth of social enterprise: clearly defining social enterprise; enabling fiduciaries to consider stakeholders other than business owners; providing tax benefits to social enterprises and their investors; implementing easier investment vehicles for social enterprises; guarding against corruption and “greenwashing”; and maintaining flexibility to allow for scaled application of rules and “opt-in” features.
The Pro Bono Foundation’s managing director, Isis Bous, said, “Across the world there has been growing concern about inequality, unsustainability and climate change for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic brought sharply into focus the need for businesses to contribute to meaningful change. Social enterprise has an absolutely critical role to play in this. Working closely with Morrison & Foerster LLP and more than sixty Lex Mundi member firms around the world for Catalyst 2030, this report offers a definitive guide on how governments can help social enterprises achieve greater impact. Collaborating with the World Economic Forum through the Schwab Foundation, we hope the valuable insight in this report will provide clear direction to decision makers looking to support social enterprise and further their missions to drive social, economic, and environmental change.” The legal reform as a catalyst for social enterprise: an international social enterprise law and policy report is available on www.lexmundiprobono.org/social-enterprise-report/
