Scaling Up: The Convergence of the Social Economy and Sustainability

When citizens take collaborative action to meet the needs of theircommunity, they are participating in the social economy. Co-operatives,community-based social services, local non-profit organizations, andcharitable foundations are all examples of social economies thatemphasize mutual benefit rather than the accumulation of profit. Whilesuch groups often participate in market-based activities to achievetheir goals, they also pose an alternative to the capitalist marketeconomy. Contributors to Scaling Up investigated innovativesocial economies in British Columbia and Alberta and discovered thatachieving a social good through collective, grassroots enterpriseresulted in a sustainable way of satisfying human needs that was also,by extension, environmentally responsible. As these case studiesillustrate, organizations that are capable of harnessing the power of asocial economy generally demonstrate a commitment to three outcomes:greater social justice, financial self-sufficiency, and environmentalsustainability. Within the matrix of these three allied principles lienew strategic directions for the politics of sustainability.