News from RISE: Community Business Thrives in the Recession: Bristol Wood Recycling Project Awarded Social Enterprise Mark As It Celebrates Fifth Birthday

The Social Enterprise Mark is a label which tells customers that a product or service is creating a social or environmental benefit.

The Project is celebrating five years of environmental and social achievements, founded on a self-financing business model, at a time of unprecedented demand for recycled timber. The Social enterprise is thriving although there is an apparent slow down from traditional collection sources of that timber. The Social Enterprise Mark, coupled with diverse and novel approaches to business, creates a competitive edge for the Project that places it in a position to look forward to many years to come.

Ben Moss, Bristol Wood Recycling Project Managing Director stated:
�We have been striving for five years to fulfill our social and environmental objectives, whilst remaining financially independent. Being awarded the Social Enterprise Mark gives us a real sense of identity, purpose and credibility in achieving these aims. With strict accreditation guidelines, those awarded the Mark are proving that they are not just �talking the talk�, but actually �walking the walk�. It gives our many customers- the clients we collect wood from, the shoppers we sell wood to, and the volunteers who work with us- the confidence to know that we really have ideals and achievements that set us far apart from other �normal� companies who might be offering similar services. Companies and customers are now actively looking for businesses that offer �a little bit more� than business as ususal- something that is socially, environmentally, and financially more attractive than what others are doing. At Bristol Wood Recycling Project we offer that by the barrell-load! We are more cost-effective than any of our competitors, and our customers know that they are also getting strong, tangible benefits to the community and to the environment by supporting us. That�s what puts us in a strong position to keep running for a further five years- and beyond- and the Social Enterprise Mark helps us stay in this position!�

The Social Enterprise Mark offers social enterprises a simple way to inform customers about the wider social or environmental impacts they provide and it gives social enterprises a competitive edge in these economically-challenging times. The Mark enables social enterprises to differentiate themselves from private business and any corporate social responsibility schemes.

For customers, it offers an instantly recognisable label to identify social enterprises; reminding them that by supporting a social enterprise they are helping to create benefits for people and the planet.

The Social Enterprise Mark is the only label of its kind that is open to all types of social enterprises that successfully meet a set of qualification criteria. The Mark is being piloted in the South West before being rolled out nationally within the next year or so.

Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West presented the Social Enterprise Mark to Bristol Wood Recycling Project whilst visiting their 5th Birthday Party Celebrations at their site on Cattle Market Road 3rd April.

The Lord Mayor for Bristol cut a Birthday Cake with Bristol Wood Recycling Project�s staff, volunteers and friends later in the day as part of an afternoon of music and events.

For further information on Bristol Wood Recycling Project visit their website: www.bwrp.org.uk

The Social Enterprise Mark is funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund and it is sponsored by the South West Regional Development Agency, The Co-operative Group South & West and Triodos Bank.

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