Terminology

B-corporations are a new kind of company which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. www.bcorp.net

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Practices that meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability for future generations to meet their own need’s.

Cross-Sectoral Partnerships (coined by James Austin).  Relationships among nonprofits, business and/or governments.

Cause Related Marketing (CRM) Any type of marketing effort for social and other charitable causes. A business usually markets a product/service and a portion of the profits are donated to a nonprofit.

Nongovernment Organization (NGO): Any non-governmental body. The term NGO came from the United Nations (UN) Charter, Article 71 that defines these entities as non-profit, non-governmental organizations.

Non-Profit Corporation (NPO): U.S corporation that receives benefits (e.g., tax exemption) because the type of work that it conducts.

Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI): A forum that brings together partners with diverse interests, typically government, NGOs and businesses in order to achieve common goals.

Multi-National Corporations (MNCs): A company that is headquartered in one country while in many countries.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP or P3): A relationship, usually a formal contract, between a government agency and private business. Either party can provide capitol while the other usually gets some equity in the venture.

Strategic Alliances: Relationships are described as being “strategically” important to both partners. This is a commonly (mis)used term but often times there are no clear criteria about how the partnership is strategic and/or what “value-added” is being delivered by the relationship. Most strategic alliances are not legal entities; they are often implemented through a variety of mechanisms over several years.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Most businesses are in this category. Actual definitions vary by country. In EU SMEs are less than 250 people, in Canada they are less than 500 employees.

Social Entrepreneurs: Leaders who see opportunities for change and innovation and devote themselves entirely to making that change happen. This approach can be implemented in any type of organizational structure (e.g., government, for-profit, non-profits.)

Social Enterprises: Initially created to provide employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups  through nonprofit mechanisms (e.g., Juma Ventures, Rubicon), but they can be for-profit organizations with social and environmental missions (e.g., The Body Shop, Ben and Jerry’s).

Stakeholders: Individuals and/or groups who effect or are affected by an organizations actions activities, including investors, shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, NPOs , communities, and government agencies.

Stakeholder Engagement encompasses a broad set of approaches that organizations use to relate to varisou stakeholder groups to benefit a organization. For example, politicians develop relationships with their constituents, nonprofits with communities and business shareholders.

Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability for future generations to meet their own need’s and it embodies two key concepts: 1) the essential needs of the world’s poor should be given overriding priority and 2) the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs is limited

Triple Bottom Line: This approach values both the corporation’s economic (profit), environmental (planet), and social (people) practices rather than just its financial returns to maximize shareholder value.