The end of the year is a time to pause and think. We reflect on what has passed and we look forward to our vision of what can be moving forward.

There are many reasons to feel overwhelmed as we take stock of our global community. There are increasing and escalating wars around the world, with the genocide in Gaza having no end in sight. Political change is rife with populism and protectionism that seeks to undermine ambition for equity and justice. Many in our communities feel numb, frozen, and incapable of acting against the growing number of fossil-fuel induced disasters that are broadcast monthly and that threaten all life systems on earth.

And yet, we have hope. We create tangible change with community-focused solutions as we do our part to shift the economy towards the safe and just doughnut that all beings on the planet deserve. The proof of concept that social procurement and social enterprise can transform our economies keeps us going and keeps the movement growing.

2024 marked 10 years of Buy Social Canada. We have seen social procurement move from small pilots and early adopters to mainstream iteration and replication. More and more organizations are starting their social procurement journeys and those who are underway are asking, what can we do to go further to deliver on community outcomes? Through shared learning and collaboration, Buy Social Canada continues to work with social purchasers, social enterprises and community champions to leverage the marketplace to build community capital.

We are working with partners on new innovations to improve and scale social procurement efforts. Market capacity assessments are underway to gain clearer insight on what community assets are available to respond to social procurement and community benefit demand. Social acquisition is supporting rural communities to maintain small businesses as boomers retire, while creating sustainable revenue streams for non-profit organizations to establish social enterprises.

Last year we also lost two ferocious champions of social enterprise and social procurement, Ethel Coté, and Buy Social Canada’s founder, our colleague, mentor and friend David LePage. Ethel shared her reflections on their work together at David’s retirement celebration in February 2024, before she passed.

“David – it’s been such a long time since we’ve been walking together in community economic development and social enterprise. We’ve had debates, such rich discussions, traveled together, and I feel privileged to know you, having learned so much by your side. You know how to value the people who journey with you… Thank you, David, for your work.” – Ethel Coté, mécènESS

As we have reflected on the last 10 years and look forward into a new year, we have done so with grief and gratitude. Just as David did, we value each person who is on this social procurement and social enterprise journey with us.

Buy Social Canada will always ensure storytelling and data analysis inform and inspire our community. Together we are forging a future that creates best value for communities and builds an inclusive economy. We hope 2025 offers more opportunities for collaboration, advancement, and celebration together.

2024 Impacts and Outcomes

Social Procurement

Buy Social Canada works with organizations across the country that are at various stages of their journeys to buy with impact, from exploration, experimentation to early adoption and common practice.  We support them to test, iterate and standardize social procurement, and to lead by example to influence change in their sectors. Construction and tourism remain key opportunity areas for social procurement and community benefits, and we’re also seeing growth in the healthcare sector.

In 2024 we have especially focused on supporting standardization and common practice for community benefits in construction, releasing the Community Benefits in Construction Guide, and are developing a community benefits standard which we will release in 2025 to support organizations to measure and compare outcomes across projects in a consistent manner.

Buy Social Canada’s approach to social procurement work is different from “traditional” consulting firms where contracts are often seen as transactions. We do this work because we believe that each advancement of social procurement takes us one step closer to transforming our marketplace and our communities – particularly when social procurement creates opportunities for social enterprises.

Learn more about our work with our Social Purchasing Partners in the Buy with Impact Snapshot to see how we support organizations to buy with impact and make a positive difference in their sectors and communities.

In 2025, we will continue working with our partners in tourism and healthcare to lead by example and support continued growth in their sectors and seek to identify other opportunities for social procurement adoption in Canada.

We will continue to advocate for and support increased adoption and standardization of social procurement and community benefits across Canada, in the public and private sectors and at every level of government.

In the construction sector, we will be releasing tools that enable standardization and expansion of community benefits in construction, infrastructure and development projects. We will also advocate that all government investment into infrastructure and affordable housing should include community benefits requirements.

Social Enterprise

Social enterprises are the business model of the future because they create community capital, instead of prioritizing profit for shareholders. Our communities need community capital to thrive and be resilient through the many challenges and issues we continue to face.

In addition to creating demand for social enterprises through our social procurement consulting, research, partnerships, and education, we also continue to support social enterprises as a national supplier council and the third-party certifier of social enterprises in Canada, verifying their impact and advocating for their success.

We celebrated a decade of social enterprise advancements, and re-released the Guide to Social Enterprise, updating it to include best practices for planning a social enterprise, but also for sustaining and growing social enterprises. The Guide draws on examples from so many of our friends’ and collaborators’ work, and shares tactics social enterprises are using to sustain and grow their contracts and impacts, including social procurement, social franchising and social acquisition.

In 2024 we certified 31 new social enterprises and heard from several that they have been awarded points for social enterprise certification on bid and contract opportunities. We also became the Canadian partner of People and Planet First, a global verification led by Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) amplifying the movement for social enterprise. All Buy Social Canada Certified Social Enterprises are now eligible to be People and Planet First with no additional payment or document review.

Learn more about the importance of social enterprise in our communities and economy in our Sell with Impact Snapshot, which shares data and stories from our Certified Social Enterprises.

Marketplace Revolution

In 2024 we advocated to the Government of Canada and other funders for increased stability of programs that support social procurement and social enterprise. To support common adoption for social procurement and social enterprise going forward, governments and funders need to create more consistent, stable support for the social economy sector, and the expansion of supports for the sector beyond siloed streams of activity, and into existing Government of Canada initiatives across departments.

This year, Buy Social Canada will work with governments, foundations, and corporate champions of social procurement and the social enterprise sector to ensure that social enterprises and social purpose organizations have access to the long-term sustainable market opportunities, capacity building support, and the finance they need to respond to social procurement demand.

Stay connected in 2025

Let’s amplify each other’s work this year. Reach out and introduce yourself to emma@buysocialcanada.com if you want Buy Social Canada to share more about the work you are doing to advance social enterprise and social procurement this year, and to get updates on our work in return.

If you’ve got questions about how Buy Social Canada can support you to buy and sell with impact, reach out to us at info@buysocialcanada.com.

As a dynamic, mission-driven team, Buy Social Canada has big goals for 2025.
While we may face changing political landscapes this year, we will champion social enterprise and social procurement as non-partisan solutions that put community wellbeing first and make dollars go further.

Let’s work together to maintain momentum for economic transformation.

In collaboration,

Elizabeth Chick-Blount, CEO
Tori Williamson, COO
Emma Renaerts, Communications Manager
Niamh O’Sullivan, Manager of Social Enterprise and Networks
Charlotte Lewthwaite, Manager of Community Benefits and Partnerships
Sabrina Musto, Senior Social Procurement Consultant
Josephine Adegnon, Social Procurement Consultant
Em Chapman, Social Procurement and BCSPI Coordinator
Jess Nadeau, Operations Coordinator