Social objectives

A social objective is one of the non-financial aims a business can set: an aim to improve the lives of other people or benefit a cause or community. It is about making a difference, not just making money, so it can motivate an owner even when profit is modest.

Social objectives can shape what a business sells, who it employs and how it spends its money. For example, a business might aim to employ people who find it hard to get work, offer lower prices to a group that needs support, or give part of its income to a local project.

Profit and social objectives

A social objective does not mean the business cannot make a profit. A business still needs revenue to cover its costs or it will not survive, and any profit can be reinvested — put back into the business or the cause — to support the social goal. Profit might pay for training, better equipment or free sessions for the community, rather than being taken out by the owners.

Take Print Pals, a small printing company that employs adults with learning disabilities and runs free CV workshops. In one month it makes £2,000 profit. The owner puts £1,200 of that profit towards a new printer and £800 towards materials for the free workshops. Print Pals has made a profit, but its social objective has guided how that profit is used.