Rafael Aldon

Rather than starting with a generic business tool like Lean Canvas, I recommend social impact founders try the "flourishing business canvas" as it helps expose economic, social and environmental aspects of your business model from the get go. It's easy to use, fast to iterate ideas with, and can provide a more holistic overview as a first pass as it exposes deeper and broader insights into your supply chain etc. Check it out.

Recycling is a circular economy approach, but that doesn't mean that it automatically qualifies as driving positive social change. For example, it's estimated that around 40,000 children between the age of 10-14 are employed in India's recycling industry in order to help poor families put food on the table. This highlights the importance of impact measurement and independent verification to give capital providers assurance that circular approaches are also driving the positive social outcomes we all want to see.

One of the major benefits of carving a path as a social entrepreneur is that you are building a company with purpose at it's core and in pursuing a noble endeavour you can access more meaningful levels of connection with people who align to your vision. Smart entrepreneurs will use this central tenant to network and collaborate using meaningful purpose-driven conversations to deeply align the ambitions and aspirations of partners, mentors, investors, peers etc with the companies success. By taking others on this journey you give your company the best chance of success and can make long-lasting and meaningful relationships in the pursuit of building better. Don't be shy about asking for help!

"Nature Positive" is rapidly joining "Net Zero" as a strategic priority for well-run businesses. Understanding the impact of your business on biodiversity provides critical data that can be used to reduce risk, improve supply chain efficiencies and significantly enhance reputation, employee engagement, stakeholder relationships and access to financing. This is a highly dynamic area that may offer leaders significant first mover advantages, in getting ahead of regulations/expectations.

The easy way to balance green marketing with profitability and competitiveness is to remove the expectation of "green marketing" in the first place. When your product or services are aligned to a purpose (People & Planet rather than purely dividends) the marketing is authentic, there is no need for greening. The real issue is a trade-off mindset (profitability v's sustainability) along with KPI's that reward short term gains over lasting value aligned product and service creation.