Where commercial meets ethical: embracing the spirit of social enterprise

Where commercial meets ethical: embracing the spirit of social enterprise

In-person Business Forum dinner meeting

In 2026, our Business Forum community is exploring where commercial meets ethical: opportunities for ethical approaches in an unethical world. In this second dinner meeting of 2026, we will ask ‘Can major food and farming businesses adopt the mindset and methods of social enterprises – and what benefits might that unlock?’

In today’s volatile food and farming landscape, businesses that combine strong commercial performance with credible social impact are pulling ahead – winning public trust, attracting investment, and strengthening supply chain resilience. This Business Forum dinner will explore how mainstream food and farming companies can harness the most valuable elements of the social enterprise model to drive growth, innovation, and long-term competitiveness.

We’ll look at how leading companies are already integrating social value into procurement, operations and brand strategy, and what it would take to go further. With initiatives like the Buy Social Corporate Challenge demonstrating clear business returns, we’ll ask whether it’s time for a broader Be Social Corporate Challenge – one that positions ethical practice as a driver of market advantage, not a constraint.

This dinner meeting is designed for senior leaders who want to:

• Strengthen brand trust and customer loyalty – understand how social enterprise principles can differentiate your business in a crowded market
• Enhance supply chain resilience and reduce risk – explore how partnering with social enterprises, or adopting their practices, can improve stability, transparency and long-term value creation
• Identify new commercial opportunities – learn how ethical approaches can open up new markets, attract talent, and align with emerging investor expectations
• Shape the future policy environment – discuss upcoming policy shifts, including the UK Government’s Good Food Cycle strategy, and proposed legislation like the Better Business Act – and what they mean for commercially-minded businesses
• Connect with forward-thinking peers – join a candid, senior-level conversation about what it takes to lead responsibly, and profitably, in a time of global uncertainty.

Traditional profit-driven businesses have a lot to learn from progressive social enterprises working in, or with, food systems. What can social enterprises learn from traditional commercial enterprises too?

This in-person dinner meeting will provide an opportunity for participants to explore whether and how traditional businesses might truly embrace a social enterprise spirit, and explore routes forward for what changemakers in business can to do to ‘be social’.

Speakers include Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, and Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder and CEO of Olio. The discussion will be chaired by Dan Crossley, Executive Director of the Food Ethics Council.

Register now to secure your place.

Note: this event is for members of our Business Forum. If you’re not a member and are interested in finding out more about how to become a member, please contact Dan via dan@foodethicscouncil.org.