CoRE
Community Renewable Energy – Developing renewable energy and community profits
Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) works with communities to develop renewable energy systems which will: provide independent, sustainable energy supplies, reduce funding reliance and generate an income. In return, CoRE will retain a stake in the projects set up to fund the establishment of more community owned renewable energy systems.
Read more (pdf-file

COMUNITA SOLIDALI
Welfare Italia – the mark of good care
Comunità Solidali, a consortium of social co-operatives offering care
services to elderly, disabled and mentally ill people, has created a
registered trademark for co-operatives managing psychiatric residential
homes. It stands for quality services at reasonable cost, planned and implemented in collaboration with local authorities, families and local communities.
Read more (pdf-file)

CASA
An employee owned limited company currently employing 175 staff, SHCA has offered a high quality range of care packages and services for people in the Sunderland area since 1994. SHCA has a number of major contracts with Sunderland Social Services, the University of Sunderland and Sunderland Colleges. As an employee-owned social enterprise, staff members get a vital role in the decision-making process because they own a share in their company.
Read more (pdf-file)

CAP
Shopping for social benefit
The chain of CAP Märkte (CAP Markets) is growing steadily and has reached nearly 50 shops in Germany. They are medium-sized neighbourhood supermarkets employing disabled people. Each unit is typically run by a local disablement association, but the brand is owned by a co-operative of sheltered workshops. As well as good working conditions, they provide a cherished community service.
Read more (pdf-file)

Le Mat
A social hotel chain
Le Mat – the hotel franchising of social entrepreneurs – is a chain and network of hotels and other accommodation facilities that are welcoming and accessible to everyone, and are run by cooperatives and/or social enterprises employing disadvantaged workers. Le Mat sees franchising as a method for the attainment of entrepreneurial growth, even on the part of social enterprises.
Read more (pdf-file)

Villa Vägen ut!
Addicted to growth
Villa Vägen ut! (‘Way out!’) is spreading the concept of halfway houses for recovering drug addicts across Sweden. The two existing houses in Göteborg, each housing eight people, are acting as models for others shortly to open in Örebro and Sundsvall. Five others are in the pipeline, and with 15 houses, the system will be self-sufficient.
Read more (pdf-file)

ESFN – European Social Franchising Network
European Social Franchising Network (ESFN) promotes and develop the concept
of social franchising on a European level and share business ideas.
Development plan for ESFN.

Social franchising as a concept has been developed separately in a number of European countries. Examples include the Le Mat hotel chain originating in Italy, Villa Vägen ut! halfway-houses for exoffenders in Sweden, Care and Share Associates domiciliary care businesses in the UK and CAP Market super-market Chain in Germany. Some of these businesses are quite large, CAP Market has over 40 stores and others, such as Le Mat, are operating in more than one European country.

Why a flock of starlings as sign of ESFN?
Read about it (pdf-file)