Michael Solomon’s social enterprise SEE What You Are Buying Into Ltd helps consumers make socially responsible decisions that support ethical business around the world.
How does the SEE program help businesses and consumers?
SEE What You Are Buying Into is a labeling scheme and a growing social movement that has the potential to revolutionise the ways in which businesses establish and communicate their Social, Environmental and Ethical (SEE) credentials.
In order to join, businesses must answer 25 questions covering a range of SEE issues, guarantee their responses as accurate, complete and verifiable, and publish them online for public scrutiny, comment and rating.
What makes SEE so special is its ability to drive real openness and honesty across business. We have 70 businesses now signed up. They have joined because of the benefits of going through our evaluation process and because of the potentially greater benefits of carrying the SEE Logo and listing on www.SEEWhatYouAreBuyingInto.com. That is, they are motivated through self-interest.
But they are also, to varying extents, motivated by altruism. Because as more and more companies join the scheme, these founder members will raise public expectations that ALL businesses likewise tell the truth about their SEE practices, and likewise demonstrate real transparency and accountability.
This is something to get really excited about! This is what enables us to become a labelling scheme that is also part social movement. This is 2010, the social, environmental and ethical challenges we face together are huge and complex, it is perfectly reasonable for people to expect business to be honest and explain how they are responding.
Our viral campaign is based on people nominating companies that they would like to see open up. It could not be simpler. And it is potentially very powerful, especially if people can easily share with their social network details of the businesses they have nominated and their reasons for doing so.
So our pitch to businesses is this: join SEE because it will make you a better business AND because you will be part of making the world a better place.
The SEE What You Are Buying Into Logo is a powerful brand, carried by members of an increasingly powerful network of businesses united in their desire to make good profits by being fair, open, honest and trustworthy. This is no ‘beard and sandals’ campaign with unrealistic vision and unachievable standards. It’s a very practical, pragmatic and potent way to show you are doing your best. And, as such, a unique means of gaining competitive advantage.
What’s involved in getting SEE listed? Is there an application process?
Clare’ s new 4 min video clip answers these questions very well.
Is there a cost associated with certification?
We charge a £500 join fee and a annual licence fee to list on the SEE website and carry the SEE Logo. This fee is based on company turnover, there are 10 tiers, the fee starts at £300 for the smallest businesses and goes up to £50,000 for the largest: http://www.seewhatyouarebuyinginto.com/business/fees
What PR have you done for the SEE brand to make it something that consumers search for?
Not enough! But we are working on it. We are negotiating the sort of game-changing publicity we really need with a major UK media brand right now.
Are you looking for mass media coverage? Or do you do viral marketing?
We are looking to do both well. In addition to gaining the support of an online and print media giant, we have also designed a brilliant viral tool based on people nominating companies they would like to see join the SEE scheme and open up. We expect to get tens of thousands of nominations through this tool. The basic form is currently available but is rudimentary in its function in comparison to what has been designed: http://www.seewhatyouarebuyinginto.com/you/how_to_nominate_a_business.
What inspired you to create SEE certification? What it a specific experience? Or the culmination of many years of trying to find a way to make buying more ethical?
We came at this from the how can genuinely responsible companies be identified angle. In 2002 I was working in financial publishing and was asked to create a new CSR media brand. The problem I saw was that companies were not credible when they tried to communicate on SEE issues. The SEE scheme was the response – challenge businesses in such a way that the result is something people can believe in.
How can people reach you to get more information on the work you do?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?