Social enterprises at CREC Coworking

In the ever-changing scenario in which we find ourselves today, society increasingly requires products and services that help satisfy its needs. Today, everyone has different tastes and needs, and this is one of the main reasons why the world has advanced and created different variations and services to accommodate each – or the vast majority – of human beings.

Generating a positive impact on people’s lives, and at the same time doing it in a profitable way, are the basis of any social enterprise. These types of projects are usually based on social entrepreneurship, which seeks to solve social problems by creating value for those who wish to participate in them and for anyone interested in the cause they defend.

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“A social enterprise is one that has a positive impact on society and/or the environment and, at the same time, is profitable as a business”

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What is a social enterprise?

There is no specific definition of a social enterprise, but they all agree on several aspects. Therefore, a social enterprise is one that has a positive impact on society and/or the environment and, at the same time, is profitable as a business. The main objective, and therefore the business activity, of this type of company is to achieve the common good. Social enterprises must ensure that their profits are used to achieve their mission; achieve a positive and measurable social impact; reinvest their profits in the achievement of the social objective,… And all this using a democratic and participatory method of organization focused on social justice; in addition to being managed with accountability and transparency.

These types of societies are very important, as they help to achieve certain objectives that governments or other organizations fail to achieve. Social justice, equality of conditions and care for the environment are essential values that are usually closely related to social enterprises.

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The importance of social values

All of us generate a positive or negative impact with our actions, although perhaps this is something that is not yet taken into account. At CREC Coworking we think that our community should have the option and the opportunity to use tools and/or carry out actions to make their professional activity as sustainable as possible. Thus, at CREC, we have a series of values that define our coworking and the companies that work in it.

One of our values is that we are one of the first coworkings adhered to the Citizen Commitment to Sustainability. Since 2020, we work to make the city of Barcelona a better, greener and more sustainable city, following the objectives of this commitment:

-Biodiversity: from urban greenery to the renaturalization of the city.
-Public space and mobility: from the street to circulate to the street to live.
-Environmental quality and health: from standards to excellence.
Efficient, productive and zero-emission city: from technological Barcelona to intelligent Barcelona.
-Rational use of resources: from the consumer society to responsible consumption.
-Good governance and social responsibility: from sectoral intervention to effective coordination.
Well-being of people: from a welcoming city to a cohesive society.
-Progress and development: from a concern for sustainability to an economy based on it.
Education and citizen action: from awareness-raising to informed co-responsibility.
-Resilience and planetary responsibility: from a punctual response to global action.

In our community, we have several companies and professionals who focus their professional activity on achieving objectives to ensure the common good. Do you want to know more about them?

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Social enterprises in CREC

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• RubyCup

RubyCup sells menstrual cups and does a lot of social work in reproductive and women’s health in 12 countries in central Africa and Nepal. Their mission is to enable all people to experience their periods in a safe and dignified way, regardless of their economic status.

They offer a sustainable menstrual health solution, eliminating menstrual taboos and providing sound education on reproductive health and menstrual care.

In addition, every time a purchase is made, a Ruby Cup is donated to a person who does not have access to these products – over 130,000 cups have already been donated!

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• Tapp Water

TAPP Water was born in Barcelona in response to a specific need: to be able to drink tap water with all the guarantees of taste and quality. Its mission is to create convenient, sustainable and affordable products that eliminate the need to consume bottled water. It is very important to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles, as they damage our ecosystems.

At CREC we already use their sustainable filters to provide quality water to our community!

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• Integrasons

Integrasons is a non-profit association that aims to organize, manage and promote activities focused on social, cultural and community integration, as well as to raise awareness and educate people from disadvantaged and socially excluded groups.

Its mission is to enrich and transform the education, employment and morale of children and young people, through teaching, creativity and community musical practice to strengthen social cohesion in the neighborhood. And its goal is to create a children’s and youth orchestra that functions as a socio-educational model for social inclusion, multicultural dialogue and social cohesion.

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• MCE Social Capital

MCE is a nonprofit impact investment firm that uses a pioneering loan guarantee model to generate economic opportunity for women and families in underserved communities throughout the developing world.

Its goal is for all people to have the opportunity to improve their lives through access to knowledge, resources and capital; and its innovative model is driven by a growing community of impact investors, foundations, financial institutions and philanthropists united by their unwavering commitment to improving the lives of families living in poverty across the developing world.

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• Greenkeeper Iberia

Greenkeeper Iberia is the market leader in ethylene, the phytohormone responsible for stress processes in plants, as well as fruit ripening, leaf and flower senescence and fruit abscission.

They manufacture ethylene sachets, which are a set of granules capable of creating, in a natural way, a modified atmosphere with very low levels of ethylene and other volatiles, with the aim of prolonging the preservation of fruits and vegetables, considerably extending their shelf life.

Having a modified and clean atmosphere hinders the formation of molds, fungi, yeasts and bacteria that can affect the fruits and vegetables that are transported and finally consumed by the population.

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• PEMB

The Pla Estratègic Metropolità de Barcelona (PEMB) is a private non-profit association, promoted by the Barcelona City Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. It is an instrument to identify the needs and potential of the territory in the medium term, foresee trends and threats and make proposals to face the future in the best conditions.

It follows a working method and philosophy based on: promoting the participation of all the actors involved; making consensus possible between divergent interests; prioritizing decisions; shared leadership; and the development of a common vision for the future.

The objectives of the PEMB are embodied in the approval of the metropolitan strategic plans. Currently, ‘Barcelona Tomorrow. Metropolitan Commitment 2030’, the new strategic plan for the real city: the metropolis of 5 million inhabitants.

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• Taula per Mèxic

Taula per Mèxic appears in 2016 with the aim of uniting the efforts of people and institutions interested in the promotion and defense of Human Rights in Mexico and committed to the fight against the social injustices that exist in that country.

It is presented as a network of people who from Catalonia demand the international community to recognize and address the humanitarian crisis in Mexico and assume responsibilities to ensure compliance with international commitments on Human Rights and Global Justice.

Its mission is to analyze, investigate and disseminate the situation of Human Rights and social justice in Mexico and to create alliances with other social actors that seek to promote dialogue to promote peace and social justice from the local and regional levels, among others.

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• Wallay! Festival

The Wallay! Festival,, created in 2018, is a journey into the creativity and diversity of the African continent narrated through the language of film, its cultural expressions and with the voices of its own filmmakers. It is a window to cultural quality and a channel to incorporate the absent African perspective and create referents.

In addition, the Wallay! Festival organizes round tables, workshops, debates and many other activities parallel to the screenings to bring us a unique auteur cinema that otherwise would not reach Catalonia.

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Don’t miss the opportunity to get to know better this kind of companies and professionals that make up the CREC Coworking community!