The OECD has released a new guide titled “Labels for the Social Economy”, developed in collaboration with the European Union. The guide provides a comprehensive overview and practical guidance on quality labels, seals, or certifications applied to social economy entities. It details different types of labels or certifications, classifies them, and offers a checklist for policymakers and managers to design and evaluate these systems.
As explained in the guide, labels can help identify social economy entities through their various legal forms, increasing their visibility among policymakers, consumers, and stakeholders themselves. This can facilitate access to financing, tax incentives, and markets.
The guide classifies labels into three main categories: those specific to the social economy, available only to these enterprises and organizations (examples include the ESUS – Entreprise Solidaire d’Utilité Sociale accreditation in France or the Social Cooperative Enterprise label in Greece); broader impact certificates, which are not exclusively applied to the social economy; and certifications for financial instruments, which include identifiers for solidarity finance, impact finance, or sustainable finance.
The guide includes a practical checklist aimed at policymakers and private quality label managers. It emphasizes that effective labels should be “meaningful, transparent, and well communicated” in order to meet the expectations of all stakeholders.
The main goal is to expand the impact of the social economy by fostering trust and recognition through clear and credible labeling systems.
