What is Social and Solidarity Economy?

Building a sustainable future for all

SSE is a resilient and sustainable economic model that understands the economy as a way of responding to individual and collective needs while respecting natural resources and promoting social justice.

Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is an economic system based on common welfare, which promotes balanced, sustainable and fair economic development that meets the needs of its social and natural environment. SSE organisations are characterised by democratic and horizontal management, rational use of resources and collective ownership. The economic activity derived from this system seeks to respond to the specific needs of its environment, strengthening networks and basis in the territory.

SSE is made up of a diverse range of economic initiatives that have in common offering an alternative way of organising the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, based on values and principles that prioritise people and life, and, therefore, their needs and the needs of the community environment. They want to inspire the transformation of the current economic system into a sustainable, plural, democratic, caring, just and feminist one.

Cooperatives, as the traditional, the most representative and important form of the SSE, become the driving force and are defined as an association of persons united voluntarily to meet their economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. They are, therefore, a heterogeneous model existing in all sectors of economic activity.

At the same time, cooperatives are the only legal form that shares universal principles and values defined by the International Cooperative Alliance.

Catalan cooperative movement, pioneer and benchmark in Europe, as an economic engine for a fairer, more sustainable and inclusive future.

The principles and values of the Social and Solidarity Economy and the organisations that form it are:

Aiming at responding to needs

SSE responds to a market logic based on the actual needs of people and not on generating financial gain. This implies a great knowledge of the environment where the activity takes place and a huge commitment to ethical and responsible problem-solving. At the same time, SSE promotes reasonable consumption of products and services, also seeking to create a sustainable balance between supply and demand. SSE does not have the aim of making profit. It responds to a limited and transparent distribution of surpluses or positive financial results, connected not to the capital but to the activity carried out by its members.

Cooperation

SSE understands cooperation between cooperatives as an enriching practice that allows the intercooperating organisations to grow in experience and skills. The major challenges that our society faces can be addressed from different perspectives, summing the knowledge and creativity of all those organisations that employ this practice instead of competing with each other.

Territorial responsibility and environmental sustainability

SSE incorporates the concept of “sustainability” from all possible aspects in developing its projects. It is a priority for this system that the projects respond to:

Commitment to the environment and willpower to carry out an energy and ecological transition to reverse the climate emergency.
Basis and cohesion with the territory and integration into its social fabric.

Transparency and equality

Social economy projects promote internal democracy and equal participation in both decision-making and reproductive work. In addition, in a collective and organised way, they equip themselves with external tools that allow them to evaluate their activity and management and share it publicly. This ensures internal transparency and encourages a permanent review of the very operating dynamics. That is why feminist social transformation, gender equality, generation of stable employment, fair and quality work relations as well as pay equity are essential. SSE is committed to transparency in the activity, the governance system, the management, the payments, and the distribution of surpluses or positive financial results, when it is the case.

SSE in numbers

79%

Know what cooperativism is and identify the specificity of internal governance, values and principles.

7,4%

Best rated enterprise, followed by the self-employed with a 6.5, and capital enterprises with an average score of 6.

85%

Believe that it is a useful business form for the society with a score that ranges between 7 and 10 points, compared to 15% of capital enterprises, where the score ranges between 5 and 8 points.