An investigation into the triple bottom line performance of micro and small social and environmental enterprises in developing countries: Establishing a baseline for a longitudinal study

The SEED baseline study provides insights into how social and environmental enterprises can achieve their social, environmental and business objectives, and how policy makers can create a more enabling environment for such enterprises to thrive.

According to the survey, these enterprises are bringing change through capacity training and skills development as well as the introduction of new and more environmentally-friendly technologies and production processes. A critical success factor is their ability to form and manage a diversity of relationships, from the community level to international market chains and aid agencies.However, the survey also underlined that two of the biggest obstacles for the success of these enterprises are lack of access to funds for training and lack of skilled people at the community level. By tracking the progress of the enterprises as they grow, SEED seeks to understand what policy and decision-makers need to do to allow these enterprises to contribute to a greener economy in the developing world.