A Swiss-rooted platform, linking networks globally for a regenerative economy. 

Definitions used in recent policy documents that generally align, although there may be slight variations in nuances.

Industry jargon and terminology can be confusing. While we make a conscious effort to use language that is simple to understand and use, in some cases this can be difficult. This glossary provides definitions for some of the key terms and phrases used in social impact investment. It is not intended to be definitive.

Glossary created by Mission Investors Exchange, the leading impact investing network for foundations.

The following list of terms are included in our report, Redistributing power over investment processes as the key to fostering equitable communities.

A PDF and page dedicated to providing common language for terms found in the social investment industry.

Glossary created by Boston Impact Initiative, a nonprofit impact investing fund and certified Community Development Finance Institution focused on entrepreneurs and impact fund managers advancing economic justice and community development.

This glossary of terms serves as a foundation for our collective journey, defining key concepts that reflect our values and the theories and frameworks that influence our work.

By articulating these definitions, we invite you to explore the principles of reparative capital, equitable financing, and impact investing through a lens of justice and Black liberation.

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This handy guide provides a compilation of the most commonly used terms and phrases used in the context of trust-based philanthropy.

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A free curated library of innovations in impact investing terms and investment structures, available to entrepreneurs, investors and impact professionals.

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The Post -Growth Institute is an international organization accelerating the world’s shift to a society that thrives within ecological limits. They’ve curated a glossary of post-growth terms.

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The social economy encompasses a variety of businesses, organisations and different legal entities. They share the objective of systematically putting people first, producing a positive impact on local communities and pursuing a social cause.

Social economy organisations can include non-profit associations, cooperatives , mutual societies, associations and foundations and social enterprises.

The social economy business models aim at reinvesting most of the profits back into the organisation and/or a social cause, and having a participatory/democratic form of governance. Social economy is known to be anchored at local level and to foster socio-economic cohesion by promoting values such as solidarity, participation and cooperation. Social economy business models operate in a large variety of economic sectors and are therefore linked with other industrial ecosystems.

Circular economy (CE), or circularity,^[1] is a model of resource production and consumption that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling materials and products, to extend product life cycle for as long as possible.^[2][3][4] The concept aims to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution by emphasizing the design-based implementation of the three base principles of the model. The main three principles required for the transformation to a circular economy are:

• designing out waste and pollution,
• keeping products and materials in use, and
• regenerating natural systems.^[5]

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The Doughnut of Social and Planetary Boundaries (the Doughnut) offers a visual monitor of progress towards the goal of meeting the needs of all people within the means of the living planet.

Just Transition is a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This means approaching production and consumption cycles holistically and waste-free. The transition itself must be just and equitable; redressing past harms and creating new relationships of power for the future through reparations. If the process of transition is not just, the outcome will never be. Just Transition describes both where we are going and how we get there.

Definition of Social Solidarity Economy according to RIPESS members (Extract of the Global Vision for a Social Solidarity Economy: Convergences and Differences in Concepts, Definitions and Frameworks, paper released by RIPESS in 2015 as part of a process of dialogue conducted between the continental member networks since 2013): The Social Solidarity Economy is an alternative to capitalism and other authoritarian, state- dominated economic systems. In SSE ordinary people play an active role in shaping all of the dimensions of human life: economic, social, cultural, political, and environmental. SSE exists in all sectors of the economy production, finance, distribution, exchange, consumption and governance. It also aims to transform the social and economic system that includes public, private and third sectors. SSE is not only about the poor, but strives to overcome inequalities, which includes all classes of society. SSE has the ability to take the best practices that exist in our present system (such as efficiency, use of technology and knowledge) and transform them to serve the welfare of the community based on different values and goals.

Articulated by the Democracy Collaborative in 2005, Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an economic development model that transforms local economies based on communities having direct ownership and control of their assets. It challenges the failing approaches that have been widely accepted in economic development for too long, and addresses wealth inequality at its core.

In a Wellbeing Economy, our definition of societal success shifts Beyond GDP growth to delivering shared wellbeing. This involves a fundamental systems change. A good economy is when the rules and incentives are designed to ensure everyone has enough to live in comfort, safety, and happiness. When people feel secure in their basic comforts and can use their creative energies to support the flourishing of all life on this planet.

When we thrive in a restored, safe, and vibrant natural environment because we have learned to give back as much as we are given. When we have a voice over our collective destiny and find belonging, meaning and purpose through genuine connection to the people and planet that sustain us.

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Nwamaka Agbo’s Restorative Economics framework centers on the healing and restoration of vulnerable communities who have been marginalized and oppressed by a polluting and extractive economy, by investing in strategies that create shared prosperity and self-determination for a just transition to the next economy.

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The Capital Institute is a non-partisan think tank working to create a more just and sustainable way of life by building the foundation for a regenerative economy. Together with their global ecosystem of 2000+ change makers, they combine modern science, storytelling, and the knowledge of timeless wisdom traditions to illuminate the path from an extractive economy to an emerging regenerative economy that supports the long-term well-being of people, planet, and business.They have developed 8 principles of a regenerative economy.