FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Social Enterprises are becoming much more common within the UK economy. According to the Social Enterprise UK website, there are now 130,000 Social Enterprises operating in the UK, employing over two million people.
With the increase in Social Enterprises expected to continue and reach further into the FM market, one such newly formed Social Enterprise has just been launched.
Communia FM, is a small independent FM consultancy, founded by Antony Ferdinand, a passionate social entrepreneur with 26 years of experience working in the Built Environment.
Ferdinand commented: “I’ve always held strong values around the need to help people, and have been a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion advocate for as long as I can remember.
“It was when my youngest son, Harry, was born in 2022, with an unexpected diagnosis of Down Syndrome, that really transformed the way I viewed DE&I. Like any parent, one day I want Harry to have a career and have work colleagues that he connects with. I want him to have the things that you and I may take for granted, but to do those things he will need to be given employment opportunities, and data tells us that people living with disabilities are under-represented in the workforce.
“It was then I decided to create Communia FM, whose main social objective is to invest time and money into supporting charities that help people living with disabilities to secure employment. Having the opportunity to share my FM experience and expertise to help customers, whilst at the same time delivering a huge social impact through the business, just felt the right thing to do.”
With many large businesses placing more emphasis on social value and measuring their own social impact, is the creation of more FM related Social Enterprises inevitable? Time will tell, says Ferdinand.
