We are a group of students in the Business and Society Program at York University completing a placement with Green Campus Cooperative to satisfy a program requirement in one of six streams called the Social Economy. In the Social Economy stream, we explore businesses driven by social purpose rather than profit, including co-operatives, non-profits, social enterprises, and social entrepreneurs. Conventional businesses typically aim to maximize profits for shareholders, operating within hierarchical structures and emphasizing competition. In the Social Economy, we examine firm-level operations and the relationships among these organizations, focusing on community economic development, cooperative networks, fair trade initiatives, and alternative development models.