Social ventures have been gaining recognition as a valuable business model for creating more sustainable, equitable, and healthier societies.  One basic definition of a social venture is finding commercial solutions to social and environmental problems.  The inherent value of social ventures are that the services and products of businesses have positive social impacts while generating profit to be used to further their social missions and expand their scale.  Having a triple bottom line of profit, people, and the planet is a competitive advantage for businesses.  Together with Capacity Waterloo Region, My Sustainable Canada analyzed the local social venture economy and developed 6 case studies to showcase prominent social businesses in the area.  The report, entitled, "For-Profit Social Ventures in Waterloo Region - An Exploratory Study (2010)" is available on the Capacity Waterloo Region website.