The Editor's Post: Thank you for being part of the Pioneers Post community in 2025

There’s something about strong coffee and social enterprise.

As I sit here fuelling a rather late night at the laptop with a pot of strong black coffee, I’m also listening to my colleague Anna Patton’s fabulous Good Stories podcast in which – to a background of loud slurps punctuated by fits of laughter – two coffee-obsessed Colombians are teaching her the art of professional coffee tasting, whilst telling her about their mission to build a coffee empire that can salve the hurt of victims of armed conflict, sustain the livelihoods of thousands of families and protect the ecosystem from unsustainable farming methods.

For me it’s an example of one of the best kinds of what we call "impact journalism" – where the reporter grabs your attention by sharing a very human experience, with perhaps some laughter, perhaps some tears – and can use this to create an emotional connection with an audience on the other side of the world, as they explore the challenges, motivations and business solutions which that person is grappling with in order to change their community for the better.

This caffeinated shot of hope from Colombia is certainly a welcome pick me up as I contemplate the more fear-inspiring news we report on this week of the omnishambles that the EU appears to have made of the so-called ‘sustainability omnibus’, excellently and assiduously reported on by our senior journalist Laura Joffre. Or the UK’s Pride in Place programme, which appears to be another example of a government missing an opportunity and perhaps missing the point – in this case, around what our eloquent guest writer Asher Craig from the Pathway Fund describes as "racially intentional" investment.  

But I don’t want to be the Grinch at this festive time of year so let us turn our attention to those perennial purveyors of impact cheer – our very own SE100 awards! For all you social entrepreneurs across the UK, it’s time to polish your impact reports and sharpen your management accounts because nominations for the SE100 are now open. And there are some surprises for you too – including a brand new category for pioneers in public sector innovation, an award for impact storytelling, and a new list of the UK’s top 100 impact leaders. Applications are open until 15 February, and we very much look forward to reading your submissions (probably with the help of a strong pot of coffee...).

In the meantime, this is our last newsletter of 2025 and so, from all of the team at Pioneers Post – thanks so much for reading our stories, and for sharing your stories. We look forward to connecting with you again in the new year, and we offer you warm wishes for a prosperous, healthy and impactful 2026.

This week's top stories:

Urbania: The Colombian enterprise using great coffee to do good

Opinion: 'Whose communities are being uplifted by the UK government’s £5bn investment? Not ours'

EU corporate sustainability laws dealt final blow as ‘Omnibus’ package gets green light