Partner Guide
The People and Planet First verification uses the Good Market digital commons to keep costs low and maximize benefits to applicants. If you need technical support at any point, you can email hello@goodmarket.global or click Help in the bottom menu on the site.
The People and Planet First verification is implemented through a network of partners. Partners include member organisations, certifiers, and other service providers that are committed to the enterprise model and work with a network of enterprises that meet the five standards. There are three types of verification partners: Referral, Review, and Double Badge. You can learn more here.
Step 1: Create Account
If you are interested in becoming a network partner, the first step is to submit the application form to create a free account and online public profile for your organization. This account will enable you to:
- Be included in the People and Planet First Partner Directory
- Have a custom invite link to share with your network
- Access and review verification forms for your enterprises
- Create a network page for your members
You can see other networks on the Good Market digital commons here. Networks are able to create white label directories and marketplaces, collect member information through custom forms, manage verification systems, and more.
Sign Up
Click the New Application button, sign up, and verify your email address. If you need help, you can find more details here.
Submit Application
The Organization page of the application form tends to take the longest and is the only page with required questions. The rest of the form is mostly Yes / No and multiple choice questions and tends to go quickly.
The key thing is to use the application form to share your enterprise’s purpose and story, and if a question doesn’t apply, don’t worry about selecting No. Every enterprise is different. It is normal to have No answers.
Continue through the Environment, Customers, Workers, Suppliers, and Community sections of the form. On the final Additional Info page, select People and Planet First Verified Social Enterprise. When you click the Submit button, you will see the confirmation page and receive an email.
If you need additional application help, you can find more details here.
Step 2: Invite Team Members
Once your form is approved, you will have a new enterprise account page on the site. If you have other team members that will be involved in coordination, outreach, or reviews, please connect them to your account so they receive partner notifications.
To add additional team members, click Account in the bottom menu, open your enterprise account page, open the Team section, and click the Team Invite button. If you add the email address of a team member who is already signed up on the site, they will be added immediately.
If you add the email address of a team member who hasn’t signed up yet, an email invite will be sent. Your enterprise account will receive one point when the invite is accepted.
Step 3: Sign Agreement
NOTE: If you are part of a global partner network that signed the collaboration agreement at a global level (e.g. Impact Hub), you can skip this step.
The Collaboration Agreement for People and Planet First partners is now available online. To sign the agreement, click Account in the bottom menu, open your enterprise account page, open the People and Planet First Partners section, and click the Collaboration Agreement link.
Each partner type has its own agreement. Double Badge Partners that are also interested in referrals or reviews may sign two agreements. When you are done signing your partner agreement, click Submit.
You can review your submitted agreement at any time by clicking the Overview button. If you decide to change to a different partner type, please click the Collaboration Agreement link to open a new agreement.
Step 4: Custom Invite Link
Your enterprise account page includes a custom invite link that you can share with your community through your website, social media, email, or chat. The invite link takes people to the Apply page and shows your logo and custom invite text.
If your contact signs up with your invite link, you will receive an email notification and 1 point. If they apply and become approved, you will receive an additional 10 points. People and Planet First uses invite links to track referrals for revenue share payments.
To customize your invite, click Account in the bottom menu, open your enterprise account page, open the Invites section, update your invite text, and copy the invite link. The invite text can be written in any language.
Step 5: Communicate
Update your website to include information about People and Planet First verification in language adapted to your community. Explain that the verification is three steps. Include your custom invite link and a link to the step-by-step Verification Guide.
Here is an example from Social Enterprise Alliance.
Step 6: Outreach
The onboarding process is not complete until at least one enterprise in your network has been verified. Active partners have shared the following recommendations for initial outreach in a new region or community:
Purpose First: Start with the enterprises that are purpose-driven, collaborative, and interested in making the movement more visible.
Personal: Contact enterprises directly by personalized email, chat message, or phone call. Bulk mails, newsletters, and social media are less effective.
Simple: Keep messages as short as possible and focused on a single call-to-action or question. (For example: Is this something you might be interested in?) Avoid email attachments. Share links to your own website and the step-by-step Verification Guide.
Celebrate: Publicly recognize newly verified enterprises at least once a month. Update outreach messages to include links to community members who are already verified.
Snowball: Ask verified enterprises to recommend other initiatives that put people and planet first. When reaching out to new enterprises, let them know they were recommended.
Benefits: Work with other partners and verified enterprises to engage Supporters who are interested in purchasing from and supporting enterprises that put people and planet first.
Review Partners
To see the enterprises connected to your account, log in and switch to your enterprise account in the top right corner. Open the menu in the top left corner and click the People and Planet First link to open a filtered view of the People and Planet First Network Manager page that only shows your enterprises.
You can see the verification status, start date, and end date for each enterprise connected to your account. Click the enterprise name to open an Overview page with past forms and the activity history.
The People and Planet First verification team will contact you when a new form is available for review. Click the enterprise name to open their overview page. The most recent form will be at the top.
Review the form based on the Verification Review Guide, and add your decision and comments. Select green if the enterprise meets the 5 standards and is eligible for verification. Select yellow if more information is needed. Select red if the enterprise does not meet the standards, and is not eligible for verification yet. When you click Submit, the verification team will receive an email notification.
