Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Organizations that obtain B certification are known as B Corps (Benefit Corporations). B Corp certification, established by B Lab and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, is used by organizations to validate their efforts towards these goals. This study analyzed the business model of a B Corp and how it has been changed to leverage environmental and social sustainability. This study considers the case of the largest enterprise in Latin America that produces babassu coconut-activated carbon and bioproducts for industrial use. Among the indigenous people, more than 300,000 women live off the babassu coconut. This study considers perspectives from internal and external stakeholders to understand the business structure and sustainability practices of the studied enterprise. The main findings indicate that: the B Corp certification is the result of business model alignment for more than 30 years; the technological innovations to the circular economy contributed to rethinking the marketing positioning and, at the same time, amplified the social sustainability strategies; the enterprise´s value proposition includes social and environmental aspects behind the economic issues; and local communities changed their role from land invaders collecting material from the forest to authorized members of the coconut supply chain entering farms for collection. The results reinforce that organizations may positively impact the environment and society while obtaining a competitive advantage.