Leveraging Social Sustainability in the Amazonian Forest

Abstract

The social dimension of sustainability has not gained as much attention in bioeconomy (BE) literature as have the environmental and economic dimensions. Thus, this study's purpose is to analyze how social sustainability of the non-timber forest-based BE enterprise in the Amazonian Forest has been leveraged. A case study was performed in the largest enterprise in Latin America that produces babassu coconut-activated carbon for industrial use. This enterprise is a benefit corporation (B Corp) certified by B lab. The main contributions of the study are: (i) proposing a framework for social sustainability that considers its drivers and elements, for both internal and external stakeholders; (ii) indicating the impact of social sustainability on enterprises' business model; (iii) pointing out the contribution of technological innovations to the circular economy and preservation of traditions and environment; and (iv) studying an under-explored object such as a B Corp in the Amazonian Forest.