Today, we visited Sibo’s chocolate and Riverside Pizzeria. I had an amazing time listening to the history of chocolate and getting to walk through the garden at Riverside to see where all their ingredients are grown. My favorite chocolate was the dark chocolate square that we tried. I loved that it had a fruity taste.
The triple bottom line is a sustainability framework that measures a company’s success based on three key pillars: profit, people, and planet. Instead of focusing solely on financial profit, the framework encourages businesses to measure their social and environmental impact, aiming for long-term sustainability and positive impact for everyone.
A specific from today that really stood out to me and was evidence for the triple bottom line working was the compost at the Riverside farm area. Organic waste from the restaurant goes to the compost area outside of the restaurant and becomes a fertilizer for the garden. They also use ash and charcoal from the fires used to make the pizzas into the compost because it has nutrients in it. This simple idea goes into the three key pillars of the triple bottom line. This applies to the profit pillar because instead of having to buy fertilizer they use what they already have. This decreases the cost of goods sold which therefore increases profit. It helps people because it turns essentially waste into valuable resources that can be used. It also reduces greenhouse gases which helps people as well. Composting helps the planet by restoring the soil’s health which in turn can produce more plants. So instead of the waste going into the trash, Riverside finds a use for it. The owners of Riverside had to make a tradeoff for this business model. They have to invest their time for composting. It is much quicker to go the store and buy fertilizer but with composting it can take up to 12 months. This was a tradeoff that was worth it to the owners of Riverside. This shows that they really do care about the pillars of the triple bottom line. By the framework of the triple bottom line, Riverside is a very successful company. The company provides long-term sustainability and positive impact for everyone. When a business uses this framework, it becomes a business that cares about people and the world around them. It feels less like capitalism. People and the planet are taken into consideration when decisions are made.
When any one of the pillars of the triple bottom line fall short it collapses. Each one of the pillars should have equal value to the owners. If profit matters more than the planet, the owners will rely too heavily on trying to make money instead of protecting the planet. This can be catastrophic for a company in Costa Rica. People will see through the business and find out their true intentions. Having a triple bottom line framework is so important to everyone because a business doesn’t just benefit the owners it benefits everyone.
Finding uses for byproducts seems to be a common theme in Costa Rica. At Sibo’s chocolate, they used the outside of the cacao bean to make the outside paper for the product. This is very different than in the United States. In the United States, I think a lot more goes to waste than it should. Composting isn’t as common and using byproducts doesn’t commonly exist. It is refreshing to see a country that cares about its waste and finds ways to reduce it. I think the United States could learn a lot from Costa Rica and their sustainable ways.
Overall, today was a lot of fun. I am excited for the beach tomorrow and the days to follow!
