On our excursions today, we visited Sibö chocolate, toured, and had a wonderful lunch at Riverside Gastropub, and attended an informational lecture about medical device sales in Costa Rica at the Universidad Latina. At first glance, I felt that this schedule was very disorganized, but as we made our journey through each location, I realized that each place was centered around the same morals. I especially noted this in our first two visits, as they both seemed to have a strict focus on not only creating a high-quality product, but maintaining sustainability and transparency with their customers. At Sibö, our tour guide, Julio, shared the, surprisingly humorous, history of the chocolate making process, from xoxolatl, or bitter water, to the invention of bon bons and white chocolate. Our guide at riverside explained the history of the previously-burnt down building that they operate their restaurant in, and showed us their extensive garden, where we were able to smell and taste herbs like lavender, oregano, and pineapple sage. From my brief research, it is clear to me that while both of these organizations exhibit perfect examples of a triple bottom line working, and being present, within a business, Sibö’s method of operation displays a stronger demonstration of the triple bottom line at work.

At Sibö, I saw very clear examples of the triple bottom line within the way Julio and his partner run the company. The first aspect, people, was displayed through his commitment to supporting local communities and farmers to source the ingredients for his chocolate. He explained that he works closely with Costa Rican farmers and pays 3x the usual price of cacao, to ensure he is able to receive the best possible crop, whilst pay the farmers a reasonable fee. Throughout the tour, Julio emphasized this, explaining that paying the extra price for locally sourced, high-quality product, provides stable work opportunities for workers, while also allowing him to produce the best possible product. He also avoids buying from parts of the cacao and sugar industries connected to exploitative labor practices, showing that he values people over making the highest possible profit. Additionally, planet was visible in Sibö’s environmental practices. One example that stood out to me throughout the tour, was that Julio invented a way to turn cacao husks, which would normally be thrown out, into packaging for his products. He noted that on a visit to a chocolate store in France, he realized that they adopted his practice of creating environmentally friendly packaging. He explained that he found great pride in this, as he wants to leave a lasting environmental impact on the chocolate production industry. Finally, profit was evident in the success and reputation Sibö has built. By creating high-quality chocolate that has a clear and consistent mission behind it, Sibö seems to hahas become successful while still staying true to its values.