Abstract

The case examines the business model of Better World Books (BWB), the US based online bookseller. Founded in 2002, the company collected old and new books from individuals, booksellers, recyclers, libraries and colleges. Apart from donations, libraries and colleges also sold old books to BWB. BWB either donated the collected books to the organizations promoting literacy or sold them online. BWB’s business model reflected its commitment to the triple bottom line approach. The company made efforts to achieve social, environmental, and economic sustainability. It directly donated books and gave financial support to literacy initiatives worldwide. Moreover, a percentage of each sale was given separately to the individuals, libraries, or colleges as well as literacy partners chosen by them. By donating and selling used books, BWB helped to keep away millions of pounds of paper waste from landfills. The books that did not sell were recycled. BWB also had a Carbon Neutral Shopping Cart, through which, the company collected two to five cents on the cost of each book from every customer at the ‘Checkout’ link on its website. The collected money was used to buy carbon offset to compensate the environmental impact of shipping by the company and its literacy partners. In the financial year 2008, BWB earned revenues of US$ 21 million and had a revenue target of US$ 31 million in fiscal 2009.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the business model of BWB, a ‘for profit’ social venture
• Understand how BWB’s business model contributes to its commitment to the triple bottom line approach
• Study how BWB minimizes the environmental impact of its operations.: Examine the revenue model of BWB’s business and evaluate its sustainability.

Keywords

Better World Books, Business Model, Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs, Campus Collection Program, Library Discards & Donations program, Promoting Literacy, Commission Junction, Triple Bottom Line Approach, Social Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, Economic Sustainability, B Impact Report, US Environment Protection Agency, Wastewise Program, BookCrossing.com, Carbon Neutral Shopping Cart, Carbonfund.org Foundation, Incentive Stock Option, Social Entrepreneurship