by Candra French-Teshome

Created on: November 06, 2009

The key to global success is social responsibility in business. When businesses focus on the development of a model of global return, many of the disparities across cultures are addressed, especially in environmental management, economics and education. Education begins with literacy and books are the gateway to literacy. The idea of landfills littered with unwanted books is a poignant one. Knowledge discarded and lost to those who are economically disadvantaged represents a severe challenge within the global community. Fortunately, companies like Better World Books are taking charge of efforts to promote literacy worldwide and simultaneously manage the environment.

Started in 2002 by three students at the University of Notre Dame, Better World Books began as an effort to obtain extra income by selling unwanted textbooks online. Over the past seven years, the company has grown substantially and delivers a "triple bottom line" business model which encompasses not only profit, but social and environmental responsibility.

Statistics show that "Globally, an estimated 781 million adults are illiterate. Of that number, approximately 64 percent are women." (UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2009) Resolving such an overwhelming number of individuals requires the effort of many businesses connected to meet one common goal - even distribution of educational opportunity. By partnering with companies like Books for Africa, Worldfund, Room to Read, The National Center for Family Literacy and Invisible Children; Better World Books is in a strategic position to provide the opportunity for education to underprivileged communities.

Better World Books is transforming the face of illiteracy by providing over 1.3 million books to Books for Africa, the National Center for Family Literacy and Feed the Children. They have collected over 23.4 million books through active book drives at colleges and universities and donated more than $1.4 million to colleges who run book drives. In addition, they work to get books into the hands of prison inmates providing an opportunity for a better life through education.

The fight against the environmental impact of discarded books is one prominent theme of the company's business model. Better world Books never throws a book away and recycles any books they cannot properly place. By diverting over 25 million pounds of books from landfills and accomplishing 9,000 tons of carbon offset on www.betterworldbooks.com, the company provides relief to the ongoing issue of global warming.

Better World Books is a symbol for global change through the impact of the socially conscious business model. Built upon the idea that companies should consider communal responsibility in addition to profit, Better World Books is at the forefront of a breakthrough in on-line bookstores, the battle against illiteracy and good old fashioned profit.

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