A journey towards B Corp certification for spirits producers in Iceland: Brunnur Distillery ehf. case study

• Main Author: Matteo De Simone 1994-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Samfélagsábyrgð; Fyrirtæki; Bia; Kramer; Milton; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/46985

The idea surrounding the maximisation of shareholders' wealth professed by Milton Friedman at the beginning of the 70’s has been challenged with the emergence of new paradigms, one of them being stakeholder governance. In this context, social enterprises started to emergence following a ‘journey’ that leads them towards a balance between financial objectives and societal benefits. In this context, the primary aim of this thesis is to evaluate the factors influencing the acquisition of a B Corp certificate within the context of spirits producers in Iceland. The component of producing spirits adds complexity as this is considered a controversial industry (CI). For this reason, potential CSR barriers and drivers that businesses operating in this industry may face needed to be explored while looking at established CSR developments, namely, Porter and Kramer theory regarding shared value. The standardisation of the sustainable reporting has also been analysed in this context. The ’journey’ that an Icelandic producer of spirits may undergo has been explored by following Brunnur Distillery ehf., a local Icelandic distillery, along its first steps towards B Corp. Interviews and an “insider action research” were carried out. The results concern an analysis of sustainable activities carried out by other B Corp certified distilleries around the world, the simulation of the B Corp Impact Assessment (BIA) carried out by assessing Brunnur Distillery ehf. status pre and post possible implementation of CSR activities that can be implemented in a scalable financial plan, and the analysis of the literature surrounding CSR activities in the context of controversial industries. The theoretical contribution of the study is to provide an analysis of CSR drivers and barriers in the context of CI, as well as a CSR framework that can be translated to other distilleries. The practical contribution of the study lies in the fact that it provides information on how a company in a CI setting navigates CSR barriers and drivers while working ...