What do you do when your company has grown 1,900 percent in four years—faster than any other woman-owned company in the world? If you’re Thirty-One Gifts Founder and CEO Cindy Monroe, you set your sights on a bigger target and empower as many women as possible along the way.

As Monroe recently told The Business Journals site bizwomen.com, her current goal is to become a billion-dollar company. To build Thirty-One, Monroe is keeping a firm grasp on what has already made the company a success: offering women products that meet their needs and a significant income opportunity.

“I want to make sure that I always stay true to helping our U.S. consultants stay profitable and that it’s real income,” Monroe shared. “It’s not about the size of the company we are, and for me, it’s not even about the bottom line. It’s about helping these women.”

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Monroe resumed her role as president this month following the retirement of Thirty-One President Andy Neri. Formerly COO at Thirty-One, Neri stepped into the role of president in 2012. Monroe had previously served as both president and CEO.

This spring Vemma introduced Verve MoJoe, the latest in its healthy line of energy drinks. The coffee-based beverage lived up to its name in a recent bevindustry.com poll, where readers voted Verve MoJoe new product of the month for May.

Since camping out in the sparsely populated “healthy energy drink” category, Vemma has expanded its line with products like Verve ReMIX, Verve PARTEA and Verve Zero Sugar. Verve MoJoe is the company’s high-octane take on iced coffee, a perennial hot-weather favorite.

Vemma formulates its health-conscious brew with natural sweeteners, flavors and colors. One serving packs just 60 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of all-natural sweeteners and 80 milligrams of natural caffeine.

Beverage Industry is a widely distributed magazine reporting on North America’s $400 billion beverage market. A Reader’s Choice poll conducted in June determined the top products introduced on the site in May. Verve MoJoe beat out several other new beverages with 58 percent of votes.

Avon, this year’s Bravo Humanitarian Award recipient, has been named one of Interbrand’s Best Global Green Brands of 2014. The global brand consultancy ranked Avon No. 42 of the 50 companies leading the way in sustainability.

Interbrand defines a sustainable approach as “creating long-term value by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental and social impacts.” The Best Global Green Brands ranking evaluates both market perception and environmental performance—from governance and operations all the way down the chain to products and services.

One of Avon’s greatest distinctions is its 6 million-strong salesforce, which extends the company’s environmental impact across the globe.  Avon has mobilized its salespeople through initiatives like Healthy Forests, Beautiful World—a program that raises funds and awareness in support of reforestation efforts by The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund.

On the corporate side, Avon has met or exceeded several benchmarks in its quest for increased sustainability. The New York-based company is an industry leader in its reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Between 2005 and 2012, Avon reduced water use by 200 million gallons and achieved an overall recycling rate of 83 percent at its manufacturing and distribution centers. Interbrand also noted the company’s environmental award-winning manufacturing facility in China and its new R&D Center in Shanghai, which has achieved LEED Platinum certification.

View the 2014 Best Global Green Brands.

Three-year-old social jewelry retailer Chloe + Isabel is looking to expand its offerings and its reach following a successful $15 million venture funding round.

SoftBank Capital, an affiliate of Tokyo-based Internet and telecom conglomerate SoftBank Group, led the company’s recent Series C equity round. In the last couple of years, Chloe + Isabel has signed on 4,500 salespeople in the U.S. and developed proprietary technology in support of its sales, marketing and training. Now the company is looking to enter Asia and expand beyond jewelry, beginning with the launch of its first fragrance, Jardins du Midi, this past April.

Chloe + Isabel salespeople, known as merchandisers, market the company’s goods through customizable online stores. The merchandisers sell a selection of Chloe + Isabel inventory through their e-commerce sites or offline through trunk shows.

“Chloe + Isabel’s innovative, scalable tools and training offer a true social-selling experience and provide an entrepreneurial opportunity for today’s woman,” Scarlett O’Sullivan, Partner at SoftBank Capital, said in a statement. “We were drawn to the merchandisers’ stories and the way in which Chloe + Isabel’s disruptive selling platform, customized marketplaces and high-quality products are impacting merchandisers’ lives and allowing them to attain whichever goals they set for themselves.”

The Direct Selling Association has published its annual industry statistics report, based upon a survey of the Association’s member companies.

The 2013 numbers tell an optimistic story about the state of direct selling in the U.S. Sales increased 3.3 percent to a record high of $32.67 billion, rounding out a four-year upward trend that began amid the economic recession.

The Wellness and Service categories continue to gain market share, balanced by shrinking sales in the Home & Family Care and Personal Care categories.

As for people, the backbone of the model, participants in direct selling jumped 5.7 percent in 2013 to a record 16.8 million. The overwhelming majority (70 percent) of sales occurred person-to-person, while 23 percent took place through a party plan or online party model.

View the full report at dsa.org.

Nature’s Sunshine Products has announced plans to enter China in a joint venture with Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma. The agreement outlines a multi-channel approach that places Nature’s Sunshine products in Fosun Pharma retail locations across the country and markets the company’s Synergy brand through a direct selling model.

Fosun Pharma will acquire a 15 percent stake in Nature’s Sunshine in a deal valued at just over $46 million. As a part of the agreement, Nature’s Sunshine will appoint one Fosun Pharma director to its board. The investment in Nature’s Sunshine will also fund a special $1.50 per share cash dividend to be paid out at closing.

The company expects that Nature’s Sunshine Hong Kong will drive long-term growth and become a top market within five years, says Chairman and CEO Gregory L. Probert.

“We view this joint transaction as both a testament to the strength of our existing business as well as Fosun Pharma’s confidence in our ability to establish a substantial business in China,” Probert said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in our transformation to a global organization with multiple brands and distribution channels.”

Company Profile

Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Stamford, Connecticut
Executives: Michael Fallquist, Founder and CEO; Meredith Berkich, President
Products: Environmentally responsible electricity, natural gas and solar power

It may not be easy being green, but Viridian Energy has turned greenness into a multimillion-dollar direct selling powerhouse with a global vision: to create a path to a more sustainable future.

Many companies, both within and outside of direct selling, have sustainability initiatives, but at Viridian, it’s the whole ballgame. Not only does every product—electricity, natural gas and solar energy systems—promote environmentalism and sustainability, but the company even extends its vision through philanthropic projects and incentive trips where top earners celebrate success and also help create green energy solutions at their destinations.

Michael Fallquist

Meredith Berkich

The company is the creation of Michael Fallquist, its founder and CEO. As a native of the Pacific Northwest, Fallquist had “green” in his DNA. His professional background was in the energy industry. When he decided to develop his own company, he knew it had to reflect his passion for environmentalism, sustainability and reducing the world’s carbon footprint. Green energy was his only acceptable choice.

But how do you market it? Retail energy is commonly sold directly to the consumer through advertising, telemarketing, direct marketing or door-to-door sales. But Fallquist knew he had to answer the consumer question, “Why use green energy?” He also knew that, as energy deregulation progressed, he wanted the consumer’s choice of product to be based on more than just price. Direct selling filled both of those needs. Viridian associates could explain deregulation as well as the benefits of exercising their personal energy choice to make a collective impact. In direct selling—as a result of associates’ personal relationships—customers tend to be more loyal, or stickier, than those of companies that compete solely on price.

So in 2009 Fallquist launched Viridian Energy, and the business immediately exploded. By its second full year in business, Viridian had broken into the Direct Selling News Global 100, and in 2013 it reached No. 45, with revenues of $267 million and 22,065 active Viridian associates in nine states. Last year alone the company’s green products reduced carbon emissions by more than 2 billion pounds. That number equates to recycling more than 7 billion soda cans, 15 billion two-liter plastic bottles or 164,000 Sunday editions of The New York Times. Those numbers have continued to grow. In the first quarter of 2014, Viridian enrolled more than 50,000 customers and 5,000 associates.

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Last year alone, Viridian’s green products reduced carbon emissions by more than 2 billion pounds. That number equates to recycling more than 7 billion soda cans, 15 billion two-liter plastic bottles or 164,000 Sunday editions of The New York Times.

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Sustainable Planet, Sustainable Business

Electricity, natural gas and solar energy are three environmentally responsible products Viridian offers. The company’s electricity products—Everyday Green® and Pure Green™—are already both backed by a high percentage of green energy, through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Everyday Green supplies electricity that is 50 percent renewable, in addition to the renewable portfolio standards set by most deregulated markets, and Pure Green is sourced 100 percent from wind power. Viridian’s Simply Right™ natural gas products offer consumers and businesses a thoughtful and practical way to address the biggest concerns related to natural gas, and the company mitigates customers’ emissions through carbon offset purchases. Customers may choose from Simply Right natural gas, which is 25 percent offset, or Simply Right 100, which is 100 percent offset. Viridian also contributes to a research fund to support more responsible extraction of natural gas.

But today’s energy products, as green and sustainable as they are, are expected to pale in comparison to energy’s new kid on the block: solar. Not only does it offer consumers—even those outside the sunshine belt—a money-saving, sustainable energy choice, but it also offers a great long-term solution for Viridian’s goal of longevity. Viridian Energy President Meredith Berkich explains why.

“When we looked at the solar energy market and how fast it was growing, we knew we had to get in on that,” she says. “Solar is growing wildly, and it’s an important method for how fast we can impact the world. Back in 2008, one solar energy system was being installed every 80 minutes. In 2013, one was being installed every four minutes. By 2016, it will be one every 80 seconds. If we had ignored the trend, continuing to offer only electricity and natural gas, our business would have gradually begun to diminish over time as consumers became their own generators. When we talk about being part of local change, we must constantly evolve to be relevant and provide value.”

To be part of that change, last year Viridian Energy partnered with SolarCity—the country’s No. 1 full-service solar provider—to offer solar energy systems to its customers and another valuable product to its associates. When a Viridian associate sells a solar energy system, several important things happen. First, SolarCity takes care of everything from permits to panels. All the customer has to do is soak up the sun and enjoy locked-in lower rates. Second, Viridian Energy gains a long-term customer. Third, the cleanest, most sustainable energy currently available goes into use. And finally, the Viridian associate earns a 20-year residual income on the solar energy system.

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“[Viridian’s business opportunity is] about three helps: You’re helping your wallet, helping your friends with their business and helping the environment.”
—Meredith Berkich, President

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That type of innovation is just one of the things that attract Viridian Energy associates to the company. Another compelling magnet is that no inventory is required. For customers, changing energy companies is simply a matter of paying the utility bill they already pay.

“It’s about three helps: You’re helping your wallet, helping your friends with their business and helping the environment,” Berkich explains. “Associates like it because it’s all benefit-driven to their warm market, but definitely they appreciate the green component. This group seems to be very motivated by significance and community. They get to make a difference and be a part of something bigger than themselves. There’s something so appealing about that.”

President Meredith Berkich helps with beach cleanup in Fiji.

Predictable Income

While Berkich doesn’t call the energy business recession-proof, she does note that it suffers far less during tough economic times than a company that offers more optional consumable goods. For a company launched during a recession, that’s a big plus.

“I used to be in a nutraceutical company, and during economic downturns we watched autoships plummet,” she recalls. “People assessed their tight budgets and asked themselves what they could cut. But during the recession, people continued to use electricity and natural gas. Maybe they were more careful about turning their lights off, but no one stopped paying their energy bills. Even before people pay the mortgage and car payment, they’ll keep the heat on. That will never go away. It was a perfect time to start out as a network marketing company in the energy space.”

While the consistent demand for energy can create predictable income for Viridian associates, they have to learn some of the variables of the industry. Energy is deregulated on a state-by-state basis, and each state has the ability to implement different regulatory components. It is critical to Viridian’s success that its associates are informed on the local guidelines and requirements so that the company maintains a constant culture of compliance. Viridian ensures that its associates can discuss deregulation confidently with their prospective customers by requiring each new associate to complete training on energy deregulation and regulatory issues before they can enroll a single customer. They complete the training online in their back office in about 45 minutes. Then they are certified to represent Viridian to their family, friends and warm market. Additional training, updated monthly, is available in their back office on everything from market conditions and products to the future of the industry. They also receive Success on Demand, instant online access to a library of personal development content, at no additional charge. Education and compensation seems to pay off as the average Viridian associate enrolls 15 customers.

Founder and CEO Michael Fallquist participates in Fiji’s reforestation efforts.

“We consider associates our business partners,” Berkich says. “We’re asking them to invest their most precious resources: their time, their credibility, their talents, their name and their relationships. Money can’t buy those things. In honoring that relationship, we feel a responsibility to be transparent. We view them as investors, and that’s how we talk to them in all of our communication touch points.”

Passion Payoff

When Berkich discusses Viridian’s future, she looks beyond the company itself to all the ways it can improve the planet. One of them is the influence Viridian can have on other energy companies. It substantially exceeds regulatory requirements for the renewable energy sources for its products and takes transparency to unprecedented levels through its detailed annual accountability report.

“People ask us, ‘Aren’t you concerned about putting the whole business model and the method of operation in print?’ ” she says. “But the reality is that our devotion and commitment to responsible energy solutions isn’t only about Viridian making a difference. It’s also about other industry leaders being inspired and changing their business practices. We’re about global change and collective impact. We want to inspire our competitors to do what we do. It’s the only way we’ll get the ripple effect that will change the world.”

Company Profile

Founded: June 2012
Headquarters: Irving, Texas
Executives: Co-Founders/Co-Owners Paul Gravette and Jason Camper
Product Categories: Weight management, mental clarity, cognitive performance and inflammation support

Le-Vel Co-Founder/Co-Owner Paul Gravette has been in the direct selling industry since he was 23. He’s achieved seven-figure incomes and created large organizations as a distributor, and he’s founded and built successful direct selling companies of his own. His partner, Jason Camper, has over 17 years of experience in the industry as well, again, both as a highly successful distributor and as a company owner. They know what works and, perhaps more important, what doesn’t.

Like many people who create direct selling companies, Gravette and Camper wanted to build a company that improved people’s lives on multiple levels. From the moment they mapped out the company on “the napkin drawings” 36 months ago (it launched in June 2012) they were determined to create a business model with a revolutionary spin. They wanted Le-Vel to be product-driven and to enable the “everyday” person with zero or little experience or previous success in direct selling to actually benefit from the products at virtually no monthly cost—and have a real chance to earn money, make a monthly luxury car payment and take fun getaway trips.

And the spin of this business model is kept in perpetual motion, thanks to one powerful concept: Free.

Barrier-Free Entry

Paul Gravette

Jason Camper

Thanks to Le-Vel’s cloud-based design, the company can give customers and promoters free tools to sell products or build a business. “Anybody can join our company for free, which is really one of the big reasons we’re growing like we are,” Camper says. “We don’t have any barriers of entry to the company.”

Gravette adds, “We don’t charge anybody a dime to be part of our company. We want to build a free affiliate-type program where the customer is our main focus.” If a customer eventually wants to become a promoter, he or she simply clicks on a button that says ‘I want to be a free promoter,’ and at that point the company turns on an incentive clock.

“If within your first two weeks of upgrading and ordering a promoter package—which is loaded with samples of all three of our products—you bring in qualified orders, we’ll reward you in personal bonuses,” Gravette says. And while promoters must purchase a package of products, there is no charge for the replicated website or back office, nor are they required to maintain a personal monthly auto-ship—the required dollar amount in orders every month can come from customers.

Impressive Growth Driven by Product Sales

This free program and the products themselves are helping Le-Vel set a blistering pace in overall growth. Camper says the company has grown 4,300 percent in the last 12 months, which equates to consecutive double- to triple-digit compounded growth each month. “We do a very large seven figures a month [in revenue], and we pay out seven figures a week in commissions,” Camper says.

Thanks to the product formulations and single-serve packaging, the products lend themselves to easy sharing—a design Gravette and Camper implemented from the beginning to make it easier for customers and promoters to let others sample the products. Plus, the product regimen adds icing to the cake for the products’ popularity.

“Our formulator has been integral since Day One,” Camper says. “The secret to everything we do lies in our formulas.” Camper and Gravette wanted to create a system that includes capsules, a daily lifestyle shake mix and a patent-pending wearable adhesive they call Derma Fusion Technology™—all designed to work together to offer people an eight-week, premium lifestyle experience. “The Thrive product line was [created] to help in all areas of someone’s lifestyle—weight management, mental clarity, cognitive performance, inflammation support—it’s really an all-in-one philosophy,” Camper says.

Product Results = Business Results

The key, Camper emphasizes, lies in how the regimen is taken: two Premium Lifestyle Capsules “before your feet hit the floor in the morning,” followed by the ultra-micronized Premium Lifestyle Shake Mix, and then the Derma Fusion Technology (DFT™) adhesive applied to clean, dry skin to boost metabolism. He adds, “Within 40 minutes from someone getting up in the morning, they’ve got three formulas circulating in their bloodstream and they’re done for the day.”

“We are where we are because of the product results,” Gravette says. “We don’t have to talk about our comp plan because our product works—that’s what is making our business explode. All of these people who are joining our company are naturally getting out there and talking about it, and so the [business] starts to grow.”

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Le-Vel has grown 4,300 percent in the last 12 months, which equates to consecutive double- to triple-digit compounded growth each month.

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It’s All about Trust

Along with a free program designed for everyday people, trust is another of Gravette’s passions. “I want to build a company people can trust,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if they order. We don’t want to twist their arm [and tell them] they have to pay to play. That’s not us.”

Gravette believes Le-Vel’s free enrollment helps build both trust and revenue. “We believe the No. 1 way to build trust is through building a free network,” he says. “We’re building a free social network, so over a period of time our conversion rates, we think, are going to be huge because people watch us for a day, a week, a month and then they decide to order, and they may never have ordered if they had not been able to be part of our network for free.”

“We believe the No. 1 way to build trust is through building a free network.” —Paul Gravette, Co-Founder/Co-Owner

One part of building this network is through the use of social media, and Gravette believes you need to zero in on one social platform. “You’ve got to narrow it down, so when we started I wanted to keep the focus on Facebook, mainly because I want people to have a focal point.” And to him, the numbers don’t lie; in fact, they tell very defining truths about the company’s growth and stability. He is proud to point out that Le-Vel currently has about 44,000 Likes on its page—“all organic”—with about 6,000 who are active, and the number is growing by more than 200 people a day.

Camper and Gravette buck the common practice of encouraging business builders to attend meetings and events frequently. “You can build this business completely from a smartphone or a laptop,” Gravette says. In fact, they tell people not to spend gas money traveling. “We encourage people to stay at home and work with the people who are having success—work with them on the phone on private team calls and let them help you.”

Operating in the Cloud

A few things stand out when you take a closer look at Le-Vel, and they tie in to its “free” concept as well as the ability of promoters to work from home. First, there is no corporate headquarters housing highly paid executives and a large staff—the company uses what the partners call a vertically integrated system that is cloud-based. This does two things: One, it keeps Le-Vel’s operating expenses low so more of the profits can be allocated to the company’s promoters. And two, it enables Le-Vel to easily and instantly keep up with changes the company needs to make and communicate to the field.

“I think [our cloud-based platform] is one of the pieces that makes us exciting and powerful for our promoters,” Gravette says. “Anything that we need on the fly—when we want to run reports or if we want to add particular promotions or make any changes at any time—we’re not held by a timeline of vendors.”

This cloud-based infrastructure also enables Le-Vel to employ one-third fewer staff and to source some of the most talented people from all over the country. Its customer service is also handled completely online. “As long as you get back to people within 24 to 48 hours, they’re happy,” Gravette points out.

Gravette and Camper own all of their internal code and own and operate their own software infrastructure. They also personally oversee all aspects of the company’s operations, from raw ingredient purchases and product formulations to packaging and vendors. In other words, the founders have a very hands-on involvement with their company and are committed to ensuring that the products, the business model and the customer support meet very high standards.

A Matter of Honor

Another difference: If you check the company’s website, you will not see information about Gravette and Camper. This is intentional and goes back to the partners’ determination to keep Le-Vel focused on serving those everyday people and helping them create the success they want.

“I didn’t want my phone ringing and people saying, ‘Hey, I know you’re starting a company, and I want to talk to you,’ ” Gravette explains. “That’s not fair, because somehow they found out about the business through someone else.” He and Camper have insisted from Day One that people interested in the business enroll under the person who first shared the company with them. If you call them today, they will tell you exactly that—no one gets preferential treatment when it comes to the enrollment process. “They have to honor who talked to them about the business,” Gravette adds. “This is so important to me.”

To Gravette and Camper, individuals inexperienced in direct selling are most valuable. “I wanted to make sure we started our business with people who had no background in making $5,000 or $20,000 a month in a previous company,” Gravette says. “I wanted to build the nucleus of this network around good people who never had a history with another company. I wanted this to be their first.”

Taking the Time to Do It Right

When it came to launching their company, the partners went slowly so they could do it right. “We really took our time before we ever told anybody about this,” Gravette says. “We developed what we feel is perfection to us, but we were never pressured by any board members or any staff on how or when to launch the company. I think that’s been a huge blessing to us.”

Since direct selling has been their profession in one way or another since they were young adults, Gravette and Camper view Le-Vel as a company “built for promoters by promoters.” But they have designed Le-Vel to be unique.

“When I look at our business, I feel like we’re a hybrid of what the direct selling industry is and where the online customer acquisition world is going,” Gravette says. And to illustrate the point, he emphasizes the company’s dramatic growth in customer acquisitions. “In the month of April we had almost double the amount of customers sign up as we did promoters, which is not common in direct selling.”

Gravette says this growth is because, first, the products work; second, customers (and promoters) can get their products for free; and third, it doesn’t cost anything to sign up as a customer or promoter. And while getting products for free is not new to the industry, Le-Vel’s program is especially attractive because it requires a person to enroll only two customers.

“Our business says to your girlfriend, ‘You’re a customer. If you bring us two girlfriends who order online, we’ll give you the product free every month,’ ” he explains.

Their Focus Is Clear

Le-Vel does not, and will never, Gravette insists, highlight wildly successful top earners. They want the focus to stay on those who’ve never had success before. However, they do believe in rewarding promoters who put effort into building their businesses. The company’s car incentive program rewards those who reach a certain monthly team volume with a monthly payment for a luxury car, and those who maintain that volume for two consecutive months are invited to attend an all-expenses-paid Le-Vel VIP Getaway. The first Getaway for 100 was in Las Vegas in January. The company whisked 400 qualifiers to Cabo San Lucas in May, and a third trip is in the planning stages.

“When you get the big picture of our model, it’s exciting because it allows us to spend more money on our product from the ingredient perspective, and we’re growing at the rate we’re growing because we’re putting [profits] into the people, into the products and into the rewards plan,” Gravette says.

Photo above: Natura Institute’s GENTE program connects students to technology and individualized learning.

Company Profile

Founded: 1969
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Executive: Alessandro G. Carlucci
Products: Cosmetics and personal care

Natura Impacts Brazilian Education and Latin American Life

Inclusive and equitable education for all, that’s what makes a better world. Nearly two decades ago, Natura, the largest manufacturer and direct seller of cosmetics, hygiene and beauty products in Brazil, mobilized its salesforce and committed to positively impacting public education in Latin America. Its mission was to build a better world, one mind at a time.

“The investment in education is one of the most cross-cutting to our company,” says Gabriela Callil, Manager of the Natura Movement Project. “We understand education as the driving force to make a sustainable, fairer and better world.”

Brazil’s discussions about public education were once dominated by topics related to teacher unions, student movements and government. Gradually, however, it began to change. “In the last few decades, the public education theme has involved more participants, such as the private sector through institutes and foundations,” says Pedro Villares, President of the Natura Institute.

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“We understand education as the driving force to make a sustainable, fairer and better world.”
—Gabriela Callil, Manager, Natura Movement Project

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Motivated Visionaries

With social entrepreneurship a basic tenet of its corporate culture, Natura welcomed the broadening conversation about Brazil’s public education. As a company, it believes social entrepreneurship is galvanized by motivated visionaries who turn adversity into new opportunities. So Natura put social entrepreneurism to work, looking at the issues confounding Brazil’s public education system and acting in the most impactful way it could.

Natura harnessed its brand—one of the most recognized, valued, reputable and sustainable in Brazil—and empowered a “restless network of resolute men and women doers, concerned with loving and caring for those around them.”

In 1995, Natura consultants began raising money to fund educational projects within Brazil’s public schools through the sale of Crer Para Ver (Believing Is Seeing) products. Each purchase of these non-cosmetic products allowed a child to explore different cultures and better understand the world around him or her.

Last year, more than 800,000 of Natura’s 1.6 million consultants participated in Crer Para Ver. Net revenue from product sales reached a record 17 million Brazilian real (US$7.5 million), with all profits going to public education projects.

Students use technology through one of Natura’s sponsored programs to build a remote-controlled car.

Maria C. won Acolher support for a community street market.

Evolving Commitment

Natura’s contribution and expanding impact to Brazil’s public education system has evolved alongside that of the private sector. In 2010, the then 41-year-old company formalized its philanthropic structure and formed the Natura Institute to autonomously manage its charitable efforts. Today, at the institute’s São Paulo headquarters, 30 dedicated professionals manage the company’s charitable initiatives.

Gabriela Callil

Pedro Villares

“We have worked in partnership with other institutes and foundations, companies, government authorities and even schools—people who have come together and believe in the value of education and who know that only collaborative work can lead to lasting and effective change,” Villares says.

To encourage lifelong learning, support excellence in public education management and foster educational technology innovation—that is the Natura Institute’s mission as a member of a cooperative Education Support Network of several partners and agents in the education field. The network brings together the best of the public and private sectors to develop and support educational projects with the potential for replication so they can guide public policy and, at times, become public policy.

For instance, the Trilhas de Leitura (Reading Trail) Project was created in 2009 as a social technology to improve literacy in the reading and writing process for younger elementary students. The project garnered attention in 2011, because teachers began seeing positive results after using the network-developed project materials for download and play in the classroom as well as for their own training, reference, organization and collaboration efforts. The Brazilian Ministry of Education called for Trilhas implementation as public policy in 2012, when the project reached 3 million students. Last year 93 percent of the 1,976 cities invited to participate enrolled. More than 700 teachers chronicled their successes with Trilhas in a publication called Municipio Leitor e Rede que Ensina in 2013. This year’s goal is to expand access to more schools and grant service in greater numbers to those with diverse backgrounds.

Another current Natura initiative is Schools That Innovate, which implements digital platforms to house and manage school activities as well as guide the routines of teachers and students. Other projects include Conviva Educacqo, which helps municipal education directors manage administration offices from a virtual environment; and GENTE, a pilot program that connects students directly to technology for individualized learning. Alice Andrés Ribeiro, GENTE Project Manager, says, “The school body and parents reported student progress in socio-emotional terms, particularly regarding autonomy, collaboration and solidarity.” According to Ribeiro, students have enjoyed being mixed in teams rather than in separate classes.

Of the company’s 17 million Brazilian real raised through the sale of the Crer Para Ver line, Natura invested 11.2 million Brazilian real (US$5.0 million) to fund educational projects in over 4,000 towns and 73,000 schools, benefiting 143 million teachers, coordinators and principals, and impacting the lives of millions of Brazilian and Latin American children. The remaining funds went toward administrative costs at the institute as well as investments in projects for the coming year.

The numbers show an astounding impact from 19 collaborative educational efforts, current and past, like the Chapada Project, a late ’90s training program for public elementary school teachers and the EJA Campaign-Education for Youngsters and Adults, which saw 162,000 people return to the classroom in four years.

Empowering One Another

The Acolher Program recognized librarian Jeferson G. for his social welfare activities.

With the help of projects like The Learning Community, which instills the concept of co-responsibility in education and focuses on family and community involvement in Rio de Janeiro’s school activities, the Natura Institute and its partners are transforming social and educational attitudes. And Natura’s 1.6 million consultants are great ambassadors to the effort. “Our consultants have different roles in society, such as fathers, mothers, teachers, students or school employees,” Villares says. “These people are very close to the schools, and their involvement with education can generate a positive effect in the improvement of school quality.”

Callil adds, “We consider our consultants society-changing agents in the communities where they live.” Not only do their efforts through Crer Para Ver fund high-impact educational projects across Latin America and contribute to Natura Institute’s operational and management budget, but they also provide the kind of local change that only a dedicated network of social entrepreneurs can instigate at a grassroots level, she says. It matters little whether these initiatives are educational in scope or not. Where there is a need, Natura’s consultants step up.

“We always knew many of them were already committed with projects in search of improving their communities. However, we did not know who they were, where they were located and what they did, or what stories they had to tell,” Callil says.

Because social entrepreneurism and philanthropy hold such importance in Natura’s corporate culture, it was only natural for the company to create a program to identify, share and reward consultants engaged in social welfare activities. Three years ago, Acolher—which in Portuguese means “welcoming”—was launched to do just that. Since then it has become part of the larger company-wide initiative called Movimento Natura, which invites consultants to tell their philanthropic stories online (www.movimentonatura.com.br). Consultants record lessons learned and challenges met, and open new discussions about social commitment and philanthropy.

“All actions toward the common good are important and valuable, independent of size,” Callil says. “As we received the consultants’ initiatives, we realized they were infinitely more inspiring, particularly because they had a common context as a starting point and were part of the reality of most consultants.”

Since the Acolher Program launched, Natura has considered some 3,000 consultant-recommended philanthropic initiatives. Of those applicants, 36 projects have been recognized with financial and technical support, ranging from recycling and refuse collection and disposable diaper manufacturing to programs for the socialization of the disabled and sheltering of low-income minors.

Acolher prizes the abilities of each consultant, recognizing his or her actions and helping to find the means to achieve objectives by offering personal and project development coaching sessions for 12 months as well as initiative promotion through weekly TV broadcast features on “Aqui Tem Natura.”

Elementary children improve their reading and writing skills through the Trilhas de Leitura (Reading Trail) Project.

Brazilian students participate in the educational program Comunidade de Aprendizagem (The Learning Community).

Relevance and Reward

For Natura, the scope of the Acolher Program goes beyond quantitative data. The company measures its success through the lives changed by consultants who are incentivized to invest in a network aimed at social change.

In the city of Varzea Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso, Natura consultant Maria C. won support for a family street market initiative called Feira da Familia. As president of the local Street Market Association, Maria led the transformation of a garbage dump into an area that now serves as a meeting point for the whole community. Due to her efforts, 41 families now generate income at that marketplace—and Maria has found the motivation to continue her studies.

Jeferson G., a librarian from Pocos de Caldas, Minas Gerais, fosters a literary culture in his town through children’s storytelling circles, theater performances and a traveling library bus. Since being recognized by Natura with the Acolher distinction, Jeferson has dedicated himself to selling Crer Para Ver products. He says, “I had no idea my work was this relevant, so Natura’s recognition showed that what I did was, indeed, important.”

“On the one hand, we have benefits for the individual, where the consultant is directly affected, has his or her self-esteem increased and is recognized for the work done,” Callil says. “On the other hand, we have collective benefits, since the consultants’ initiatives are enhanced through their improved actions and, consequently, improved conditions for the world.”

The wealth of material presented through Acolher consultant initiatives expanded Natura’s horizons for new types of collaborative efforts, as well as the way consultants function as a network and the opportunities to include other audiences.

Looking ahead, Natura plans to take Acolher beyond the prize stage and create new technical and financial support mechanisms, such as sponsorships of sub-brands, an additional incentive in crowdfunding, digital training programs and support from other companies. “We also have the ambition of building indicators that help us measure and expand our positive impact,” Callil says. Doing so, Natura believes it will enable the company to maximize results and promote better lives.