Biodiversity has been considered a strategic element due to, among other reasons, its potential as a raw material provider to many industry sectors. Nevertheless, the increasing degradation of the environment threatens this potential, therefore the urgency in the promotion of sustainable development. Motivated by this context, many companies are adopting, as part of their competitive strategies, the sustainable use of biodiversity so as to take advantage of new technological opportunities opened in the environmentally responsible products market. However, the institutional environment for the access to these resources is still under construction. Thus, the purpose of the present paper is to analyze how some Brazilian companies are using the potential of biodiversity as part of their competitive strategies in order to create favorable market asymmetries. It also acknowledges the advantages and limitations concerning this strategy. One of the main conclusions is that the incorporation of the principles of sustainable development does not seem to be simply a temporary strategy, but a strong tendency especially to industry sectors highly dependent on biodiversity as raw material. Other issues addressed include the relevance of innovation to the generation of new proceedings and technologies as well as the importance of the conformation of a solid institutional environment.
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