1. Definition and Reporting
The phrase “the triple bottom line” was first coined in 1994 by John Elkington, the founder of a British consultancy called SustainAbility. His argument was that companies should be preparing three different (and quite separate) bottom lines. One is the traditional measure of corporate profit - the “bottom line” of the profit and loss account. The second is the bottom line of a company’s “people account” - a measure in some shape or form of how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its operations. The third is the bottom line of the company’s “planet” account - a measure of how environmentally responsible it has been. The triple bottom line (TBL) thus consists of three Ps: profit, people and planet. It aims to measure the financial, social and environmental performance of the corporation over a period of time. More from
The Economist Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus.
The
Global Reporting Initiative Framework "is the most widely used method to measure and report Economic, Environmental, and Social performance."
2. International Standards and Objectives
ISO9000 (QMS) = economically viable
3. As a Business Model
Profit: "bring real economic value to people" (or save on gas)
People: find a new friend!
Planet: "make a significant contribution towards the reduction of carbon emissions caused by ground transportation"
Hand dryers versus paper towels
Profit: invest in hand dryers, and save on paper towels
People: educate users with signs like
this (seen at an Illinois Tollway Oasis)
Planet: for the sake of trees and
more
"Socially responsible investing is an investment discipline that considers environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria to generate long-term competitive financial returns and positive societal impact
..."