The Triple Bottom Line. The term was first coined in 1994 by John Elkington and has steadily gained popularity with a number of organizations in recent years. But what is it and how do we incorporate it into our success story?
Elkington suggested that there was not one bottom line (profit) but in fact, three. He believed that companies should also track and report on their social bottom line; how their businesses affected ‘People’ and the ‘Planet’. Companies, instead of simply measuring their success by their economic prowess, should also have to account for their contribution to social equality, diversity, community and environmental factors.
The goal of the Triple Bottom Line has always been fostering systematic change. Pushing the boundaries of capitalism beyond the financial to making companies accountable to their social and environmental impacts.
A company who solely measures their worth by financial success but is harming the people or environment around them is not a true success. Net income is not a sufficient measure of success. There’s more to it.
Employees are no longer looking to only be financially successful, they want to make a difference and they expect their employers to do the same. Employees want to work for employers who are investing in the triple bottom line.
Invest in your employees and your employees will invest in you. It’s the same with our communities. The more invested businesses become in the areas where we live, work and play, the more the community will invest and support the businesses that support them.
Incorporating practices that incorporate financial, social and environmental goals isn’t just beneficial for our surroundings, it’s beneficial for business as well. The more that is invested into communities, employees, the greater the return.
The Triple Bottom Line encapsulates the principles of sustainability by measuring the impact of an organization’s activities on the world. A more well-rounded measurement of success and accountability.
Far beyond profits, at TASC we are on a mission to improve the health, wealth and well-being of our customers, employees, and communities. We are committed to recognizing and owning our role in the broader system. We will continue to work towards having a long-term positive impact our economic engine, driving growth and ensuring our sustainability as a business.
TASC Stands Firmly Rooted to & Responsible for the Triple Bottom Line. We believe the prosperity of our business, of our employees and communities, and of our planet are all deeply connected.
The Ethos of our enterprise is to win, do good and deliver peace of mind. This is deeply entrenched in the triple bottom line.
We believe that through and with our people we can be a catalyst to address social issues. Our responsive, strategic, and catalytic approaches to community and employee investments build on one another. This creates an increasingly strong value equation as the giving aligns with and engages other resources and means of governmental/system influences in the business to create greater impact and benefit for society and our employees as a whole.
TASC will be mindful with our protection and investment in our planet, to ensure our impact is positive and focused on longevity, not depletion. This includes but it not limited to our focus on reducing our carbon footprint, advancing opportunities to protect our air, water and land and ensuring our supply chain and vendors are focused on socially responsible efforts in all aspects of their business.
Our objective is to ensure that our customers, employees, communities and the “systems” in which we all live are positioned for collective health and economic stability well into the future. We, as well as the people and organizations we work with, have a responsibility to do things today that will deliver positive social, economic and environmental impacts and lead to sustainable, thriving communities tomorrow.
TASC CEO Blog 