Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is a term coined in
1994 by John Elkington. TBL is used to indicate that the performance of companies
should not only be reported and judged on purely financial considerations,
but also on Environmental Responsibility and Social Responsibility.
The 3 Bottom lines: People, Planet and Profit
People (Human Capital) pertains to fair and beneficial
business practices toward labor and the community and region in which a
corporation conducts its business.
Planet (Natural Capital) refers to sustainable environmental
practices. A TBL company endeavors to benefit the natural order as much
as possible or at the least do no harm and curtail environmental impact.
Profit (Financial Capital) is the bottom line shared
by all commerce, conscientious or not. In the original concept, within a
sustainability framework, the "profit" aspect needs to be seen as the economic
benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the lasting economic impact the
organization has on its economic environment. This is often confused to
be limited to the internal profit made by a company or organization. Therefore,
a TBL approach cannot be interpreted as traditional corporate accounting
plus social and environmental impact.
The concept of TBL demands that a company's responsibility
should be to all Stakeholders
rather than only to the
Shareholders.
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TBL Reporting Methodology
To a certain extent, quantification brings in accountability.
What is the methodology to account for "People & Planet" headings?...
Examples of Triple Bottom Line Reporting
Is there any known company that reports its TBL performance?
To a certain extent, quantification brings in accountability....
CSR, Impact on Society, Balancing Financial and Social Goals, Dual Purpose These is a slow but steadily increasing trend for corporations to diminish their single-minded pursuit of shareholder va...
Sustainability Balanced Scorecard, SBSC, Triple Bottom Line Due to the fact that corporate sustainability issues have become more and more important, organizations are now forced t...
CSR, Shared Value, Public-Private Partnerships, Poverty Reduction, Combating Global Inequality A study by Kaplan, Serafeim & Tugendhat (2018) finds that most corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs they analy...
Expectancy Theory, Corporate Social Responsibility, Stakeholder Perspective, Volunteers Voluntary work has long been seen as an activity performed mainly by unemployed individuals –mostly women, both in their...
Information Sources
Various sources of information regarding the Triple Bottom Line. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops.
Triple Bottom Line, Corporate Sustainability This presentation elaborates on the concept of the Triple Bottom Line. The presentation has many interesting slides with...
Corporate Sustainability, Consumerization Presentation about materialistic values and how this affects the environment. The presentation includes the following se...
Environmental Responsibility, Social Responsibility At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 2008, a 13 years old child, speaking for ECO, the Enviro...
Triple Bottom Line, Corporate Sustainability This presentation briefly elaborates on Trible Bottom Line accounting and reporting. The presentation includes the follo...
Conscious Capitalism, Value-driven Consumer, Socially Responsible Investing, Corporate Responsibility This presentation provides an introduction into the concept of conscious capitalism, and includes the following sections...
CSR Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategy and Society Presentation about the relationship between CSR and Competitive Advantage. It includes the following sections:
- Busine...
Business Ethics, Corporate Ethics, Ethical Behavior, Corporate Responsibility, Stakeholder Management Presentation about business ethics, including an explanation of its relation with economics and the law. It also include...
Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Sustainability, Paperless Office This presentation elaborates on the creation of paperless workplaces in the digital age, and includes the following sect...
Research Links
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