According to the Sustainability Dictionary: The Triple Bottom Line is an addtion of social and environmental values to the traditional economic measures of a corporation or organization’s success. Triple Bottom Line accounting attempts to describe the social and environmental impact of an organization’s activities, in a measurable way, to its economic performance in order to show improvement or to make evaluation more in-depth.
Posted by Bill DiBenedetto March 4th, 2010 
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This is what the triple bottom line should be all about but maybe a Harvard Business Review article will put a firmer imprimatur on an emerging business opportunity for CEOs in the for-profit finance sector: Linking entrepreneurs and their companies with the necessary resources needed to create lasting social change.
Writing in HBR’s blog this week, Bill Drayton, the founder, chairman and CEO of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public Since 1980, says that since the late 1980s the financial industry has not kept up with the rapid change and growth occurring in the “citizen sector.” As a result, the “change makers of the citizen sector lack the financing options they need to make their projects successful and scalable.”
Without new sources of private capital “the citizen sector has to continue to rely on funding by governments and foundations,” Drayton continues. And “that’s far from ideal.”
Posted by CCA LiveE December 25th, 2009 View CommentsBy Michael Fox
I am an artist. I was attracted to the DSMBA program at the California College of Arts in my efforts to conceptually frame my artwork as a practice. The DSMBA program has given me the opportunity to be creative utilizing the core values of innovation that are taught as my approach instead of remaining a manufacturer of goods; or in other words, a “starving artist” hording needless inventory, which represents the fluid, fictitious market value. In the future people will have to take the reins and become leaders of their own career, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them. The DSMBA program aligns with what an artist’s goals should be – ideas and thoughts that are in themselves tangible forms. The MBA is really the new MFA.[1]
Art schools ought to be platforms for free thinking and creativity without setting boundaries. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. There is potential to engage in education, in which giving away of ideas falls under the egis of a relationship established among an idea, the artist and the community at large. By focusing on the context of a specific project, rather than pure outcome, the relationships established between the various people involved in it will be stronger and more effective in planning, organization and carrying it out. The success involved with this kind of perspective should outweigh any risks of failure, and renders the experience worthwhile.
For many years, artists have been trying to restructure the traditional hierarchy between artist/teacher and students. There has also been a struggle to break away from specialization, as students try to create a more multidisciplinary academic experience. This is true in art schools, as well. This was particularly strong four decades ago, resulting in the establishment of groups like, among others, the Artist Placement Group (1966) and the Free Open University (founded by Joseph Beuys in 1971). The position of the artist is somewhat marginalized, and this is an occasion to take the artist outside of the institution, in order that the boundaries of what would signify visual art can effect change and engage creatively more freely.
In 2010, an agency called “As Is,” is being launched. “As Is” will be a think-tank of ideas and projects conceived by one individual but will give these ideas away to projects curated by other parties. The ideas and projects will become commoditized intellectual property that is shared openly and willingly. The types of projects will vary and not be limited to installations and events only. They will be designed for site-specific locations. The concept recalls the notion that home is inside the self, and inside the other, and the potential for multilateral relations with other creative industries is at the heart of the agency.
The name of the agency, “As Is,” is an index, signifying the paradox between the openness of creating a group of talent that work together for the purpose of initiating intercultural dialogue and exchange through art, and the complexity in the actual realization of such an undertaking.
It is all about taking risks and moving forward, and as the art critic Julian Stallabrass rightfully said: “The art world would be a much healthier scene if people would be prepared to stick their necks out.”[2]
[2]Richard Marshall, 3am Interview: The Artist as Marxist. 3am Magazine, 2004, Web, 24.10.2009, http://www.3ammagazine.com/artarchives/2004/may/interview_julian_stallabrass.html
Posted by Kathryn Siranosian November 5th, 2009 View Comments
Many Xerox products are returned for recycling and remanufacturing. Photo courtesy of Xerox Corporation.
Xerox wants to be carbon-neutral … and that’s not all.
The company also wants to:
Eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals to achieve a zero toxic footprint.
Develop a “zero waste to landfill” goal for its company-wide operations.
Insure that 100 percent of its paper, by volume, meets stringent requirements for a sustainable paper cycle.
Ambitious goals for the world’s leading document management, technology and services enterprise, wouldn’t you say? But, take a look through the 2009 Report on Global Citizenship that Xerox released on Tuesday, and you’ll see that the company is well on its way to making significant progress in each of these areas.
“We view environmental sustainability not as a cost of doing business, but as a way of doing business,” the report says. “For us, it’s an integral part of developing products, serving customers and posting profits.”
Here are a few specific highlights from the environmental sustainability portion of the report:
Posted by 3p Guest Author November 5th, 2009 View Comments
By Steven Kenney
Concern for the triple bottom line — it’s what pushes companies to shrink their environmental footprint and make restitution for past negative impacts. And yet, as progressive as this ideal seems, its time has already passed. It’s time to put a fourth P alongside people, planet, and profit: perspective.
Adopting a truly future-focused perspective is the next step in sustainability. The goal is more than securing present conditions or making amends for missteps — it’s working today to make businesses, communities, and the environment stronger with respect to tomorrow’s conditions. The key to future sustainability is understanding the forces causing change and taking advantage of them to equip our businesses, communities and ecosystems for the future.
Posted by Frank Marquardt October 19th, 2009 View Comments
Corporations solve problems. Their solutions address human needs: A better running shoe, a faster search engine, a renewable way to produce energy. Sales—ultimately, profits—provide the primary measure for determining the success of these solutions.
But a corporation’s solutions (whether a product or service) do much more than simply produce profits. Sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, the activities of a corporation also significantly affect the environment and the lives of the people in the communities where the corporation operates.
Still, the metrics for corporate success remain financial. Companies that make money: Good. Companies that lose money: Bad.
Laws back up the financial metric. In states that include California and Delaware, when companies go up for sale, board members are required by law to consider what will bring the highest financial return. Issues like social good or environmental stewardship are simply not part of the equation.
Posted by BC Upham October 8th, 2009 View Comments
Full disclosure: I am a blogger, blogging about new rules requiring full disclosure from bloggers.
The FTC published final guidelines Monday that dictate, among other things, that “bloggers or other word-of-mouth marketers” must state when payments, free products or “other material connections” have been exchanged between them and the companies whose products they review or otherwise promote on their sites.
The FTC announcement states that “while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.”
Posted by Cory Vanderpool September 9th, 2009 View Comments
Introducing six reasons to say “Thank Goodness It’s Thursday.” The novel 4-day/40-hour workweek might just mean saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, alleviating traffic congestion and improving commuter health, boosting the budget and creating a happier, healthier workforce. According to a recent article from the Associated Press, the closing of Utah state offices on Fridays has resulted in a 13 percent reduction in energy use.
Over half of the state’s 24,000 executive branch employees have been working 10 hours a day, four days a week, over the course of the past year in an effort to reduce energy consumption and cut utility costs. According to the “Working 4 Utah” website, the initial projected energy reduction from the program was estimated to be 22,452 Mbtu’s, the environmental equivalent of over 600 vehicles annually. After only nine months the state of Utah had saved $1.8 million.
Posted by 3p Guest Author September 8th, 2009 View Comments
By James David, Communications Manager, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties
While people around the world generally think about Goodwill in terms of our retail stores, we think of Goodwill as a value recovery enterprise, or in other words, one huge recycling center. As our retails stores demonstrate, we offer up people’s unwanted or discarded goods, and recover their value. Similarly, we take society’s unwanted or discarded people, and help them recover, and for many of them, discover, their value through training and work.
The people portion of the triple bottom line, which we too have embraced as our mission, is at the heart of every retail transaction, every material or financial donation, and every pound of goods we divert from landfill. Goodwill’s participants have been discarded by society due to substance abuse or addiction, incarceration, and seemingly insurmountable barriers to employment. These are people who are desperately in need of training and education, which we work hard to provide for them through the programs we offer.
Posted by Sarah Harper September 7th, 2009 View Comments
If more people perceived the word “sustainability” to be synonymous with “wealth creation,” I imagine many of the barriers to forming a green infrastructure simply wouldn’t exist. Blue Skye, a San Francisco-based sustainability consulting firm, is seeking to establish that synonymy, helping business leaders use sustainability to craft new, inventive wealth generating strategies. The message that environmental and social issues are part of the core of any green business – a message Blu Skye consultants convey to businesses big and small – has achieved significant results. If efforts like Blu Skye’s are successful, more companies – and job seekers – stand to benefit from the business possibilities inherent in sustainability.
Posted by Net Impact September 3rd, 2009 View Comments
The 2009 Net Impact Challenge drew to a close a few weeks ago and winners have yet to be announced. You’ll hear about them soon here on Triple Pundit. The annual challenge recognizes and rewards outstanding Net Impact members who lead employee or student-driven projects with tangible positive social and/or environmental impacts on their campus, in their workplace, or in their community.
We’ve invited challenge participants to share their story with Triple Pundit readers. This is the first in the series – from brand engagement agency imc2 who successfully implemented a “Commuter Challenge” to encourage positive changes in the way employees commute.
Please read on for their story…
Posted by Amie Vaccaro August 7th, 2009 View Comments
Ann Wizer, XSProject
More than 500,000 people in Indonesia attempt to make a living collecting and reselling garbage. Artist Ann Wizer lived above a colony of these trashpickers and inquired about what waste they could not sell: plastic drink pouches and other non-biodegradable plastics. Wizer began purchasing these scraps from the trashpickers and using them to create bags, book covers, and other products. Not only does she produce a useful, well-designed and beautiful product (everyone who sees the bags loves them), she supports trashpickers, creates jobs for the Indonesia’s poor, utilizes landfill-bound trash and educates all who come into contact with her products and operations about consumption and waste.
“Why are people still accepting products that end up in a landfill? ” Wizer asked, “We shouldn’t have them. Our task at hand is to find ways to keep these materials out of landfills by reusing them. I am not interested only in upcycling or making “sympathy” products – I want these goods to be fabulous, they need to be able to compete in markets.”
Posted by Mary Catherine O'Connor July 9th, 2009 View Comments
Need a little dose of inspiration? Check out the nominees for Grant for Change, a $10,000 year-long grant campaign that triple-bottom-line clothier Nau has just launched. The company says it plans to award a grant each year, with a new focus each time. But the overall goal is to support people who are creating what Nau calls “lasting, positive change in their communities.”
The focus for recipients of this year’s grant is on athletes, artists and activists. The nomination process is open to individuals or groups whose work can be categorized thusly, and so far there are some great nominees.
Take, for example, Wendy Tremayne and her Swap-O-Rama-Rama events. What started as clothing swaps at her friends’ homes has evolved into public events, where people bring a bag of clothes they no longer want, along with a $10 donation, and then they find items the desire in the hundreds of pounds of others’ cast-aways. After that, they can visit one of many sewing stations throughout the swapping grounds and, with the help of trained seamstresses, modify the clothing to their liking. Clothing gets recycled and swappers walk out with funky, customized, one-of-a-kind get-ups.
Posted by Jim Witkin July 7th, 2009 View CommentsThe UNDP’s Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative Seeks to Build Viable Markets, Alleviate Poverty and Protect the Environment
“About 2.6 billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day are trapped outside of the global economy, looking in with minimal access to formal markets,” according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Living on the margins deprives the poor of opportunities, while discouraging many companies from offering the basic goods and services – things like consumer products, banking and telecommunications – that would empower the poor and improve their lives.
Among the world’s poor, there is no lack of human resources – minds and muscles – to build successful markets, and certainly no shortage of demand for goods and services. What’s missing in many cases are basic market mechanisms. Market components like financial services, physical infrastructure, government policy and regulation, and market information are the basic building blocks that make markets work.
Building viable markets that include the poor as consumers, producers and employees is the focus of the UNDP’s Private Sector Division, and specifically their Growing Inclusive Markets (GIM) initiative. GIM serves as a platform to engage all the actors in the process of building more inclusive business models. It gathers relevant information, highlights good examples through case study research, develops practical operational strategies and creates space for dialogue.
At the upcoming Social Capital Markets conference (SOCAP09), GIM Programme Manager, Sahba Sobhani, will lead a panel discussion to highlight successful triple bottom line entrepreneurs from developing markets. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sahba Sobhani at the UNDP offices in New York to discuss the GIM initiative and their involvement with SOCAP09.
Posted by Ashwin Seshagiri July 2nd, 2009 View Comments
“In itself, there is sustainability in good design,” said Thomas Perez in a recent interview, the accent of the Danish-born president of BODUM USA adding a poetic flare to the sentiment. And by the majority of international critics, the Swiss-based BODUM’s coffee presses are just that: products of good design.
NY: Mar. 24
FT Investing in a Sustainable Future - Learn how investors are using new techniques to generate returns on responsible investments and hear about the latest trends in CSR activities.
SF: Apr. 14-16
Navigating the American Carbon World - Looking at the status of climate policy in 2010 and how climate initiatives will move forward with or without new policy.
Chicago Apr. 28-29
LCA Sustainable Supply Chain USA How To Measure, Prioritize And Reduce Social And Environmental Impacts In The Most Effective Manner
April 28-30
SF: Social Enterprise Summit/World Forum
SF: May 20-21
Microfinance USA 2010 - The place where microfinance practitioners, investors, and enthusiasts meet.
Monterey: Jun. 7-10
Sustainable Brands 2010 - Explore The Power of "And" at this year's highly anticipated SB10 conference - a 3p favorite since it's inception. Join more than 700 business and brand strategists, designers and sustainability executives for three days of extraordinary conversation.
July 29-30
GRI Certified Sustainability Reporting Course - Get the tools needed to fully assess the sustainability of business activities and to reduce the negative impacts of day-to-day operations.
LA: Sept. 1-2
Women in Green Forum - Recognizing the achievements of women across the vast range of environmental industry sectors.
University of Kansas Green Jobs Tweets
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