According to the Sustainability Dictionary: The Triple Bottom Line is an addition 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.
Forget the triple bottom line: the folks at Clif Bar manage for five separate objectives. Find out how they manage it.
The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By Sarah Anne White Why we should run screaming in the other direction from “Gala” or “Gift” Economics How many [...]
3p is proud to partner with the Presidio Graduate School’s Managerial Marketing course on a blogging series about “sustainable marketing.” This post is part of that series. To follow along, please click here. By Griff Foxley On October 26th, a beautiful video was posted on Vimeo of a murmuration of starlings. It was a rare [...]
Both Nike and Puma adopted a strategy of creating a movement around reframing the word “sustainability”. Although both movements were targeted towards demographically similar markets, the respective target customers have diverging sensibilities. What will be most interesting to see is how the PR of 2011 develops into the actions of 2012.
Social enterprises are picking up the where the system is leaving off, investing in human beings and equipping them with the tools to create a new world built around compassion, respect, innovation and imagination.
Can an investment help the pocketbook and the planet at the same time? Definitely, says R. Paul Herman, author of The HIP Investor: Making Better Profits by Building a Better World. Following is an excerpt from Herman’s book. Explore the options, and put your money on a wiser course… What frameworks are useful in evaluating real estate [...]
This post outlines key considerations for property owners to evaluate when leasing their land for renewable energy development. There are pros and cons to leasing your property to a renewable energy developer and/or owner to earn revenue. It is important to understand how to navigate the complexities of benefits and risks when dealing with newly emerging renewable energy development land leases.
Apple Skin Skies examines the idea that our atmosphere is thin relative to the size of the planet and the number of humans on its surface. A connection is drawn between the thickness of an apple skin relative to its diameter and how with this simple mental exercise it becomes more clear how human activity could bring about global warming.
By Craig Isakow McKinsey has a unique ability to frame a conversation. During the last decade when a price on greenhouse gases seemed imminent, every Fortune 500, government or startup’s GHG strategic plan featured McKinsey’s GHG Cost Curve. While the argument for carbon abatement may have fallen out of favor, leading companies discovered that sustainability [...]
By Richard J. Crespin Last week, President Obama laid out a modest plan to nudge job growth. I don’t fault his modesty. Given the government’s finances, he can’t do much. Real, lasting growth has to come from the private sector. “What makes the current situation so hard is that we’re trying to solve a long-term [...]
A “carbon” bubble exists and massive misallocation of capital is taking place in world financial markets as fossil fuel reserves and the shares of coal, oil and natural gas producers continue to be valued as if we can continue to burn as much fossil fuel as we want.
Christina Stembel started Farmgirl Flowers as a socially responsible alternative to the big guys. By working in close collaboration with stakeholders of all kinds, she offers fresh and affordable local flower delivery without the environmental and social issues commonly exacerbated by competitors.
This post is part of a series on Stakeholder Engagement sponsored by Jurat Software. By Mara Slade I consider myself a corporate change agent in training. As part of my preparation, I recently became a certified Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporter. For those of you who are curious about the GRI reporting framework, there are [...]
By Larry Bohlen The newest Fair Trade standard, gold and associated precious metals, made its debut a little more than a year ago. It promises to improve social and environmental conditions for millions of small and artisanal gold miners around the world. Brilliant Earth, the California-based ethical jeweler was one of the first to offer [...]
By Ryan Cabinte Daniel Altman and Jonathan Berman’s recent paper, The Single Bottom Line, caused a stir in sustainability circles last week, partially fueled by coverage in the New York Times. The paper argues that focusing on profit—the single bottom line—is a more efficient and sustainable way to promote social benefit than emerging frameworks like [...]
By Matt Evans Aron Jakab runs Fruit of Care, a social enterprise selling high quality design home decor like fruit scented candles produced by people with disabilities employed in workshops across Hungary. Aron is a savvy entrepreneur now, but a few years ago, the talented designer had no knowledge and expertise in business management, finance [...]
by Nancy Roberts From financial system meltdown to Arctic ice meltdown, the detritus of a capitalist system gone off the rails is all around us. On June 15, four panelists with differing levels of optimism gathered to speak to an engaged crowd in San Francisco about how, if, and when Capitalism might be redefined. California [...]
The glass ceiling is alive and well, especially for start-up entrepreneurs. According to American Express Open 29% of all US businesses are owned by women and their numbers are growing by 1 and a half times the national average. “There are over 8.1 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating nearly $1.3 trillion in [...]
As foreshadowed by GE’s Ecomagination reach-out to start-ups, it is expected that start-ups and not large corporations will lead the clean tech revolution. As these small companies work to improve the future of humanity, they will need the support of clean tech incubators well versed in the intricacies of sustainable business development.
This post is part of a blogging series by economics students at the Presidio Graduate School’s MBA program. You can follow along here. By: Lindsey Kauffman A commonly heard, and personally experienced, critique of the sustainability movement is the relatively high cost of green products compared to traditional products. I can spend .99 cents on [...]
I take little credit for the intelligence of this post. Indeed, I give all that might be due to Werther & Chandler’s 2011 text, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment, as well as to my Green Mountain College MBA Triple-Bottom-Line Management Course, in progress. Through these studies, the five below drivers have [...]
No one ever said green would be cheap or easy. The sad truth of the matter is the average consumer’s commitment to greenness is mostly tied paradoxically and perversely to the cost of a gallon of gas. So when pundits across the pond wonder whether Fair Trade is still a useful eco-brand, the question answers [...]
A settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Valley Authority will resolve alleged Clean Air Act infractions at 11 TVA coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. Under the settlement, which includes a $10 million civil penalty, TVA will invest an estimated $3 to 5 billion on new, upgraded “state of the art” [...]
This post is part of a blogging series by marketing students at the Presidio Graduate School’s MBA program. You can follow along here. By John Lehnert What does the future hold for the EPA? From what I’ve observed, it’s trying to build sustainability into its foundations—and to reflect that shift in its branding. As I [...]
This post comes courtesy of our friends at ASQ in advance of the Pathways to Social Responsibility Conference June 16–17, 2011, in San Francisco, CA. Today’s corporate world is increasingly acknowledging social responsibility and environmental management, along with quality, as important indicators of corporate performance in the eyes of stakeholders. A prominent proponent of this [...]
by: Ronald C. Weston, AIA, LEED AP In his seminal 1973 book titled “Small is Beautiful,” the late economist and author E.F. Schumacher, promoted a number of progressive ideas about economics, scale, decentralization, and sustainability. Many of Schumacher’s theories were prescient and inspire respect for small-scale solutions that enhance the triple-bottom-line: people, planet and profit. [...]
By Alison I. Somilleda Feelgoodz™, an environmentally and socially conscious flip-flop company based in New Orleans, LA, is redefining the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). From materials, production and distribution to giving back to the community on a global scale, Feelgoodz™ has created a business model that paves the way for a future of [...]
By Conrad MacKerron, Senior Program Director, As You Sow How would you feel if a company publicly promised to reduce reliance on disposable paper cups but then didn’t set up a way to track its progress? That’s the curious situation we find ourselves in with Starbucks. Here’s the story: As You Sow filed a shareholder [...]
TransAlta, the last operating coal-fired plant in the Pacific Northwest, is shutting down, but not until 2025 under a deal brokered by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire with TransAlta, state regulators and environmental groups. It’s a phased closure of the controversial 1,600-megawatt plant in Centralia, WA that accommodates corporate needs, a long environmental battle and economic [...]
Volatility in the chocolate market has increased the price of commodities, but has it increased the revenue of small-scale cocoa farmers as a result? The Ivory Coast is home to an estimated 7 million people dependent on the cocoa industry, yet political unrest in the region could leave them without income. Alassane Ouattara is the [...]
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.
NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow. 
Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.
SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.
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