I am writing this month's article from Lusaka, Zambia, and will soon leave for two weeks in Malawi. Traveling with me on this trip is the director of venture philanthropy at BetterWorld Together Foundation, where I have recently become the executive director. We are here to look at innovative organizations and program models in the child development, health and environment, and economic development sectors.
One afternoon, I had what turned out to be a very special meeting with the managing director of the National Milling Corp., the second largest private company in Zambia. I was impressed with the quality of their operations and their track record of financial success over the past decade. But for me, what was especially noteworthy was the extent to which the company is connected to their environmental and social responsibilities.
With more than 13,000 street children in Zambia, and an even greater population of children who are extremely vulnerable to a life on the streets, this company decided to provide bread, training and technical support to organizations that administer life skills and training for orphans and vulnerable children. The company is trying to do the “right thing” by managing to a triple bottom line, and therefore, staying connected to the social and environmental conditions in the city where they are based.
We are fortunate in the United States not to have the poverty or numbers of street children that Lusaka and other similar cities do. Nonetheless, we have a myriad of opportunities for companies in Carlsbad to connect with and become engaged in the environmental and social issues of importance to our citizens.
Just how popular is the triple bottom line?
When I started tracking the triple bottom line on Google about four years ago, while working for the Callaway Golf Company Foundation, the phrase garnered about 25,000 hits. A little over a year later a Google search on the term returned more than double that number, 61,200 hits. As of June 6, 2007, that number has risen to 1,700,000. That is the kind of skyrocketing growth that marketers everywhere dream of.
And it is not just how many companies are buying in, it is who is buying in. Companies such as AT&T, Dow Chemicals, Shell and British Telecom have used 3BL terminology in their news releases, annual reports and other documents.
Given this alarming rate of growth, it seems clear that the concept warrants a closer look.
So are there really three distinct, measurable bottom lines? Does a commitment to this belief imply a meaningful change in the way a company does business?
The “triple bottom line” is rapidly gaining recognition as a framework for measuring business performance.
The phrase was coined by John Elkington, co-founder of the business consultancy, SustainAbility, in his 1998 book, Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business.
In practical terms, triple bottom line accounting means expanding the traditional company reporting framework to take into account not just financial outcomes but also environmental and social performance. People, planet and profit are used to succinctly describe the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability.
I would encourage each of our chamber members, large and small, to look at their three bottom lines and ask themselves what they might do to connect with the key environmental and social issues of importance within our great community.
One afternoon, I had what turned out to be a very special meeting with the managing director of the National Milling Corp., the second largest private company in Zambia. I was impressed with the quality of their operations and their track record of financial success over the past decade. But for me, what was especially noteworthy was the extent to which the company is connected to their environmental and social responsibilities.
With more than 13,000 street children in Zambia, and an even greater population of children who are extremely vulnerable to a life on the streets, this company decided to provide bread, training and technical support to organizations that administer life skills and training for orphans and vulnerable children. The company is trying to do the “right thing” by managing to a triple bottom line, and therefore, staying connected to the social and environmental conditions in the city where they are based.
We are fortunate in the United States not to have the poverty or numbers of street children that Lusaka and other similar cities do. Nonetheless, we have a myriad of opportunities for companies in Carlsbad to connect with and become engaged in the environmental and social issues of importance to our citizens.
Just how popular is the triple bottom line?
When I started tracking the triple bottom line on Google about four years ago, while working for the Callaway Golf Company Foundation, the phrase garnered about 25,000 hits. A little over a year later a Google search on the term returned more than double that number, 61,200 hits. As of June 6, 2007, that number has risen to 1,700,000. That is the kind of skyrocketing growth that marketers everywhere dream of.
And it is not just how many companies are buying in, it is who is buying in. Companies such as AT&T, Dow Chemicals, Shell and British Telecom have used 3BL terminology in their news releases, annual reports and other documents.
Given this alarming rate of growth, it seems clear that the concept warrants a closer look.
So are there really three distinct, measurable bottom lines? Does a commitment to this belief imply a meaningful change in the way a company does business?
The “triple bottom line” is rapidly gaining recognition as a framework for measuring business performance.
The phrase was coined by John Elkington, co-founder of the business consultancy, SustainAbility, in his 1998 book, Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business.
In practical terms, triple bottom line accounting means expanding the traditional company reporting framework to take into account not just financial outcomes but also environmental and social performance. People, planet and profit are used to succinctly describe the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability.
I would encourage each of our chamber members, large and small, to look at their three bottom lines and ask themselves what they might do to connect with the key environmental and social issues of importance within our great community.