Sustainability: Triple Bottom Line

• Sustainability frameworks are guides that help organizations manage their environmental, social, and economic impacts.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

• It is a business concept where firms measure their social and environmental impact in addition to financial performance.
• The aim is not solely focus on profit, or the standard bottom line.
• The triple bottom line is broken down in to the "three P's": Profit, people, and the planet.
• These categories help conceptualize environmental responsibility and negative social impacts.
• Companies can integrate sustainable practices into their operations including supply chains, business partners, and renewable energy usage.
• This aims to positively impact society and the environment while also helping to increase profit.
• Profit: the financial return an organization generates for shareholders
• People: an organization's commitment to positively impacting society
• Planet: How operations impacts the environment.
• Adopting a triple bottom line approach may seem idealistic; innovative companies have shown it's possible to do well by doing good.
• The triple bottom line is not at the expense of financial profitability, but rather an incentive for firms to commit to sustainable business practices and reap financial benefits as a result.

Global Standards Reporting Initiative (GRI)

• An international independent organization that helps businesses, governments, and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues like climate change, human rights, and corruption.
• GRI's voluntary sustainability reporting framework has been adopted by multinational organizations, governments, SMEs, NGOs, and industry groups since publication in March 1999.
• Over 10,000 companies from more than 100 countries use GRI.
• According to the 26 October 2022 KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting, 78% of the world's biggest 250 companies (G250) and 68% of the top 100 businesses in 58 countries (N100) have adopted GRI Standards for reporting.
• GRI is used by a majority of the companies surveyed in all regions as a reporting standard.
• GRI provides the world's most widely used sustainability reporting standards providing pressure from stakeholder groups like governments, consumers and investors.
• GRI provides corporate social responsibility (CSR) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports.
• GRI helps companies identify, gather, and report crucial information in a clear and comparable manner.
• The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) developed the GRI Standards.
• They are the first global standards for sustainability reporting, and are a free public good.
• The GRI Standards have a modular structure that are easy to update and adapt.
• There are three series of Standards that support the reporting process.
  • The GRI Universal Standards apply to all organizations and cover core sustainability issues related to a company's impact on the economy, society, and the environment.
  • The GRI Sector Standards apply to specific sectors, especially those with the highest environmental impact (such as fossil fuels).
  • The GRI Topic Standards list disclosures relevant to a particular topic area.
• The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), an independent body created by GRI reviews GRI Standards and reporting criteria every three years .
• The revised Universal Standards are the most recent of GRI's reporting frameworks, published in October 2021, and came into effect for reporting in January 2023

ISO 14001

• ISO 14001 is a global standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
• It gives organizations a framework to safeguard the environment, adapt to shifting environmental conditions, and incorporate environmental management into their commercial operations.
• This assists organizations in improving their performance through waste reduction and resource efficiency
• This is a tactical edge to promotes effectiveness, creativity, and adaptability.
• ISO 14001 promotes sustainability by promoting actions that lessen negative effects on the environment and improve resource efficiency
• By using the framework, organizations may systematically manage their environmental responsibilities, maintain regulatory compliance, and promote an atmosphere of continual enhancement
• Organizations can reduce their environmental impact and support long-term ecological balance by aligning with sustainable practices

Key Principles of ISO 14001

• Environmental Policy: demonstrate an organizations dedication to environmental protection and adherence to legal requirements
• Planning: Sets objectives through environmental aspects, compliance obligations, and risk
• Implementation and Operation: Process of putting procedures and controls to achieve objectives and manage important environmental aspects.
• Monitor, measure and evaluates environmental performance for continual improvement
• Improvement: Addressing nonconformities and continually improve the EMS

Advantages of ISO 14001

• International recognition
• Reliable credentials for a firm
• Provides immediate feedback on firm's environmental performance
• Helps reduce waste
• Can minimize carbon footprint
• Can lower costs (energy bills, taxes, and insurance)

Downsides of ISO 14001

• Can be expensive to implement
• May require extensive administrative work

Sustainability frameworks guide organizations in managing their environmental, social, and economic impacts. The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) measures a firm's social and environmental impact in addition to financial performance. TBL is broken down into the "three P's": Profit, people, and the planet.