1. Triple Bottom Line
The “bottom line” for a company generally refers to profits. Triple bottom line results encompass people, planet, and profits (it is also called TBL or 3BL). It is the key performance indicator (KPI) for assessing a company’s success in the social enterprise context. The term, in fact, has been adopted by the United Nations as well as other organized bodies focused on sustainability. It calls for companies and organizations to focus on various affected stakeholders (social, environmental, financial) rather than solely the shareholders. Learn more about the Triple Bottom Line on Wikipedia, including supporting arguments and criticisms of the term.
2. Greenwashing
Greenwashing refers to the misleading or deceptive advertising or spin on products and services that make them appear to be environmentally-responsible when they may not be, or more environmentally-friendly than they actually are. Though there do not seem to be universal guidelines to determine the true “green” factor for a business, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has identified voluntary guidelines for environmental marketing claims. Greenpeace also outlines criteria for spotting “greenwash”.
3. Carbon Off-Setting
Carbon offsets refer to investments/donations to environmental projects and initiatives for the purpose of offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions. Products or services that label themselves as “carbon neutral” often take a two-step approach: 1) reduce their own carbon emissions (reducing waste, recycling, reusing, conserving); and 2) offset unavoidable emissions by funding initiatives that reduce greenhouse gases. The CORE Initiative website offers insight on identifying the “most influential” carbon offset programs.
4. AB 361
AB 361 is the title of the legislation being proposed in California to create an official “benefit corporation” corporate structure. The proposed benefit corporation would be a voluntary structure that would enable CA corporations to pursue triple bottom line goals. AB 361 was introduced by CA Assemblymember Jared Huffman.
5. Green MBA
Green MBA refers to graduate business management programs that examine in-depth the triple bottom line reporting and the complex interconnectivities between issues of business, environment, sustainability, management, conservation, and social justice. Two premier schools offering Green MBA’s represented at the Sustainable Enterprise Conference were Presidio Graduate School and Dominican University of California.
Innov8social
Innov8social
Innov8social
Interesting, had not heard of some of these.
I like the way TBL has 'profits' mentioned last (people, planet, and profits). In reality, corporate TBL will be Profits, profits, profits. :-)
Thanks for reading :) expanding the definition of the bottom line will definitely take some time—but hopefully in the long run, it would have been time well spent!