“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.” -George William Curtis

Over the course of my college career I studied business, and more specifically marketing. Over several years my professors instilled in me the “values” of the modern business world. The most prominent of which is, “does this benefit the bottom line?”  It’s a question that undoubtedly has faced many a business owner and employee. It’s a sort of flawed dogma that negates one very important fact.

We, and everything that ever is, are inexorably connected.

For in all my business oriented classes it was never considered that the events of the world in which business takes place ought to be part of the bottom line. Modern accounting balance sheets have no section for social injustice or environmental degradation. David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, often says that economics treats the environment as an externality.  Anyone who has taken an economics class will know that, to simplify the equation, events external to the basic issues, (supply vs demand) are considered constant and unaffected by change.  The reasoning is that it is very difficult to account for all the elements of society and the environment that are influence by a particular aspect of supply and demand. In the world of the future we can no longer ignore our so called externalities.  For far too long have we ignored the concerns of all things external to the basic issues at hand.

Amid the debate over fiscal concerns, like US Social Security and the economic stimulus plans, is an underlying theme that we cannot burden future generations with crushing amounts of debt for our current desires and shortcomings.  However, as some environmentalist point out, monetary debt is not the only issue we are burdening the future generations of our planet with. Rapid resource depletion and carbon emissions will hinder the ability of future generations to live healthy and fruitful lives. 

It is the belief in the principle of generational responsibility that has driven many companies to adopt a system that accounts for more than just the financial concerns of a company. This system is known as a triple bottom line (TBL). It is also referred to as the helpful alliteration of “People, Profit, Planet.” The underlying theme of a TBL system is to account for social and environmental performance as well as financial performance.

Central goals of a TBL system are to ensure that people, profits and planet are not negatively affected by a company’s actions.  For example, people working in or affected by a company’s actions must be treated fairly. Safe working conditions, fair and livable wages with reasonable work hours are all examples of end goals. Additionally, some sort of “giving back” is important to help strengthen the community through things like healthcare or education. Concerning the planet, a company should attempt to benefit the environment rather than degrade it. A focus towards rendering waste less toxic or removing waste all together is one example. Expanded use of renewable energy and renewable materials is also an example of positive action.

However, it is probably most important that companies understand that actions within the people and planet spheres can and should benefit the profit sector.  It is very difficult to convince a company’s shareholders or owners that investment in people and the planet are important when they are not traditionally accounted for.  More so, humans have a tendency to believe that they are part of a system and that changing that system (even for the better) may disrupt their natural order or current success. However, when it is shown that positive changes in the people or planet sector will enhance the profit sector then companies are more likely to make such changes.

Take for example the rise in reusable shopping bags. These bags have been around for many years, but have only gained mass market popularity in the last couple.

Traditionally, shopping bags are made from non-renewable materials and are viewed as a cost of doing business. Customers don’t directly purchase a plastic bag to hold the goods they just bought. In turn, the company is responsible for purchasing the bags and must purchase replacements as they work through their supply.  As the company is directly responsible for the cost, they often attempt to minimize the cost and choose the cheapest materials possible regardless of the environmental impact.  The bags are typically used for a very short period of time, but the materials they are designed with will last for hundreds even thousands of years in a landfill. In short, the traditional system is both expensive and wasteful. 

Now focusing on reusable shopping bags. These bags can be made from a variety of materials many of which are renewable or will break down in to natural nutrients if disposed of, which is a more sustainable solution versus traditional bags. But their rise has happened so quickly because companies have realized that promoting them is both financially rewarding (less cost of doing business, and increased sales revenues) and it makes them appear to care more about the environment.   The result is that the company is increasing profits and reducing the amount of non-renewable waste their business produces.  A positive impact on two of the three bottom lines has been created simply by challenging traditional systems with new solutions.

Think how much financial benefit could be gained by examining the way we do business. Our systems have many flaws many aspects which seem so normal to us but are in fact hinderances. Examine the way you do business and you might find something that could forever change the way business is done. Treat your business as a ship sailing on open waters. Understand that the way you sail will ultimately determine how prosperous your journey is.