THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE OF 21 ST CENTURY BUSINESS Cannibals with Forks

Introduction Author Summary of the book  Part I: Sustaining Capitalism  Part II: Seven Revolutions  Part III: Transition  Part IV: Toolbox Significance of the book Questions

Author “Dean of the corporate responsibility movement” - Business Week “A true green business guru” - The Evening Standard “An evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable” - The Evening Standard

Summary Elkington focuses on:  Emerging forms of capitalism  How companies implement sustainability principle  Triple Bottom Line  Profit  People  Planet  Seven revolutions  intended to harmonize the traditional financial bottom line with environmental quality and social justice

Part I: Sustaining Capitalism Sustainability:  The principle of ensuring that our actions today do not limit the range of economic, social, and environmental options open to future generations  “Capitalism and states that capitalism as it stands, is most likely not sustainable.”  -John Elkington

Part I: Sustaining Capitalism The environmental revolution hit the business world like a series of tidal waves  Wave 1 ( )  Wave 2 ( )  Wave 3 ( )

Part I: Sustaining Capitalism The triple bottom line focuses on three factors:  Economic prosperity  Environmental quality  Social justice

Part II: Seven Revolutions 1. Markets – From Compliance to Competition  Sustainable development will increasingly be delivered by business through markets  More competition towards making a ‘positive impact’  Attitude towards innovation and sustainable competitive advantage will be needed  Cannot forget about Triple Bottom Line criteria

Part II: Seven Revolutions 2. Values – From Hard to Soft  Emergence of a renewed sets of values  No longer hard, predetermined rigid values  Transition towards long term reflection  Companies must consider stakeholders’ needs

Part II: Seven Revolutions 3. Transparency – From Closed to Open  Companies can no longer keep secrets  Business actions are becoming more visible  Sustainable reporting

Part II: Seven Revolutions 4. Life-Cycle Technology – From Product to Function  Driven by past experiences when new technologies cause unintended side effects  Companies have to focus on the acceptability of the procedure of production and not just performance  Companies are responsible for the entire life-cycle of their products.

Part II: Seven Revolutions 5. Partnerships – From Subversion to Symbiosis  It is obligatory to cooperate and to develop partnerships  The increasing role of co-opetition  Building trust in economic relationships

Part II: Seven Revolutions 6. Time – From Wider to Longer  Companies have to respond quickly and transfer information immediately  Requires attention in the long-run

Part II: Seven Revolutions 7. Corporate Governance – From Exclusive to Inclusive  Corporate issues not just around process or product design  Must include business ecosystem  Integration of the triple bottom line by developing more inclusive ways of stakeholder capitalism  Diversity on decision-making levels are important

Part III: Transition “39 steps to sustainability”  At each of the 39 steps, certain policy changes are proposed.

Part III: Transition If markets are to work for sustainability, there will be a high demand of effort from:  Politicians  Opinion Leaders  Business Leaders

Part IV: Toolbox Sustainability auditing  Engages internal and external stakeholders  Must cover all three dimensions:  Environment  Economy  Society

Part IV: Toolbox Corporate governance:  Is the triple bottom line agenda likely to become a societal concern in the countries and markets we operate?  Are we clear on what changes will be need? Time:  What would happen if we radically stretched the time-scales involved in our business? Partners:  Does the board understand the “2+2=50” power of “strange alliances”? Life-cycle Technology:  Have we carried out any form of need test on our main products? Transparency:  Have we genuinely moved beyond sustainability promises to triple bottom line targets? Values:  Do we have a value statement? If not, should we have one – and how should it be developed? Markets:  How do our markets currently value triple bottom line commitments and performance, and under what circumstances might this change in the future?

Significance of the Book The world and environment and ideas are constantly changing  Karl Marx and Friedrich  Mont Pelerine  John Elkington Importance of bridging the gap Title: Cannibals with forks

Questions