Triple Bottom Line

Accounting
The 3-Legged Stool
A tool used to measure an organizations
activities
Measurements include more than simple
economic indicators
1 Social Accounting
2 Ecological Accounting
3 Economic Accounting

Social Accounting
The well-being of all stakeholders are
taken into account.
Seeks to benefit as many social
constituencies as possible
Does not exploit or endanger any
group

Social Accounting
TBL business would:
1 Not knowingly use child labor
2 Pay fair salaries to all of its workers
3 Maintain safe work environment
4 Not seek to exploit community

Ecological Accounting
Refers to sustainable environmental
practices
Seeks to benefit the natural order as
much as possible, or at at minimum,
not to harm the environment.
Seeks to curtail environmental
impact, and attempts to reduce their
ecological footprint.

Ecological Accounting
Environmental sustainability may actually
be more profitable for a firm in the long run
Ecological accounting indicators are more
easily quantified and standardized than
indicators for social accounting
Measuring environmental impact is
quantitative and easy to display
Measuring social impact is qualitative and
therefore more easily subjected to debate

Economic Accounting
Not the same as traditional bottom line of
everyday commerce
Within the framework of sustainability,
profit is the economic benefit enjoyed by
the host society
Therefore, TBL approach shouldnt be
interpreted as traditional corporate bottom
line plus social and environmental impact
accounting

Relevance?
TBL is directly related to
environmental management in that it
gives ecological sustainability equal
weight to economics and social
factors
Economy may grow, but
environmental and social conditions
often offset that growth

Why Triple Bottom Line

Earths carrying capacity cannot support our current
levels of exploitation and consumption
The collective ecological footprint of the planets
population is unsustainable, and the current trends
of growth and environmental degradation suggest
we are going to encounter major problems in the
near future

Conclusion
Triple Bottom Line Accounting is an
innovative approach to measuring growth
Economic measurements alone are not
sufficient indicators of progress
There is a need to go beyond parochial
analyses that disregard very important
aspects of our environment and society

Sources

Adam, C. (2003). Profit and principles: Finding a balance with the triple bottom line. [Electronic
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Elkington, John. (1999). Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business.
New York: New Society Publishers.

Foran, B., Lenzen, M., Dey, C., & Bilek, M. (2005). Integrating sustainable chain management
with triple bottom line accounting. [Electronic version]. Ecological Economics, 52(2), 143157.

Heller, T. (2002). Profitable environmentalism. [Electronic version]. Foreign Policy, (128), 13.

Henriques, Adrian; Richardson, Julie. (2004). The Triple Bottom Line: Does it all add up?
Assessing the sustainability of business and CSR. Sterling VA: Earthscan Publications Ltd.

Langholz, J. A. (2002). External partnering for the triple bottom line: People, profits and the
protection of biodiverity. [Electronic version]. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 9(2), 145-154.

Norman, Wayne; Macdonald, Chris. (2003). Getting to the Bottom of the Triple Bottom Line.
Retrieved October 12, 2007, from <http://www.businessethics.ca/3bl/triple-bottomline.pdf>

Maroochy Shire Council. (2007). Triple Bottom Line Reporting. Retrieved October 12, 2007, from
<http://www.maroochy.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=tbl_reporting>