Triple Bottom Line

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE The triple bottom line refers to an extension of the criteria used to measure organisational success. Traditionally, business success (or failure) is measured in terms of its economic performance. A business is considered to be successful if it has generated a sufficient financial return from its investments, financing activities and operating activities. The triple bottom line takes into account three criteria for assessing organisational performance; 1. economic, 2. social 3. and Environmental.The financial or economic performance of an organisation is the easiest of the three criteria to measure accurately. Traditional accounting methods take into account the inflow and outflow of resources from the business, generally including cash and finances, assets, liabilities and other easily definable business resources. The economic criteria can then be used to determine how much an organisation generates in monetary value. It can also be used to determine the net wort h of the business at a given point in time.The social performance of an organisation is somewhat more difficult to define and measure. The social criterion of the triple bottom line takes into account the impact that a business has on people within the business (employees) and people outside of the business (the community). A business applying the triple bottom line principles will act in a way that benefits the community and will ensure that people are not being exploited or endangered by the operation of the business.Social factors that should be considered include labour utilisation and wages, working conditions and contribution to community living standards. Environmental performance is concerned with a business' total impact on the natural environment. Triple bottom line organisations aim to improve the environment where feasible, or at the very least, reduce and limit their negative impact on the environment. Organisations need to look at more than just obvious environmental i ssues (like pollution) and should consider the total lifecycle impact of their products and services.Triple bottom line reporting is becoming more widespread amongst both large and small organisations. Triple bottom line reporting makes business decisions and actions more transparent and allows people to gain a thorough understanding of a business' level of corporate social responsibility. The triple bottom line report also helps manager to assess and compare their performance across all three criteria against the business objectives and long term goals. Triple Bottom Line In the 1990's, mainly due to global warming and its effects like the â€Å"ozone layer†, the world has spread the idea of the Green Movement and people started to question organisations' practices and their environmental, social and economic impacts. With this in mind, companies started to pay more attention to business sustainability in order to improve the company's reputation. The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) concept is a methodology that focuses on the 3 P's: People, Planet and Profit. It was first introduced by John Elkington in 1994 and has increasingly become a basis for business sustainability.Not only has the world's Green mentality influenced how companies operate but also government policies have made companies implement a different approach. Although many companies are using the TBL reporting and have reported to reduce costs due to this approach some companies avoid incorporating sustainability into their practices. As Bristol was considered the European Green Capital large and is seen as a true role model for the Green economy in Europe. This award encourages cities to improve the quality of life by taking the environment and social aspects into account in urban planning and management.It is believed that companies in Bristol have been influenced by this award to take a more sustainable approach towards the operations. This paper will review the TBL concept and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It will also include thoughts of TBL in relation to the organisation researched and its effects on its operations by linking theory to research findings. Research methods The research methods used in this report consist of field interviews to customers and employees of the chosen organisation.The interviews were conducted between the 29th of November and the 1st of December. The only sources of evidence used in this report are data collected from the conducted interview, relevant information from literature and personal experiences that were related to the topic. Literature review The Triple Bottom Line concept was first introduced by John Elkington in 1994 to expand the environmentalist agenda of those working towards sustainability so that it more explicitly incorporates a social dimension (Elkington, 2004).The triple bottom line is described as an inevitable  expansion of the environmental agenda [that] focuses corporations not just on the economic value that they add, but also on the environmental and social value that they add – or destroy (Elkington, 2004). This framework went beyond the traditional measures of profits, return on investment and shareholder value to include environmental and social dimensions (Slaper and Hall, 2011). . In addition, Savitz argues that TBL captures the essence of sustainability by measuring the impact of an organization's activities on the world including both its profitability and shareholder values and its social, human and environmental capital (Savitz, 2006).The three performan ce elements that compose TBL are social, environmental and financial variables. These are commonly to as the 3 Ps: people, planet and profits. Nevertheless, the 3Ps do not have a common unit of measure (Slaper and Hall, 2011). It is a very difficult task to put a value on social and environmental dimensions of the Triple Bottom Line. Some argue that monetizing these dimensions would be a good option as it would have a single unit of measurement but on the other hand, how could you find the correct price for extinct species?Different views on how to measure TBL has been a subject of argument since it began to be studied. The number of companies that use some kind of 3P accounting grows at an impressive rate (Tullberg, 2012). According to KPMG 70% of the top 250 companies of the world did so by 2005 (Tullberg 2012). This supports that companies are trying to achieve their goals of profit maximization and economic growth while increasing environmental and social awareness and responsib ility and also by focusing on having sustainable operations.Sustainability is defined as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (WCED, 1987). Companies with different sizes and structures understand that having sustainable operations is extremely important and they do so by balancing the 3 dimensions of the TBL concept. Environmental sustainability is related to the reduction of the footprint left by the company on the environment. Social sustainability shifts the focus to both internal communities (i. e. , employees) and external ones (Pullman et al., 2009).In order to enhance their social reputation companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Fombrun, 2005). Corporate Social Responsibility requires companies to acknowledge that they should be publicly accountable not only for their financial performance but also for their social and environmental record (CBI, 2001) and, by relati ng the TBL concept to CSR, it can be suggested that companies not only need to engage in socially and environmentally responsible behaviour, but, also, that positive financial gains can be made in the process (Gimenez et al, 2012).In recent years, governments have implemented legislations that oblige companies to provide information on how they are being socially responsible. According to the UK Corporate Governance Code the board should set the company’s values and standards and ensure that its obligations to its shareholders and others are understood and met (Financial Reporting Council, 2012) and Henderson (2004) states that in the UK there is a minister that is charged of promoting CSR.These are some of many examples to show the importance given to CSR. It is not only in the UK that legislation plays a large role in investments by companies in CSR but, also, in other countries in the EU like Germany where companies where required to implement CSR updates on their reports. However, by implementing regulation that obligates companies to report on their CSR means that those that were already being sustainable will lose their competitive advantage.An UK Government report on CSR states that CSR is about companies acting voluntarily to raise performance beyond minimum legal standards (UK Government, 2004), but with the implementation of this type of legislation, companies which have been using sustainable practices for years, will have their positive brand image removed. Many may argue whether companies are actually using â€Å"real CSR practices† (Gallego-Alvarez, 2010) in a voluntary and caring way or simple not concerned at all about their social and environmental impact and only concerned about the positive brand recognition that come with CSR practices.Although, it is agreed by many sources that the concern of companies for CSR has significantly contributed to the social welfare, some, like Henderson, oppose the fact of companies accepting CSR as he believes that it is both harmful at the level of individual enterprises and in relation to the economy as a whole (Henderson, 2009). Furthermore, Eden (1994) stated that the use of sustainable development in a business orientation becomes problematic where that orientation obscures other issues and demotes environmental action to only shallow and reformist dimensions (Eden, 1994).In conclusion, the vision of sustainability has come a long way since first introduced and CSR has become an extremely important aspect of business processes and will continue to grow despite the opposition of some. Achieving Triple Bottom Line growth will be a continuing quest for many organisations but to achieve sustainable development other issues at a macroeconomic level must be addressed. The operation researched The chosen operation to research is a local community gym based at Gloucestershire Cricket Club located in one of Bristol's main roads.BS7 Gym provides a high quality exercise facility for members of the community alongside Gloucestershire cricket professionals. It is easily observable, staff and members could be easily approached and it had sufficient data for statistics to be developed. Data collected Data collection was essential for this report. By conducting interviews to both gym staff and members and observing its facilities it enables the development of statements. In order to gather relevant data the interviewing of staff was centred on TBL, CSR and the European Green Capital Award (EGCA).From the staff interview, it was possible to understand that staff had little or no knowledge about the concepts of CSR and TBL. After being briefly introduced to these concepts the interviewees were questioned about their thoughts on Bristol being awarded the EGCA. Many said that is was very positive and related this to businesses thinking about green issues and some gave examples of environmental friendly practices conducted by businesses and families. One interviewee in particular, referred to transport systems and their improvements and also the Bristol cycling campaign.The remainder of the questions concerned more about the 3 Ps. The interviewees were questioned on what the BS7 Gym was doing towards the environment and the community and what were their thoughts on this and if they could improve. The main answer was based on the individual and not on the Gym itself as they believed that they, as an individual, were doing their best to have positive impact on the People and Planet. They thought that the Gym, as a whole, was not considering their environmental sustainability as much as they consider social sustainability.After conducting observation of the Gym facilities it was very evident that the environmental sustainability measurements were not positive. Simple things like keeping the changing room light on even when they are not being used and the toilet discharge tank dripping constantly show that the gym's performance can be significantl y improved. Some interviewees mentioned that they are individually committed to being sustainable and improve on their environmental footprint. Interviews were also made to members of the Gym. These interviews were based on the members' thoughts about TBL and the gym's concerns towards the environment.Mostly every member identified social variables that can be used to measure their TBL such as, charity contributions (food bank, working with Multiple Sclerosis patients and autistic students) and providing the facilities to the local school. Moreover, gym members mentioned that the gym is constantly improving their facilities, projects and invest on innovation. Their thoughts towards this, related mainly to the gym trying to satisfy every member by providing different class types and improving their gym material. Operational benefitsAs Tullerg (2012) stated, the increase in companies that use some kind of 3 Ps, is perfectly seen in BS7 Gym. As a medium corporation they are paying more attention in being sustainable. With the charitable contribution they are improving their brand image and ,by showing their members that they are a sustainable corporation, they can increase their membership sales. Concentrating on both internal and external aspects of social sustainability (Pullman et al, 2009), will influence both the employees and the local community to be more socially sustainable.One interviewee said that he was influenced by other employees' commitment to being sustainable. Although BS7 Gym is very attentive to the social aspect of TBL they lack attention on the environmental aspect. The high level of light and water consumption shows that the higher levels of the organisational pyramid are not taking into consideration their environmental side of TBL and if they could implement timer on lights and water taps in order to reduce costs and improve the financial performance. ConclusionAs sustainability becomes a bigger issue nowadays, BS7 Gym although being a sm all to medium company with very simple business processes, it is possible to say that they have a sustainable approach towards their activities and that they embrace Triple Bottom Line in depth. Their sustainable approach has shown to improve their performance and how they are seen by the local community and their members. Their social and environmental accountability and responsibility lead them to economic growth although some adjustments and improvements can be done. Triple Bottom Line TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE The triple bottom line refers to an extension of the criteria used to measure organisational success. Traditionally, business success (or failure) is measured in terms of its economic performance. A business is considered to be successful if it has generated a sufficient financial return from its investments, financing activities and operating activities. The triple bottom line takes into account three criteria for assessing organisational performance; 1. economic, 2. social 3. and Environmental.The financial or economic performance of an organisation is the easiest of the three criteria to measure accurately. Traditional accounting methods take into account the inflow and outflow of resources from the business, generally including cash and finances, assets, liabilities and other easily definable business resources. The economic criteria can then be used to determine how much an organisation generates in monetary value. It can also be used to determine the net wort h of the business at a given point in time.The social performance of an organisation is somewhat more difficult to define and measure. The social criterion of the triple bottom line takes into account the impact that a business has on people within the business (employees) and people outside of the business (the community). A business applying the triple bottom line principles will act in a way that benefits the community and will ensure that people are not being exploited or endangered by the operation of the business.Social factors that should be considered include labour utilisation and wages, working conditions and contribution to community living standards. Environmental performance is concerned with a business' total impact on the natural environment. Triple bottom line organisations aim to improve the environment where feasible, or at the very least, reduce and limit their negative impact on the environment. Organisations need to look at more than just obvious environmental i ssues (like pollution) and should consider the total lifecycle impact of their products and services.Triple bottom line reporting is becoming more widespread amongst both large and small organisations. Triple bottom line reporting makes business decisions and actions more transparent and allows people to gain a thorough understanding of a business' level of corporate social responsibility. The triple bottom line report also helps manager to assess and compare their performance across all three criteria against the business objectives and long term goals.

Business Plan Name Course Instructor’s

A business plan is a written document stating the aims, mission, vision, objectives, and the general management, cost incurred and planning how you will achieve what you want (McKeever, 2008).It is a very important document for it will underline guidelines for future purpose of the organization and start to establish baselines for success (Abrams & Kleiner, 2003). A well written business plan should contain a three to five-year cash flow projection.This cash flow will aid the investors in deciding wisely about the business and make you to realize how much capital is required to start the running of the business. It should deeply define the business operation that includes marketing strategies, and procedures to be followed to attract the customers. It might also project various strategies that display the leadership styles to be portrayed by the leaders, which should be transparent and flexible.Business plans are established for various objectives for example an organization might be searching for finances from investors; a group would be in need of bank loan while others will want to plan organizations strategy to be sure the organization is successful. No matter the purpose all types of business requires a business plan.Steps in writing an excellent business plan:Lay down the main purpose of the business Collect all the needed data and information of the business purpose Focus on the purpose based on the compiled information Important factors of a business planA good business plan should always fit the business need – It is possible to establish a business plan that is so excellent but can only be understood by internal members while it is also possible to develop an excellent and well researched business plan that has no use. The business needs should be highly considered especially its aim, vision and mission statement (McKeever, 2008).It should be realistic – A business plan should have great ideas which can be implemented for example an exce llent, well researched and perfectly written business plan explaining about a commodity that cannot be established has no meaning. Conversely, plan that calls for millions of money just for investment but lacks management group that can be able to get such investment is a bad plan.It should be direct to the point – The entire business plan should be specific in nature that is it should state out duties, expiring dates, forecasts and metric. An excellent planning relies more on the subject, the concerned party, the day and the finances (Abrams & Kleiner, 2003). It should underline duties and responsibilities – One must be able to point out the duties for individuals. Any duty without an individual seems difficult to be implemented.It points out assumptions – Its very vital for most of the business plans appears to be wrong, they are written by people who deal with guess work and they might be wrong, hence every plan should display assumption up front for altered assumptions ought to direct to revised plans (McKeever, 2008).It should restrict people to be committed – Apart from planning, the plan should specify the various duties and responsibilities of an individual then the management should follow up so as to get the duties done by the concerned party, this will enforce commitment and a smooth running of the business.A good business plan should be kept moving by follow up and planning process (Abrams & Kleiner, 2003). Every business plan must carry the planning procedures with it, which means often check up and course amendment. There is no business plan that is excellent if it is inflexible. Planning doesn’t future predict only annually its steering and management that takes a process to often counter check and rectify the course (Pinson, 2001).

Demo speech for public speaking communication class Essay

Demo speech for public speaking communication class - Essay Example sbands hearts, or young girls grooming for marriage, experts attribute that the shortest and best way to reach there is through his stomach and what a better way than using a delicious split banana sweet? This does not exclude the men and young boys who too want to impress their wives and girlfriends respectively, as the preparation process is very simple, and the ingredients requires are cheap and readily available at local stores and groceries. Men can also join in during the preparation to share quality time with their loved ones and families. It is important to listen and learn how to prepare this desert because it is simple, easy to prepare, tasty, and affordable with one going for about $ 15 each. I learnt how to prepare this kind of sweet from a good friend of mine while we were still in high school, though back in those days we called it banana and biscuit layers, and not the modern Arabic style split banana sweet. The ingredients used in this preparation are equally good for your health as each has important sugars, calories and vitamins that the body needs for development. The cream for instance, is both tasty and rich in calories, and so is the banana, which is equally sweet and rich in vitamins. However, I need to mention that the cream, which is rich in calories, should be taken in small amounts to avoid risks attributed to having excess sugars in the body, such as diabetes and obesity. Just like any other desert, this split banana sweet desert requires specific ingredients in order to prepare a delicious desert. The ingredients used are the ones that determine the outcome of the desert, as well as the flavor and style of preparation. These are some of the ingredients required for the preparation of an Arabic split banana sweet It is best to have all these ingredients first before proceeding to prepare the split banana sweet, as this will enable you to concentrate appropriately on what you are preparing. In addition, this concentration will yield in

Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 16

Annotated Bibliography Example The author is an associate professor of history at Hamilton College with a vast of experience on the experiences of black-American soldiers at the hand of the white majority, despite their efforts in the war. Being well-researched for from a wide scope of scholarly materials, the book deeply covers financial and racial discrimination visited upon the black soldiers. It is a good historical on racial discrimination against black soldiers during the civil war. The author is a senior partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Covington & Burling, and has published carefully documented articles on the experiences of black American soldiers during the Civil War for more than thirty years.  These articles cover a broad spectrum of discriminatory nature of white soldiers and white societies against black veterans during the civil war. A profile of the author of this book reveals that he has authored many books on civil war and has a deep sense of knowledge about the experiences of black soldiers during the civil war. The book also helps us understand the various discriminatory practices that the black soldiers had to endure like substandard medical care. The book is well written and the author has extensively researched for the book. It is recommendable to history students and I expect to learn more about the predicaments of African-American soldiers during the civil war. The author is an expert in history and is a professor of History at Princeton University, and a leading historian on civil war. The book also clearly presents the humiliating experiences the black soldiers went through in the hands of white colleagues and from their white superiors. The author has drawn his references from contemporary journalism, books, speeches and letters. The book contains reputable information that helps the reader to vividly understand the discriminatory environment the Black-American soldiers lived in. The author is an amateur scholar

Iran's Nuclear weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Iran's Nuclear weapons - Essay Example It is therefore very important for the US to carefully evaluate policy options available in order to take the most appropriate possible course of action on Iran’s issue. Iran is a signatory to the NPT and thus agreeable to international regulations with regard nuclear proliferation, Iran has always been open and permitted inspection of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA and has constantly maintained that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful reasons permitted in the NPT. There is no evidence to convince anyone that Iran’s program is intended at developing weapons to attack any nation or the US for that matter. Additionally we have seen our forces go into Iraq on grounds which were later to be proved false. Most important to consider is the fact that Iran is located in a region rich of oil which very crucial to the US and world economy hence an incursion on Iran will definitely interfere with the flow of oil at such a delicate time when a slight increase in oil price could take the world economy back to recession. With this background information in mind therefore the United States have four key policy options consider on approaching Iran. The first option is employ military action as the threat appears real and close. America should therefore take action on its own to stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons and passing to other nations. But the Iraq experience tells us that war is more costly that good and therefore our effort should be geared at ending the problem and not going to war. It should be noted that Iran does not have a history of aggression without provocation, it won’t be easy to eliminate the nuclear facilities, and military action will just compound the issue and affect oil flow in the gulf region. Another option is to use the American military and overthrow government in Iran since it is not possible to dissuade them from

Summary Of John Heads The Brutal Business of Boxing Essay

Summary Of John Heads The Brutal Business of Boxing - Essay Example of how Ali managed to cover this actual reality into a mirage of entertainment and amusement – ‘ He really did â€Å"float like a butterfly and sting like a bee†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘His matches seemed more like ballet than boxing’. What Head wants to illustrate through these example is that, people loved enjoyed Ali’s fights so much and were so amused by his athletism that they forgot that it was a FIGHT and the opponent is getting hurt or even injured seriously. In paragraph six , Head says that this business is unforgiving so much so that Ali’ whose reflexes were so fast that they seemed acts of wizardry is now suffering from the after effects of what he endured during his fights in the ring. Although he won and humiliated his opponents but in the end he also is at a stage where The Great and Strong Mohammad Ali has gone weak and whose roars were famous is now only restricted to silent hesitant whispers. From the mighty Head diverts the atten tion towards the defeated Jimmy Garcia who lost his life in this dirty business at the feeble age of 23. In paragraph seven he says that he got pummeled to death so that the audience could get worth of what they paid for. ‘What sets boxing apart is that its one sport in which one scores by injuring other opponent’ Head says while replying to boxing fans who say it is only as dangerous other sports out there. In the end he clearly calls out for banning this sport as its fatal and barbaric while your fighting and even when you quit it. Boxing should be banned as its results for the contenders are horrific. Though during the match only the looser suffers but in the long run every boxer suffers from the after effect of the hits he endured which a normal human body is not designed to resist. It is barbarism in the cover of

Child Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

Child Abuse - Essay Example This study outlines that child abuse often happens knowingly or unknowingly. It can happen at home, in schools, or in child care units. Improper child care and the subsequent injuries are the major cause for children in the United States. Most of the mothers in United States, who are binge drinkers, refrain from their responsibilities of giving proper care to their child. They will keep their infants in child care agencies before going for their work or other leisure activities. As per one of the studies conducted in United States, children of mothers who were problem drinkers were 2.1 times more likely to have had various types of serious injuries than children of mothers who did not drink, and children with two parents who were problem drinkers were 2.7 times more likely to have been injured. On the other hand, most of the care givers are also addicted to alcohol or drugs which prevented the children from getting proper care from there also. In the given case study, it is evident t hat the child suffered injuries like fractures from the child care unit because of the lack of care received by the child. â€Å"Injury is the leading cause of death for children and has been linked to caregiver drinking. Screening and brief intervention for risky drinking has been successful in adult trauma centers but has not been evaluated in caregivers of pediatric trauma patients†.