Lecture1.1 Flashcards
What is the Triple Bottom Line?
Triple Bottom Line was developed by John Elkington in 1994 and extends a firm’s bottom line to include societal and environmental value. It emphasizes economy, society, and environment.
Bottom Line = Bottom Line of a firm’s accounting statement (shows profit or loss).
NGOs, accounting, and investment firms explicitly use this framework to criticize the
performance of companies.
What are the limitations of the Triple Bottom Line framework?
- Failed to transform the monocapitalistic paradigm. (In a monocapitalistic paradigm, the structures of capitalism tend to prioritize profit as the primary goal. -> The term “monocapitalism” critiques the singular focus of traditional capitalism on financial or economic capital at the expense of other forms of capital, such as:
- Natural capital: Resources and ecological systems.
- Social capital: Relationships, trust, and societal well-being.)
- Treats economy, society, and environment as separate but intertwined, missing their interconnectivity and complexity.
What is the Planetary Boundaries Framework?
Planetary Boundaries Framework identifies 9 environmental processes crucial for Earth’s stability. It defines boundaries for a safe operating space for humanity.
John Rockstrom. Quantitative. Influences politics, science, business decisions. Used for SDGs.
What are the advantages and limitations of the Planetary Boundaries Framework?
Advantages:
- Simplicity for communicating complex problems.
Limitations:
- Focuses only on environmental concerns.
What is Doughnut Economics?
Proposed by Kate Raworth in 2012, it balances ecological ceilings and fundamental societal needs. Visual framework incorporating social and ecological elements.
Social: shortfall inwards. Should stay in the middle. -> meet fundamental social needs. -> Social Foundation
Ecological: overshoot outwards. Should stay in the middle. -> Ecological ceiling.
What are the limitations of Doughnut Economics?
- High-level, lacks specific action plans, no recommandations on how to act as decision-maker.
- Challenges existing economic models without clear steps for decision-makers.
What are the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)?
A set of 17 interconnected goals for economic, social, and environmental sustainability, aiming for completion by 2030.
Goals are for all stakeholders including business and they are relevant for all countries.
Establishes a common language for business, policymakers, and NGOs to discuss
sustainability
What are the critiques of the SDGs?
- Too high-level and voluntary, lacks an action plan.
- Environmental aspects underrepresented.
- Difficult to translate into business actions.
Too numerous.
Currently we are not on track!
What is the Wedding Cake Model?
An embedded nested systems view of sustainability, arranging the 17 SDGs by economic, social, and environmental goals to highlight interconnectivity.
Stresses the interconnectivity and wholeness of the SDGs.
What is the difference between intertwined and embedded views of sustainability?
Intertwined (TBL): Focus on simultaneous management of social, environmental, and economic elements. -> Example Metaphor: Three equally important threads woven together. -> Stresses the importance of social and environmental value creation next to the
economic value creation.
Embedded (Wedding Cake): Social (2.) and economic (3.) dimensions are embedded within the environmental layer, emphasizing the hierarchical interdependence of these systems. Pillars are inseparable and interdependent.
Name the 9 planetary boundaries
Climate Change
Threshold: Concentrations of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO₂ levels in the atmosphere).
Biosphere Integrity
Two dimensions:
Genetic diversity: Extinction rate of species.
Functional diversity: Ecosystem resilience and species’ contributions to ecosystems.
Land-System Change
Threshold: Conversion of forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems for agriculture, urbanization, etc.
Freshwater Use
Threshold: Global consumption of freshwater resources.
Biogeochemical Flows
Two dimensions: Nitrogen cycle: Amount of nitrogen removed from the atmosphere for human use.
Phosphorus cycle: Amount of phosphorus entering oceans due to human activities.
Ocean Acidification
Threshold: pH levels of ocean water, primarily influenced by CO₂ absorption.
Atmospheric Aerosol Loading
Threshold: Concentration of aerosols (tiny particles) in the atmosphere, impacting climate and human health.
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Threshold: Levels of ozone in the stratosphere that protect life from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Novel Entities
Threshold: Introduction of synthetic chemicals, plastics, radioactive materials, and other human-made pollutants into the environment.
Summary
We started with an intertwined view of separable pillars and are moving towards an
embedded view in which the economic and societal well-being are constrained by
environmental boundaries.
