TBL Theory and Sustainability

Question 1

a. Sustainability

Answer 1

• Using resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems that support human existence.
• Often goes beyond traditional environmental and economic measures to include measures that incorporate social criteria in decision making.

Question 2

a. Triple Bottom Line Strategy:

Answer 2

i. instead of one bottom line, there should be three: profit, people, and the planet.
ii. The triple bottom line aims to measure the financial, social, and environmental performance of a company over time.
iii. seeks to gauge a corporation’s level of commitment to corporate social responsibility and its impact on the environment over time.

Question 3

b. Aspects of triple bottom line approach:

Answer 3

i. companies should commit to focusing as much on social and environmental concerns as they do on profits
ii. a company can be managed in a way that not only makes money but which also improves people’s lives and the well-being of the planet.
iii. holds that if a firm looks at profits only, ignoring people and the planet, it cannot account for the full cost of doing business.

Question 4

c. Profit

Answer 4

• This is the traditional measure of corporate profit—the profit and loss (P&L) account.
• Business stability, financial resilience, long-term viability, return on investment

Question 5

d. People

Answer 5

• This measures how socially responsible an organization is. measures businesses’ impact on human capital.
• Responsibility to not only shareholders but also employees, vendors, customers, the community where it does business and anyone else impacted by the organization, whether directly or indirectly.
• Equality and diversity, well-being, community, development, high labor standards, and health and safety focus

Question 6

e. Planet

Answer 6

• This measures how environmentally responsible a firm has been.
• Reduce their ecological footprint.
• The smaller environmental impact a company has, the longer it can operate.
• Renewable resources, low emissions, low waste, biodiversity, pollution prevention

Question 7

c. Environmental issues in decision to outsource:

Answer 7

a. Transportation can increase with outsourcing. Increase in fuel usage and emissions that could have been avoided if product was manufactured inhouse
b. Potential for different environmental regulations in the outsourced company compared to the home country. The parent company should ensure the company it outsources to can meet its environmental standards. Whether or not suppliers are sustainably sourcing raw materials.