The Triple Bottom Line of Social Enterprise

It’s over 15 years since I first came up with the triple bottom line concept, which subsequently helped spawn any number of related formulations, including ‘double bottom line’ ands ‘blended value’ - and it’s fascinating to see it resurfacing in the social enterprise area.

That said, when I attended what I think was the first Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship summit in Geneva in 2001, the TBL was already very much on the agenda, with a nice plug from Jed Emerson, who went on to develop the blended value concept. And it has also been interesting to see the TBL resurfacing in the mainstream, with coverage in the business media (for example, The Economist), in new books (for example, Andrew Savitz’s The Triple Bottom Line) and the work of TBLI Group in the financial world.

The 5-month project I’m currently leading - alongside Nelmara Arbex of Global Reporting Initiative - will take us back into TBL territory. And beyond, given that we are working to a 10-year timescale.  We’ll be posting updates on that shortly, but we are delighted to have the Dow Chemical Company, Novo Nordisk and SAP in alongside as project partners.

http://www.volans.com/2010/01/the-triple-bottom-line-of-social-enterprise/

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