Marketing Article Summaries
Jaime Friesen
Steve Renton
Marketing Principles
February 24, 2013
Triple Bottom Line The article Sustainability: It Should Be About More Than the Bottom Line on Forbes.com discusses the topic of the triple bottom line. The article discusses the idea that being ecologically friendly can be conducive to a strong financial bottom line, as well as a social and environmental one. The main point of the article is that if all organizations followed the principles of the triple bottom line, it would lead to a higher quality of life for all, with less government interventions into the way business is done. The first words in the article are “Going green can be profitable”, and this is an important thing to remember. Being socially conscious and environmentally friendly can positively impact the bottom line of an organization. This has mistakenly led some organizations to decide that the most effective way to contribute to society and the earth is to create a focus on how to reduce costs and increase profits environmentally. An approach that is much more encompassing of the true meaning of the triple bottom line is rather than having a profit first mentality, having a sustainably effective approach that truly focuses on the needs of the people, the planet and also profit. The organizations that are taking this to heart are not strictly looking into profit. They integrate sustainability into the heart of their company and go from there. They are measured by all three areas; not simply profit. The organizations that are truly putting into practice the triple bottom line are not considering the environmental initiatives as “special programs – as mere window dressing”; they realize these approaches are not enough. They are making much more intensive entire organizational changes. Sustainble performance is a part of everything that the organization does. It comes into play in dealing with employee management as well as how work gets done. It is evident everywhere.
Steve Renton
Marketing Principles
February 24, 2013
Triple Bottom Line The article Sustainability: It Should Be About More Than the Bottom Line on Forbes.com discusses the topic of the triple bottom line. The article discusses the idea that being ecologically friendly can be conducive to a strong financial bottom line, as well as a social and environmental one. The main point of the article is that if all organizations followed the principles of the triple bottom line, it would lead to a higher quality of life for all, with less government interventions into the way business is done. The first words in the article are “Going green can be profitable”, and this is an important thing to remember. Being socially conscious and environmentally friendly can positively impact the bottom line of an organization. This has mistakenly led some organizations to decide that the most effective way to contribute to society and the earth is to create a focus on how to reduce costs and increase profits environmentally. An approach that is much more encompassing of the true meaning of the triple bottom line is rather than having a profit first mentality, having a sustainably effective approach that truly focuses on the needs of the people, the planet and also profit. The organizations that are taking this to heart are not strictly looking into profit. They integrate sustainability into the heart of their company and go from there. They are measured by all three areas; not simply profit. The organizations that are truly putting into practice the triple bottom line are not considering the environmental initiatives as “special programs – as mere window dressing”; they realize these approaches are not enough. They are making much more intensive entire organizational changes. Sustainble performance is a part of everything that the organization does. It comes into play in dealing with employee management as well as how work gets done. It is evident everywhere.