Planet People Profit

Understanding Sustainable Development as a triple-bottom line idea - economic, social and environmental, disambiguates the concept from an anti-capitalistic dream. In the words of Hevré Houdré, Sustainable Development is definitely geared toward profitability and the future. Thus without profit no business would be sustainable.

That, we think, is the best argument to convince shareholders to invest in sustainable planning for their companies.

It may seem difficult to balance planet and people aspects on one hand and profit on the other. In fact, history tells us that the industry's success was built in a large extent, since the late 18th century, at the expense of environment and social exploitation.

Environmentalism and the broad acceptance of human and labour rights brought some protection to planet and people.

However, it has been difficult to convince decision makers that long-term economical success can pair up with environmental and social prosperity. We're far from George H W Bush's "the American way of life is not negotiable" stand, but still far from a consensual agreement that preserving our natural assets may well be the only way to guarantee our long-term economical success.

Some factors though seem undeniable:

- The market is getting more conscious and demanding on environmental and social aspects of business and in the long run that can be an important factor of customer choice.

- Governments are progressively engaging in stick and carrot strategies to persuade companies to become greener.

- Whether because utilities and other input costs rise or competition pressures companies to lower their prices, improving operational efficiency is imperative to guarantee the desired margins.

Hence, acknowledging triple-bottom line sustainable development plans can only be seen as a triple-win situation: The company, by becoming more efficient, will reduce costs and meet the demands of both market and governments. That and CSR initiatives will create brand notoriety and differentiation from competitors. All put together will ultimately broaden the company's profit margins.

As this can be considered a virtuous cycle, the increased cash flow should enable new investments whether on social or environment performance. 

Improving the process' efficiency through a sustainable triple-bottom line point of view can only be seen as a source of competitive advantage.

image source: http://newgensurgical.com/environmental-stewardship/