Читать книгу Practical Sustainability Strategies - George P. Nassos - Страница 26

In addition to CSR, another term being used by business community is Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). This refers to the three main areas of concern that have developed as the central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business. Whether a company is concerned about CSR or ESG, how does it know whether it is meeting its goals and objectives? And how does the investment community know which companies are achieving the CSR and ESG objectives?

The best way to really understand if your organization is meeting any goals and objectives is to take appropriate measurements of the key performance indicators (KPIs). But it is important to measure both the environmental/social indicators and the financial indicators because a balanced scorecard is important. In other words, the balanced scorecard consists of financial and non-financial indicators.

Another approach at obtaining this balance is to consider the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the company, or the triple bottom line (TBL) as coined by John Elkington [5]. It is also known as P³ or planet, people and profit, or E³ for earth, equity, and economy. This is often shown as a triangle (Fig. 2.1) depicting a three-legged chair as all three legs are necessary. A more realistic depiction can be seen in Figure 2.2 that shows the planet and environment as a large circle. Within the environment, in a smaller circle, are the people that depend on the environment. And what is dependent on the environment and society is the economy. But there needs to be a measurement to understand achieving the TBL. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), developed in 1997, is the internationally accepted standard for TBL reporting. The GRI was created to bring consistency to the TBL reporting process by enhancing the quality, thoroughness, and value of sustainability reporting.

FIGURE 2.1 Triple bottom line.

FIGURE 2.2 Realistic triple bottom line.

Chapters 18–24 in Part 3 will provide readers with various measuring standards as well as reporting standards. The benefits to the organization will also be outlined.