The triple bottom line is divided into three P’s that help organizations better visualize and integrate sustainable practices across the business. In greater detail, they are:

People

This element encompasses a business’s social impact on all stakeholders and how it creates value for them now and in future generations. This includes customers, the greater community in which the business operates, employees, supply chain partners and vendors. Closely connected to corporate social responsibility (CSR), this bottom line includes human capital initiatives that advance social equity both inside and outside the business.

Planet

This element is a business’s impact on the natural environment and ecological systems with the goal to do the least harm with the most benefit. This bottom line often requires more effort to measure than people and profit. It may encourage initiatives like product lifecycle assessments and greater strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Profit

Also referred to as “prosperity,” this bottom line focuses on a business’s overall economic impact. This is often misconstrued as, or limited to, the traditional accounting definition of internal profits. However, in this context, profit or prosperity reflects the economic benefits society receives from an organization’s business strategy, such as responsible tax paying and job creation.

John Elkington first popularized the term “triple bottom line” in 1994. At that time, he was challenging businesses to expand their focus beyond profits to improving conditions for people and the health of the planet.

The idea of the triple bottom line emphasizes the need to consider social and environmental issues. This concept has influenced subsequent sustainability benchmarks like the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It was then followed by accounting strategies like social return on investment (SROI), full cost accounting, ESG reporting frameworks and many others.

But, according to Elkington, the triple bottom line wasn’t supposed to become an accounting framework or accounting tool. Rather, it was a method to inspire critical thinking about capitalism that would encourage lasting system change.

Outside of some early adopters, Elkington notes that many business leaders still struggle to move the needle on people and planet at the same rate as they do for profits. So much so that, in 2018 in his Harvard Business Review article, he called for a “new wave” of the TBL that would more radically advance its original purpose.¹

Today, B Corporations are assembled with the TBL at their core and are what Elkington considers to be “a bright ray of hope” for the future of the concept.

Sustainable business practices are increasingly attractive to both customers and investors. Half of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products or a sustainable brand. And purpose-driven consumers, who choose products and brands based on how well they align to their values, now represent the largest market segment (44%). Also, environmental and social impact legislation is being advanced and adopted globally, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). 

A business model that considers the three P’s can help organizations as they pursue corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR increases awareness of an organization's sustainable practices and initiatives that contribute to the well-being of society.

The TBL can work as an internal tool to engage the business in pursuing these CSR goals and embracing them at the center of operations. Third-party measurements like environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics can then provide quantifiable evidence of their success for reporting.

A triple bottom line framework can also create internal value. A business that has value-based, sustainable business practices may encourage employee retention, decrease risk (due to supply chain resilience) and lower production and maintenance costs.

Organizations may consider these initiatives and strategies within each of the three P’s when assembling a triple bottom line approach:

People

Ensuring social equity includes both internal and external practices. It can be as simple as partnerships with nonprofit organizations that encourage employee volunteerism or as complex as reconfiguring supply chains to ensure fair trade practices.

As a baseline, a business trying to follow a TBL framework focuses on the “people” bottom line. This approach might ensure it is not exploiting any of the human capital that the organization interacts with or affects. It can achieve this goal by adopting fair labor practices and upholding a clean and safe work environment.

Planet

Even the smallest of businesses can make changes to reduce their negative environmental impacts and the effects of climate change. For example, finding ways to limit energy consumption or use renewable energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint and support net-zero goals. Additionally, reducing waste by streamlining processes and recycling or switching to ethically sourced materials can all contribute to an organization’s level of environmental sustainability.

Profit

The economic bottom line considers all economic indicators an organization has influence over. A clear example of this can be found in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Goal number eight works to promote “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.”²

At an organizational level, this can range from ensuring fair labor practices both internally and from suppliers to adopting development-oriented policies that support job creation, entrepreneurship and innovation.

The B Corp movement is grounded in TBL principles. Certified B Corporations are “leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.”³ Unlike other business certifications, B Corp certification measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact. The certification can help build customer trust, attract and retain employees, and draw investors.

To achieve the certification, companies need to demonstrate high standards of social and environmental performance, stakeholder accountability and transparency. They are then required to undergo the same verification process every three years to recertify.

In the UK, Community Interest Companies (CIC) exist to benefit the community rather than shareholders. They are considered social enterprises by the government, which means they help people or communities.

To become a CIC, businesses must have a community interest statement that explains what the business plans to do; an asset lock, which is a legal promise to use assets only for social objectives and limiting the money it can pay shareholders; a constitution and, finally, approval by the community interest company regulator.⁴

Financial institutions are also adopting a TBL approach. The triple bottom line is at the core of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV). This is an international network of independent banks that are working to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Some of the primary goals of the GABV are to make banking more transparent and expand the practice of values-based banking.

It can be difficult to measure social and environmental impact with standard metrics. For example, the impact of a TBL strategy encompass employee and supplier relations, taxes paid, carbon footprint, community influence and more.

Some businesses may instead choose to adopt and focus on measurements that align with their triple bottom line strategy, such as ESG reporting frameworks. Also, using tools that enable automation, visibility into data, target setting and tracking, and value chain assessments can help streamline the quantification of the triple bottom line.