The Three Dimensions for Evaluating Sustainability

By: Lotfi Al-Sarori

We may thank the United Nations book “Our Common Future”, often known as “the Brundtland Report”, published in 1987 for introducing the concept of sustainable development (SD). It emphasized that the capacity to guarantee that development is sustainable when it fulfils the demands of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is within humanity's grasp.

Today, sustainability goes beyond the environmental aspects to include social development and financial aspects. But how can organisations analyse their activities in light of this new broader definition of sustainability.

Evaluating Sustainability

Assessing organization’s sustainability is not a straightforward process. John Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is one of the most well-known frameworks for this. Rather than focusing just on earning profit, or the traditional "bottom line," the triple bottom line business concept proposes that enterprises should commit to monitoring their social and environmental effect, in addition to their financial success. This is a shift from only concentrating on financial aspects. Profit, people, and the planet are the "three Ps" that sum it all up.

Environmental (Planet)

Environmental aspects are the most obvious parts of sustainability and for a long time were the only side to suitability. In fact, environment protection was, and still to a large extent, used synonymously with sustainability.

Global ecological issues impact all businesses and humanity as a whole. Natural resources are being depilated at a higher rate than they are recovered. Other environmental issues include pollution, global warming, energy use, natural resource depletion carbon dioxide emissions, and waste management.

Social (People)

Companies don’t exist in vacuum, they operate inside their communities and impact the lives of those around them and the lives of their stakeholders including employees, customers, shareholders, and suppliers. Organizations need to play a positive role and significantly contribute to social development. Social sustainability also entails ensuring fair treatment of people and the consideration of essential social issues such as child labour, equality, and discrimination.

Economic (Profit)

The economic, or financial, aspect is the least neglected factor of sustainability. Businesses understand that they have to be profitable to survive. The adoption of sustainable practices has the potential to boost a company's bottom line and provide it an edge over competitors. Customers and investors are increasingly demanding businesses to run sustainable operations.

Sustainability is the way to go

Taking a sustainable strategy is advantageous for everyone involved since it considers people, society, and the environment as a whole. As natural resources grow scarcer, more expensive, and harder to find, businesses that can operate with fewer of them will have a significant economic advantage. Sooner or later, businesses will have to decide between survival and dissolution. In order to maintain their competitive edge, businesses need to adopt this trend. Businesses that care about their communities and the environment will also be successful businesses. Sustainable practices are not going anywhere, so what is your business doing to stay sustainable?

Take a look at ESKADENIA’s sustainability and environmental practices and how the company is striving to stay sustainable and play a positive role in the community.