What is meant by sustainability? Using relevant examples, explain the concept of the triple bottom line. [8marks]
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Sustainability involves developing strategies so that the company only uses resources at a rate that allows them to be replenished such that the needs of the current generation can be met without compromising the needs of future generations. At the same time, emissions of waste are confined to levels that do not exceed the capacity of the environment to absorb them.
The triple bottom line (TBL) is sometimes summarized as People, Planet, and Profit. It consist of:
- Social justice: fair and beneficial business practices towards labour and the community and the region in which a corporate conducts its business. A TBL company conceives a reciprocal social structure in which the wellbeing of corporate, labour and other stakeholder interests are interdependent.
- Environment quality: a TBL company endeavours to benefit the natural order as much as possible, or at the least do no harm and curtail environmental impact. In this way, the company tries to reduce its ecological footprint by, among other things, carefully managing its consumption of energy and non-renewable resources, and by reducing manufacturing waste, as well as rendering waste less toxic before disposing of it in a safe and legal manner.
- Economic prosperity: the economic benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the lasting economic impact the organization has on its economic environment. Importantly, however, this is not as narrow as the internal profit made by a company or organization.