The Triple Bottom Line: Does it all add up?

The Triple Bottom Line: Does it all add up?

Edited by Adrian Henriques and Julie Richardson, Earthscan, 2004, xxii + 186 pp

Ten years after John Elkington first coined the phrase 'triple bottom line', to convey the idea that sustainable business performance depends upon the economic, social and environmental dimensions being addressed simultaneously, this edited volume offers a timely assessment of the implications, benefits and limitations of the TBL concept. Fifteen chapters contributed by key practitioners and leading academics in the field provide critical analysis covering the history and theoretical underpinnings of TBL, governance implications of its implementation, tools and approaches developed to aid practical application and examples of leading edge corporate take up of the concept.

Fittingly, the opening chapter is contributed by John Elkington, who offers a typically lively and upbeat analysis which cogently argues that developing a comprehensive approach to sustainable development and environmental protection provides the central governance, and marketing challenge in the 21st century, and highlights the role of the TBL concept as a catalyst for moving beyond the existing economic paradigm towards a more pluralistic world. The subsequent three chapters by Carol Adams, Geoff Frost and Wendy Webber; Adrian Henriques; and Julie Richardson provide a more sombre assessment of how far accounting for sustainability must further develop in order to satisfactorily address Elkington's demanding agenda and, in particular, to provide a rigorous mechanism for the discharge of accountability. Apposite here is Richardson's warning that the pressure to account in financial terms leads to pressures to compromise with sustainability, whether by trading off one element of capital for another or by ignoring whole system qualities and relationships.

Chapters 5-9 address various issues concerning the...