The Triple Bottom Line and Stakeholders

The Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit

  • triplebottomline:triple bottom line: measures an organizations social, environmental, and financial performance   * represents people, planet, and profit
  • success can be measured through a social audit   * socialaudit:social audit: a systematic assessment of a company’s performance in implementing socially responsible programs     * ex:a firm may support a foundation or make donations to non-profit organizations or allocate staff time to pro-bono work
  • very important because it affects everyone   * focuses not only on businesses, but also social communities and the business’s impact on the planet   * this framework provides a more sustainable future that considers both social and environmental sustainability

Internal Stakeholders

  • internalstakeholders:internal stakeholders: consist of employees, owners, and the board of directors
  • owners:owners: consist of all of those who can claim the organization as their legal property
  • boardofdirectors:board of directors: members elected by the stockholders to see that the company is being run according to their interests

External Stakeholders

  • externalstakeholders:external stakeholders: people or groups in the organization’s external environment that are affected by it   * important because by monitoring business activities, buying products or services, and creating basic expectations, they help ensure a safe and fair market,
  • thetaskenvironment:the task environment: consist of 11 groups that present an organization with daily tasks to handle   * includes customers, suppliers, competitors, labor force, special interest groups and government regulation
  • thegeneralenvironment:the general environment: refers to the macro-environment such as economic, technological, and sociocultural

The Sarbanes-Oxley Reform Act

  • white collar crime   * illegal trading, ponzi schemes, and other white-collar crimes dominated the headlines in early 21st century
  • sarbanes-oxley act of 2002:   * established requirements for proper financial record keeping for public companies   * CEO and CFO must personally certify the organization’s financial reports   * senior executives prohibited from taking personal loans/lines of credit   * penalties of as much as 25 years in prison for noncompliance

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