The Quadruple Bottom Line: Including Purpose

Posted on Saturday, June 7, 2014

The now well-known Triple Bottom Line has been missing one key element: Purpose.

The TBL is the concept of considering People, Planet & Profit and the impact of business decisions on sustainability. People is the social component, asking if the organization is using fair and beneficial labor practices that benefit their people, their stakeholders, and their community. Planet refers to the use of sustainable environmental practices, requesting awareness and valuing of natural capital, minimizing negative impact, and leaving a small ecological footprint. Profit is as it has always been, the sum of economic value created by the business after deducting inputs and costs.

This TBL has been missing one key elmeent, without which everything could easily be knocked off a sustainable course, a Forth P: Purpose.

Purpose applies to both the organization and its people. A healthy organization has an internal Purpose – their people know why they all do what they do, they know a meaningful answer to the question, “Why Bother?” that prompts them to focus and align their efforts every day. It is something they all (ideally everyone) jointly believe in.

An organization’s Purpose should drive its global business decisions as well as the local decisions of its people. If a decision is not on Purpose, building their Vision, and true to their Values, how could it be good for them to choose this?  How could this be sustainable? I believe it is not.

Purpose also applies to an organization’s people. When their people know and work in their unique Purpose and Genius, they feel more energized and fulfilled, generate better results, appreciate each other more, and make greater contributions to their team, organization, and larger community.

The most sustainable organizations even hire for Purpose and Genius, choosing people who are the best fit for their role, the team, and the organization’s Purpose and culture.

So welcome the Fourth P into the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL, 4BL): the 4 Ps of People, Planet, Profit & Purpose.

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