The concept of the 'triple bottom line' (TBL) - the idea that business activity can simultaneously deliver financial, social and environmental benefits - was introduced in the early 1990s. A decade on, The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up? brings together the world's leading experts on corporate responsibility to assess the implications, benefits and limitations of the TBL.

This collection provides a review of what has already been achieved in stimulating change in corporate culture and bringing businesses to an appreciation of the importance and benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and good environmental performance. It further explores the conceptual and practical limits of the metaphor of the TBL and sets out what can be achieved through regulation and legislation, presenting detailed professional procedures for environmental accounting and management and social auditing.

The contributors' wealth of experience and insight provides a vivid picture of how much attention is now being focused by businesses on delivering more than just financial targets, and they clearly outline the necessary steps for successfully continuing along this trajectory.

About the author(s)

Adrian Henriques is Director of JustAssurance and Professor of Accountability and CSR at Middlesex University.
Julie Richardson is a writer and consultant in the area of international environmental policy and CSR.

Contents

List of Figures, Tables and boxes * List of Contributors * List of Acronyms and Abbreviations * Introduction: Triple Bottom Line - Does it All Add Up? * Enter the Triple Bottom Line * Triple Bottom Line: A Review of the Literature * CSR, Sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line * Accounting for Sustainability: Measuring Quantities or Enhancing Qualities? * Tracking Global Governance and Sustainability: Is the System Working? * Locating the Government's Bottom Line * Towards Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line: Mirages, Methods and Myths * Good Intentions - Bad Outcomes? The Broken Promise of CSR Reporting * What a Fine Mess! Moving Beyond Simple Puzzle-solving for Sustainable Development * Environmental Cost Accounting: Coming of Age? Tracking Organizational Performance Towards Environmental Sustainability * Sustainability Assessment Model: Modelling Economic, Resource, Environmental and Social Flows of a Project * Social Capital at Work: A Manager's Guide * What if Business as Usual Won't Work? * Put Up or Shut Up * Addressing the Economic Bottom Line * References * Index