In 1987, a report called Brundtland Report of 1987 was released, which facilitated the creation of a concrete definition for what sustainability means, and why it is important – “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Since then, environmental and social responsibility have become a foundation for businesses, organizations and other sectors of society to build upon for future success. After the publication of the report, the profit sector began to question and redefine their ideas of success – from being solely profit making businesses, to an ethical entities which consider the wellbeing of the environment, people and animals while concurrently making profit. Various sectors of society are now considering sustainable development, and just as importantly, they are considering which indicators can be integrated and help measure success holistically.

A decade later, John Elkington – a British management consultant and an expert in sustainability formulated the phrase “Triple Bottom Line”, as a model and criteria to help measure how well America is doing from the social, environmental and profitable perspective. The Triple Bottom Line is defined as a commitment for companies, organizations, associations (etc) to focus on social and environmental concerns as deeply and as fully as they do for profit, thus, providing an ethical lens into which the corporate sphere can be viewed from. The following aspects are considered in this model: people, planet, and profit. In this way, it encourages and ensured that corporate social responsibility and potential sustainability strategies are implemented on campus. It was a turning point in economics, as the Triple Bottom Line added a dimension which the economic world can be held morally and socially accountable. Through Elkington’s brilliant model and design, it is only possible to gain profit, but also improve the quality of the environment and social impact in communities both locally and/or globally.

• Profit: This is the traditional measure of corporate profit—the profit and loss (P&L) account.
• People: This measures how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its history.
• Planet: This measures how environmentally responsible a firm has been.

If there is any take away message, it is this – we must collectively ensure the well being of all life on our planet if we wish to have enough for all the future generations which are to come. By integrating and implementing ethically rooted models for the profit sector, we may be able to sow seeds of systemic change which can give rise to a bright, sustainable and just future.