By Mehedi Shamim | 22 Nov, 2021
Many businesses today have involved themselves in different forms of CSR activities. However, suppose the future business arena will not be enough to have some superficial participation. In that case, instead, companies will need to draw attention internally to their business policies, supply chain, corporate governance, and compliance to figure out ways to run their business more ethically and sustainably.
The business builds for making a profit. But triple bottom line enterprises realize that they should do more. The triple bottom line concept was introduced in 1994 by John Elkington and later in 1997 used in his book 'Cannibals with Forks'.
Naturally, enterprise owners devote themselves to their businesses' financial profits, but these days more owners are beginning to think about business sustainably. The triple bottom line theory expands the regular accounting system to include two other performance areas: the social and environmental impacts of their company. These three bottom lines are often referred to as the three P's: people, planet, and profit.
'People' means employees, workers engaged in a corporation's work, and the extensive community where a corporation does business. A different way to look at 'people' is, how much does a company benefits society? A triple bottom line company pays fair wages and ensures humane working conditions at supplier factories. They make an effort to 'give back to the community. They are moving with their all engaged partners and believe in the 'grow together' concept. For example, the MBM group has a scholarship program for children of their associates. The community has a project 'giving school dress' to underprivileged students across the country who study under the Jaago Foundation's Education Program. Hence, built into the fabric of the company vision is also the life enhancement of both the people who work in their factories and live in the community. The people benefit, and MBM Group provides a well-educated source of scientists and innovators for generations to come. In addition, they have free lunch for every worker, fair price shops, childcare centres, and other assistance activities for the associates and community.
For a long time, environmental experts have been saying that Bangladesh would be one of the most severely affected victims of the global warming phenomenon. Public opinion has dictated that enterprise that harms the environment should also bear the cost, and you can bet enterprises are taking notice. The 'planet' piece of the triple bottom line indicates that a company tries to minimize its ecological footprint as much as possible. These efforts can include reducing waste, investing in renewable energy, sustainable machinery and technology, managing natural resources more efficiently, and improving logistics.
Mr Saifur Rahman, CEO of MBM group said, we invest in more sustainable and eco-friendly technology for washing, dying and finishing processes. We have LEED-certified washing facilities, which show our commitment to sustainability. Every year we have tree plantation projects. We also invest very strongly in energy-saving management. We have ongoing efforts to improve our Water Recycling & Rain Water Harvesting percentage.
In the profit part, while most businesses pursue financial profitability relentlessly, triple bottom line enterprises see it as one part of a business plan.
The addition of social and environmental responsibilities can positively affect a company's financial bottom line. Sustainable companies also recognize that 'profit' isn't opposed to 'people' or 'planet.'
Mr Mehroz Jalil, AMD of MBM group, said. However, profit is essential to any private organization. At MBM, we recognize that it cannot be the only criteria for business existence. As we have clearly stated in our company vision, we believe that any responsible corporation today should not be focused on commerce only; in addition to profits, we should also function with a sense of responsibility and value creation. Value to our clients, value to our associates and also value to our community and environment. As we progress in our business, we keep these fundamental tenets built into our corporate DNA.
By keeping these in mind, the MBM Group's strives to make CSR activities a part of the daily existence of our management and workforce.
In conclusion, we will see most large, national and international companies have moved through the first four types or stages of CSR: defensive, charitable, promotional and strategic. How many things you are maintaining or doing or certifying through different agencies or government. Instead of that, companies will be recognized for how innovative they are in using their products and processes to tackle social and environmental problems in the future. And obviously, progressive companies will be required to demonstrate complete life-cycle management of their products, from cradle to cradle. We will see most large companies committing to the goal of zero-waste, carbon-neutral and water-neutral production, with mandated take-back schemes for most products. So the future of CSR is doing business more ethically and sustainable manner.