At Work

Planet, people, profit: This is the new, so-called triple bottom-line. It is the equation that 21st Century businesses are using to calculate their successes.

Increasingly, businesses-from mom-and-pop to mega-corporations like Wal-Mart are recognizing that quarterly profits are not the only measure of success and, moreover,  environmentally-friendly measures often increase profit and employee loyalty. From 2004 to 2009, the number of S&P 500 Companies filing Corporate Social Responsibility Reports more than doubled from 90 to 197.

From small to big, companies are finding ways to underscore their operations with the triple bottom line of planet, people and profit. Each year, through the Sustainable Business Initative, Sustain Dane works with area organizations to help them reduce their carbon footprint. In 2009, for example, Mpower ChaMpion designCraft Advertising started using a bike courier for client deliveries to reduce their carbon footprint and maximize efficiency of their 4-person staff. More globally, in 2010, Sprint introduced “greener packaging” for its line of wireless accessories and now save $2.1 million annually and avoid over 600 tons of waste each year.

Sustainability is a journey all businesses should begin regardless of size. The logical starting point is wherever there is enthusiasm. As long as a business makes one step and then another and keeps moving forward, the company is becoming “greener.”