Topic > Sustainability: the framework of the three spheres for...

Sustainability and business, the triple result. When a company adopts sustainability principles, as Milne and Gray (2012) state, it means that it will begin to subordinate its production to environmental and social values. This commitment can be communicated through the adoption of the triple bottom line, a term first coined by Elkington (1994), which indicates a new accounting framework that includes not only the financial success of a company but also its environmental and social responsibility. What needs to be emphasized is the ethical aspect of sustainable action, which is particularly important for companies operating in some dangerous sectors. For example, mining industries may decide to act sustainably in order to avoid or reduce harm caused to local people (Bond, 2014). A relevant episode is that shown by Savitz and Weber (2006) on what happened in 2002 in Kerala. A protest against the Pepsi industry, accused of overusing water, led the company to improve the sustainability of its project. Even though the accusation was not true, because the company had not caused the water shortage, Pepsi executives decided to upgrade their technology. Not only did they want to continue their business, but they realized that reducing their environmental impact was possible. Therefore, the company created ponds to recharge the aquifers and developed the community