Globals Goals and The Triple Bottom Line
by Sunny Thinking
World leaders have committed to 17 Global Goals for sustainable development to hopefully achieve extraordinary things in the next 15 years. It's a massive challenge but one we @sunnythinkinghq are hugely supportive of.
Global Goals
We think the Global Goals targets offer a fantastic opportunity. If everyone clubs together we can all do our bit to help achieve 3 main things; end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, tackle climate change and much more. If you haven’t already, visit the Global Goals website to get an incredible insight in to everyone's future and get a massive eye opener as to how things will unfold if we don't take action and treat these issues even more seriously.
What's all this got to do with Sunny Thinking?
Cutting to the chase – we care. We have a heart and soul. We’re not just another ‘award-winning agency’ we’re an agency built on a social conscience. It's another reminder to us as to why we set up our agency in the first place.
We could, in fact SHOULD, be part of a generation that helps shape the world for the better. How cool will that be? It's up to us to take action as individuals and educate our children and friends alike. But as brand and business people we also have the responsibility to help influence change. Here at Sunny Thinking we'll do our bit. We continually review our working practices and daily routines and we'll also help our clients address and develop their plans for sustainability too.
For these reasons Sunny Thinking has a passion for working with like-minded, forward thinking clients and partners who are committed to a positive, healthy, fun, prosperous and sustainable future. That's why we love to work in the sport and health sectors and with family orientated brands, businesses and charities. We're experienced creative marketing professionals who are commercially savvy, who know how to communicate a message and the importance of profitability. It's just that we do it ethically and help brands, businesses and organisations we believe in. That’s also why we drafted our very own Sunny Thinking manifesto and developed our Sunny Thinking Foundation too.
What does sustainability mean to your brand or business?
Sustainability, social responsibility, CSR - for most forward-thinking brands and businesses these areas have always been a key ingredient to their business plan rather than just a bit of lip service. In our view, every brand or business should have these entrenched in their agenda from an ethical perspective. It's our duty and responsibility as brand and business owners. Being upfront about things - It also makes sense from a commercial perspective anyway as it helps develop loyalty and warmth with customers, clients and stakeholders. It creates a shared value.
The Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
We all know business is built on the ‘bottom line’ but here at Sunny Thinking we’re big advocates of the ‘Triple Bottom line’ being the true measure of success.
Back in 1997, the rather clever and influential John Elkington* introduced ‘The Triple Bottom Line’ as a concept in business that looks beyond just profits, return on investment and classic shareholder value by also including environmental and social dimensions.
We strongly believe in his business model that suggests only a company that produces a TBL is taking account of the full cost involved in doing business. By this we mean the definition of TBL consisting of the three Ps: profit, people and planet. In other words, businesses should acknowledge their financial, social and environmental performance over a period of time.
How this is measured is another discussion for another day but let’s keep this simple. Let’s keep the three Ps at the heart of our brand and businesses plans.
Waffle to one side - Are you committed to this way of thinking? Are you going to champion the Global Goals?
Cheers.
Written by Jonathan Reed
Sunny Thinking Managing Director
October 2nd 2015.
* John Elkington is widely regarded as a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. His book in 1997 Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business, first introduced his triple bottom line concept. He has been described by Business Week as "a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades." He is Executive Chairman of Volans and non-executive director at SustainAbility. His latest book is The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier (Earthscan/Taylor & Francis). He blogs at www.johnelkington.com and Guardian Sustainable Business and tweets at @volansjohn
P.S. Don't get confused with Global Goal the football training brand we used to work with!!!!!
