The concept of the triple bottom line, the planet, people, profit, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and all initiatives and programs launched by global and local corporates and business leaders is showcased as a feather in their business cap and not as a part of their business DNA, Chairman and Co-founder, Ath Pavura, Chandula Abeywickrema said in an interview with Sunday Observer Business on Friday. He said this is the reason why there is so much corporate greed among entities world over at the exploitation of key stakeholders. The post Covid-19 world has amplified unsustainable and irresponsible revenue generation by corporates which are responsible for numerous issues and challenges faced by the society, increasing economic inequality, widening the gap between the rich and poor and causing environmental degradation.
Any business entity be it global corporate giants, local business conglomerates or SMEs need to recognise that they are part of the planet and that if the environment that they exist in is affected there is no possibility they survive on their own.Therefore, any business entity should be aware that there are number of important equal stakeholders that support the business entity such as shareholders that will let private capital flow, employees who are the driving force of the business, customers who pays value to the purchase of the solutions presented by the businesses, and the society and the fabric of the environment that any businesses stands on.
“It is very clear now that Covid-19 has thrown all to the deep end, we need to go beyond approach of triple bottom line, Planet , People, Profit to a quadruple bottom line to articulate and mandate the business corporate to work on the fourth P which is the progress of the planet and the people.
“The business corporates need to have the conviction, unless the profit they make out of the planet and the people are now ploughed back to the progress of the planet and the people there is no business sustainability and continuity.
“Profit with a purpose has much wider and greater inclusivity, showcasing that the profit generated is now beneficial and impacts all stakeholders,” Abeywickrema said.
The leadership of the business entities at the very outset lays the framework for KPI that will translate to showcase the profit with a purpose. Return on Investment (ROI) for each of the stakeholders, the shareholders, employees, customers, society and the Planet rightfully enshrined and no stakeholder is exploited and sacrificed to the benefit of the other.
Before Covid-19, most of the business conglomerates globally and locally and numerous other business entities greatly focused and worked on the top line and the bottom line. But when Covid-19 hit, except for some of the leading tech and tech-retail giants, all industry sectors were affected. They are no longer advocating the top line and the bottom line but the Life Line to Survive, Sustain and Surge ahead.
In a living ecosystem there is the existence of species of different shapes and sizes from, nano, micro, small and medium, big and large, which are interdependent , integrated and interwoven, and when one is affected all get impacted.
The Covid-19 lockdown, first affected the informal sector of nano and micro entrepreneurs and thereafter the rest, SMEs, large and small corporates.It is now very evident without the Life Line running throughout the fabric of the ecosystem touching entrepreneurs from nano, to micro, to SME to large and corporate, strategising on a top line and the bottom line is not sustainable.If the profit that is generated by using the planet and the people are not ploughed back to the progress of the planet and the people there is no sustainability.
Profit with a Purpose (PwP) for Responsible Business Sustainability and Continuity will transcend businesses and entrepreneurs to be more responsible to enhance, empower and enrich society economically.