"The Triple Bottom Line," Entrepreneurs and Schools

Newish blog from Andrew Savitz with Karl Weber, authors of The Triple Bottom Line. It's a nice read where sustainability is the focus. Before it goes the way of "at the end of the day" and other poisonous and meaningless business cliches (quick digression: check out this rampantly populated Seth Godin Squidoo lens on powerless business speak) I wanted to mention the first time I heard the phrase Triple Bottom Line, which references People, Planet and Profit (or Profit, People and Purpose, depending on whom you ask).

I was at Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business and Management in spring 2006 when, at the finals of our business plan competition, Ann Ollivier and Katherine Yee won first place with Conscious Society, their environmentally-friendly line of premium attire. A great part of their pitch was devoted to the Triple Bottom Line, and as they fended off cynics in the audience who said "What if Banana Republic gets into eco-friendly clothing? You can't compete!" (two obvious rebuttals: there's definitely room for more than one premium fashion label in this market, and Considerate Consumers seek authenticity, so not just any company can play in it eco-friendly clothing market!) it became obvious to me that The Triple Bottom line could be part of a viable business model, even beyond the marketing plan.

Check out the 2006 winners of the Miven Venture Partners / Pepperdine University Business Plan competition. It's no surprise that three of the four top finishers (and arguably all four) are "Triple Bottom Line" -oriented. In the 2007 winner's circle, where a buddy's start-up iRent2U.com brought home the big bacon, Fresh 180 won the first annual "Socially-Minded Entrepreneurs of the Year" award for its healthy fast casual restaurant format. This award was presented by a student organization I helped get started at Pepperdine called The Values-Centered Leadership Lab. Obviously Pepperdine's students aren't the only ones (MBA and otherwise) getting in on the socially-responsible entrepreneurship act, since energetic entrepreneurial students are in maybe the best position to capitalize on a sustainable, green or otherwise Optimist start-up model.

BONUS Education Links:
Bainbridge Graduate Institute, where you can attain an MBA in Sustainable Business
Arizona State University's pioneering School of Sustainability
BYU's Social Innovation and Venture Competition