These four companies have placed sustainability and the triple bottom line at the top of their business priorities. They are a great example of social and environmental responsibility among corporations and leaders in approaches to sustainability in a corporate context. Also known as “triple-bottom line” businesses (so named for their consideration of people, planet, and profit), B Corps now include over 300 companies representing $1.1B in revenue, including.

Is a triple-bottom line a sound marketing and business strategy? We’re definitely seeing a trend with more corporations adopting a triple-bottom line approach, because it makes good business sense. Creating shared values and passions for the greater good of society with your customers leads to strong brand loyalty. It engages them in the discussion of where a product comes from and how it is made. When you buy a container of Nutiva’s coconut oil, you’re buying a part of our social mission.

Beyond its marketing value, a triple-bottom engenders greater efficiencies and cost savings, fosters resiliency and spurs innovation. Another department that benefits is human resources. A corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy leading to better governance, transparency and benefits results in more engaged and productive workers. CSR has also been called the hottest recruitment and retention tool for Millennials.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that running a business for profit only can lead to poor results for the business and society as a whole, so there has to be wider objectives around treating people fairly and minimizing environmental impact.

Why should companies care about social responsibility? Companies care about CSR because their customers do. There’s a heightened awareness of the need to be a good corporate citizen. In the Internet Age where information about a company’s environmental and social practices is readily accessible and readily tweeted, companies must pay careful attention to what their customers do and say. Customers are more educated, and they’re kept informed by the steadily increasing flow of information from the media, watchdog nonprofits, bloggers and social media.

Of increased interest to customers is responsibility along the supply chain. For instance, where does their food come from? Are farmers in developing countries protected by fair labor standards? Are they working in safe environments and receiving fair pay? When a business addresses the social impacts of food throughout the supply chain–from farm to fork–it addresses the customer’s need for transparency as well as reduces risk.

Companies also care about CSR because they see it as their responsibility to do so. It will take unprecedented coordination between the public and private sector to solve our society’s complex problems, such as the consequences from climate change.

In the past, we’ve left it up to government and nonprofits to solve the world’s problems, but they can’t do it alone. Corporations have tremendous spending power and are well positioned to use their leverage as a force for good.

Can a brand make social responsibility part of its marketing strategy and still be authentic? It depends on the practices and culture of the company, and whether they have a mission statement or an income statement leading the way. Companies still have the burden of building trust with their customers by delivering real results. We have a responsibility to our brand fans to maintain standards and fight the fights they want us to engage in.

For companies to take CSR seriously it has to be transparent and it has to be integrated into the DNA of the business. That comes through in the jobs we provide and our hiring practices, the products we make, and the ways in which we use resources. Transparency and building culture are antidotes to greenwashing.

How can business leaders encourage more social responsibility within the corporate environment? Many prominent leaders are already encouraging and inspiring other businesses. Look at the successful tech entrepreneurs who have started foundations and are taking on big social problems, or Warren Buffet’s commitment to donate the bulk of his fortune.

You don’t need a lot of money to model social responsibility to other businesses. Rubicon Bakery here in Richmond is a small business that hires the formerly incarcerated; they find them to be very loyal and hard working. Nutiva’s own CEO John Roulac advocates and speaks about his passions, from labeling genetically modified products to carbon farming.

Although we have exemplary leaders in business, there are those who believe the sole responsibility of business is to increase profits for its shareholders. This group is only going to be persuaded by financial benefits. Fortunately, a growing body of research and surveys reveal strong linkages between an organization’s CSR activities and improvements in a company’s traditional performance drivers, such as competitiveness, revenue growth, marketshare, profits, and the ability to recruit and retain top talent. Business seems to be listening to the evidence. Ten years ago, only about a dozen Fortune 500 companies issued a CSR or sustainability report. Now the majority does.

Can you share some tips on how a brand can incorporate messages about its social responsibility on its packaging and in other marketing vehicles? Messaging on food packaging can be restricted by space, but using symbols like our 1% to Sustainable Agriculture can communicate to shoppers via shorthand. Using certification logos such as Organic and Fair Trade offer further guarantees of commitment and performance. Many companies also publish CSR reports and webpages committed to such communications. Of course, the type of packaging material used communicates a company’s commitment to sustainability as well.

Social media is a primary vehicle used to communicate our social message. We have an active presence across multiple platforms. The analytics and brand building opportunities with social media are astounding when you engage consumers in relevant and visually exciting content.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? Every choice we make as a business comes with a trail of impacts caused by the choice. I see a triple-bottom line approach as an opportunity to make better decisions and focus on what impacts we can improve. In the big picture, caring about social responsibility contributes to our communities and quality of life. It makes life worth living.

Reading Time: 2minutes

February 25, 2019 – The following is a statement from Globalization Partners founder and CEO Nicole Sahin:

If you’ve ever been to a DMV, you might have seen that old cartoon that says: “FAST, CHEAP, GOOD—PICK TWO.” Conventional wisdom is similar when you start a company. People will tell you that you can’t have fast growth, happy customers AND happy employees.

Those people are wrong. One of the most common questions I get as the founder and CEO is: Can a start-up delight clients, provide a great work culture, and see exceptional growth metrics? The answer is yes, you absolutely can.

Triple Bottom Line Companies List

I know this because at Globalization Partners we’ve done it—and part of our mission is to pass that know-how on to our clients. When I founded this company, my goal was to build a high-growth business that would enable anyone to hire employees anywhere, without the red tape traditionally associated with global expansion. But I also wanted to build a company people love— customers, business partners, and employees. Fast forward a few years and I’m happy to report we’ve had rocket-ship growth numbers, 95% of our clients say that they are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with our services, but perhaps what makes me most proud is we’re also able to regularly win awards for our company culture. We haven’t had to make a trade off, and neither should you.

The secret to balancing this success is what I call the Triple Bottom Line: prioritizing happy clients, happy employees, and happy shareholders.

While a Triple Bottom Line may sound like an obvious formula for growth, it might also feel unrealistic. Its anathema to the typical blitz scaling mantra right now, which is “growth at all costs.” But the reality is, companies who focus only on growth end up underpaying people and treating customers so poorly that growth is ultimately unsustainable.

I wasn’t sure if the Triple Bottom Line would be achievable when I set out to build my business, but I knew I didn’t want to be in business any other way. Now, Globalization Partners is proof that the Triple Bottom Line is an exceptionally good strategy for growth.

Triple Bottom Line Example

About Nicole Sahin, CEO, Globalization Partners
CEO Nicole Sahin’s mission is to make it easy for any company to expand into any country as easily as they hire team members in the United States. Her current focus is building the world’s most competent and trustworthy Global PEO to meet the standards of the company’s Fortune 500 clients. She led Globalization Partners to a ranking of No. 33 on the 2017 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, No. 6 on the 2016 Inc. 500 list, has been named Entrepreneur of the Year in New England, and has won numerous awards for breaking the traditional corporate mold by building a nationally-recognized company culture.

About Globalization Partners
Globalization Partners, a Global Expansion Platform renowned for pioneering the Global Employer of Record model, helps companies expand internationally into more than 170 countries without the hassle of setting up overseas branch offices and subsidiaries. Through our platform, companies can quickly and easily hire employees overseas without having to navigate complex international legal, tax and HR issues. Whether it’s to test a new market or to expand the talent pool globally, Globalization Partners is the most trustworthy global workforce management solution in the market. We take the burden—and risk—of global expansion off our clients’ shoulders and place it onto ours.