The Iceberg and the Tripple Bottom Line

The premises for running a business have changed. What once would have been considered a healthy and sensible business model is now being challenged – both from within and without.

Not so long ago, a “sustainable business” was a company that could financially sustain itself. A business that generated more than it paid out, had a healthy equity, stable growth, and a balanced financial statement.

Today, the economic parameters are only a small part of the overall assessment of whether a business is sustainable. We need to expand our understanding of what constitutes a healthy business. Where we previously focused sharply on the financial bottom line, we must now zoom out and view our activities in a broader and more holistic perspective.

We must calculate all of the company’s bottom lines. The human and environmental costs and benefits, both in the short and long term, must be included in the accounting and valued on an equal footing with the company’s economic benefits and costs. We must think of the company in a larger context, where we do not only relate to a linear business model, but include the entire circular system.

The Iceberg and the Triple Bottom Line is a practical guide to sustainable business development. It is for you who lead a company that needs to start the green transition. For you who are still considering it. And for you who are curious and want to help companies get started. It is an open and honest account of how we work at zeal. A direct look into the toolbox of our company.