There is a negative stigma around sustainability, urging businesses to address the negative impact of their operations on the so-called triple bottom line - people, planet, and profit. We hear the term “sustainability” in the context of climate change through messages that are frightening and scary, messages that demotivate action instead of inspiring it. To ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for our planet and its people, we need to change the narrative to bring the positive vision of a world that is mindful of natural resources, of the quality of people’s lives, of the abundance and prosperity created by sustainable human activities. Most importantly, we need actionable tools to make the implementation of sustainability practices simple, clear, and strategic.
The Triple Top Line (TTL) term was coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, the founding fathers of the Cradle to Cradle philosophy. It initially referred to sustainable product design that is human-centric, mindful of the planet, and profitable. The TTL concept focuses on creating a positive impact instead of only reducing the negative one. We found this concept fascinating and adapted it to empower startups to create a positive impact with a TTL business design.
To make it clear and practical for our startup audience, we decided to launch the Triple Top Line Podcast, which shares actionable knowledge and industry best practices in an easily digestible format. With this podcast, we want to raise awareness and educate startups and other organisations about the TTL and make it the new standard of doing business.
In this first episode, we share the story behind Katalista Ventures and our work with startups, the TTL philosophy, and examples of startups making a positive impact on people, the planet, and profit. We’ll talk more about removing the stigma around sustainability and using positive narratives to drive sustainable transformations.
What can you expect from the following episodes? We will dive deep into a step-by-step framework that businesses can use to apply TTL thinking. We will talk about measuring, managing, and communicating the impact of your business to customers, employees, and partners. We will bring in case studies and real-life examples to make the TTL simple and practical so it indeed becomes the standard way of doing business.
Our hope is to inspire not only startups, but also other organisations to achieve financial success while being mindful of the planet and people, looking for opportunities to create a positive impact, and in doing so becoming more resilient in the long term.
About the Triple Top Line Podcast
Learn how your business can create a #positiveimpact on People, Planet, and Profit from the most brilliant minds in the #startup and #sustainability worlds.
The podcast aims to give access to the thought leaders and sustainable startups who are making waves in business today. Listeners can expect to learn about big trends, sustainable startup initiatives, and how business owners can get their own company's Triple Top Line rolling at scale.
