By: Eileen Gao, SMSBF Intern An avalanche of issues has collapsed on the United States—just a sample of The Atlantic’s recent headlines include: “America Should Prepare for a Double Pandemic”, “A Lot of Americans are About to Lose Their Houses”, and “First Comes Police Reform, Then Comes Everything Else”. These issues have flooded my social …
New Year’s Eve is just two weeks away! Time seems to fly now, more than ever before. This may not be such a good thing, but at least there’s an explanation for it. Many of us consider being busy a status symbol, and just as many of us are simply addicted to busyness. While this …
Image: Photo by Alex Brisbey. There are some incredible companies in Detroit that embody Triple Bottom Line (3BL) business practices. The three businesses below use found or donated materials to create one-of-a-kind products; the result is lower demand for new materials, which in-turn reduces the business’s impact on the environment. Perhaps even more important, these …
Sustainability is the foundation of the Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum’s vision and we hope to help local businesses incorporate it into their work by using a Triple Bottom Line framework. A Triple Bottom Line framework is a process by which nonprofits, companies, organizations, and/or business manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and …
Thinking of the economy as circular instead of linear is key to implementing sustainability into your business practices. In a circular economy, we keep resources in use for as long as possible, getting the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of its life. Meanwhile …
Have you ever tried to make a list of everyone that affects or is affected by your company? It can be quite a daunting task; but, one that can greatly impact your success. Identifying stakeholders in a company or a specific project will allow you to holistically analyze your goals, needs, and challenges and make …
Who Are Your Stakeholders? Identify, Prioritize, and Engage Read More »
How can we solve today’s problems in a way that continues to provide for a better tomorrow and years to come? Triple Bottom Line sustainable business practices were originally proposed as a complete system change to the way we measure success in business. Throwing out the numbers-only driven approach of capitalism, TBL embraces three core …
When asked about how they achieved B-Corp certification, Mary O’Neil, Atomic Object’s Business Manager said, “It’s in our DNA”. Mary, along with Wendy Schlett, Vice President at the Sustainable Research Group, were the presenters at SMSBF’s, “Beyond Financials” event. Held at Washtenaw Community College on Thursday evening, November 8th, “Beyond Financials” gave attendees a unique …
“Beyond Financials” Sheds Light on Sustainable Business Assessments Read More »
Over the past several years, the Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (SMSBF) has provided programs targeting people interested in local farms. We’ve collaborated with Michigan State Tollgate Center and representatives from US Dept. of Agriculture. We’ve highlighted urban farming projects from the area, like Recovery Park and have learned about the operations of Eastern Market. …
The triple bottom line trifecta of people, profit, and planet is a great concept, but it’s one that can be difficult for businesses to put into practice. Where profit is easily defined, pursued, and measured, the people and planet bottom lines are harder to understand in a concrete, actionable way. The obvious question that follows …
