Much of the current lively discussion of corporate responsibility revolves around the concept of sustainability. Sustainability has both inward-facing and outward-facing facets. Internally, it can refer to shaping governance, finance, strategy, risk management, and human capital development so as to improve corporate resilience and longevity. This is distinct from—but not entirely independent of—the externally-located ideal of “sustainable development”. This ideal seeks to create economic or financial value without destroying value as seen from social and environmental perspectives.

In their efforts to pursue sustainability, some companies have committed themselves to “social impact analysis” of their activities. One popular and well-defined form of this analysis is the “triple bottom line” of financial performance, social effects, and environmental impact. The origin of the triple bottom line concept is attributed to John Elkington in his book, Cannibals with Forks.

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