The Triple Bottom Line

Look for engineering in the future, whether engaged in the public or private sectors, having a requirement and desire to establish a framework for discussing sustainability. Historically, the framework for project or product selection decisions have been based on a methodology embedded in engineering economics. The goal was to develop a single bottom line - - money in the context of profit or rate of return. Even public sector cost-benefit calculations have been monetized to a single bottom line.

The idea of a Triple Bottom Line provides for a broader approach that encompasses three areas. The first is the traditional economic. Optimizing financial resources with the goal of producing the greatest return. But the economic bottom line is bounded by two other ideas. The second bottom line is related to environmental goals. Given the economic bottom line, goes the project or product provide for a sustainable future? Does the project or product (1) endanger the survival of humans, (2) impair human health, (3) cause species extinction or violate human rights, or (4) reduce quality of life or have consequences that are inconsistent with other values, beliefs, or aesthetic preferences? The second bottom line is not the narrowness of an environmental impact statement - - it is the expansiveness of a holistic view of our global environmental systems in the context of establishing a sustainable future for multi-generations. The third bottom line is social justice. What are the social consequences of the project or product? Have the ideas of social equity been taken into consideration with the idea of sharing our available resources in a sustainable manner?

In the future - - The Triple Bottom Line may become the foundation and framework that defines and measures the ideas and concepts embedded in sustainability.