As Laura Schohenherr writes in her blog: “As environmental threats are building up, such as global warming, we become more conscious about our surrounding, the impact of our actions, and what we really value.” I agree with this, and think all start ups should have this in mind. A concept which is closely linked to this is the “Triple Bottom Line”, which includes social, environmental and economic factors to create a sustainable business.
It is getting more media attention, and more of the general audience is now firmiliar with the concept. For example just today (Nov. 17th 2013) this was a headline on Forbes.com: “Jessica Albas Triple Bottom Line Startup Raises 25 Million”. The fact that celebrities endorce the triple bottom line makes it more apealing to the general audience and hopefully one day all businesses will aim for a triple bottom line instead of the traditional economic bottom line.
The way Alba does it is through environmental friendly baby products that have no toxic chemicals in them. The company also gives back to the local community through an organisation called baby2baby by providing baby equipment to inner city families who cannot afford these products normally. And all at the same time as making a profit off her product line. This will become a truly sustainable business.