In the 13th century, Aristotle, Greek philosopher and scientist, termed the businessmen who engaged in activities which did not contribute fruitfully to the wellbeing of society as “parasites.” Since then till now, movies such as The Wolf Of Wallstreet embody what Michael Lewis, author and financial journalist, refers to as the central sociocultural assumption of modern finance, “that a trader is a savage, and a great trader, a great savage.”
This movie is based on the notorious and nefarious Jordon Belfort, portraying his debauchery, deception and decadence. No attempt is made to defend such conduct as the requirement of a well-functioning financial sector – this movie doesn’t say he is wrong. Instead it asks – what does it say about us if he’s right?
The money fueled machine of corporate and crony capitalism understands greed and grit as its foundation – but it doesn’t take the perception of a socialist to deem this as morally incoherent. This blog will be unpacking the Triple Bottom Line theory, with respect to three major ethical violations from the unknown trenches of the corporate world that are recently coloring our news. The phrase “the triple bottom line” was first coined in 1994 by John Elkington, the founder of a British consultancy called SustainAbility. The triple bottom line (TBL), as seen in the image below, consists of three Ps: profit, people and planet.
Economic sustainability, dealing with ‘profit’, was violated in the case of Wells Fargo, when they prioritized surviving the credit crisis over thriving, by trying to cross-sell lucrative products to its existing consumer base which employees replied to by creating fraudulent customer accounts. As a result, Wells could lose as much as $212 billion in deposits and $8 billion in revenue over the next year and a half.
Social sustainability, regarding ‘people’, was denigrated in the case of Mylan, a drug company that decided to increase the cost of its EpiPen which was a life saving drug for the children that suffer from food allergies in America. They set a $500 price tag on their monopoly – an act of cruelty for desperate families. After media attention and a congressional grilling, its stock is now trading at its lowest of 30 years.
Environmental sustainability, about ‘planet’, was ignored entirely by Coca-Cola. The soft drinks giant has become emblematic of big business’s contribution to the waste problem thanks in part to a high profile campaign by Greenpeace, which claims the company generates more than a hundred billion plastic bottles a year.
Together, these three tenants of sustainability – economic, social, and environmental – guide businesses towards fitting into the conception of the corporation as a participating citizen in the community and not as a money making machine.