Measuring Environmental, Social and Economic Performance: Triple Bottom Line Reporting May 22, 2008

There is a growing trend of governmental agencies and non-profit organizations issuing triple bottom line reports. Accountability for environmental, social and economic impacts of a company is increasingly becoming a part of every manager or governmental official’s job. However, there is much uncertainty and inconsistency in the field...

By Laura Musikanski, ENTRIX, Inc. & Richard Gelb, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks

Details: Triple bottom line reporting is emerging as an important and necessary part of an organization’s disclosure. Two main issues addressed are 1) what a triple bottom line report is and 2) the areas addressed in a triple bottom line report. The first issue involves establishing an understanding of the triple bottom line and a structure for accountability. The second issue deals with identifying boundaries, a methodology for reporting and development of an understanding of the issues around subject areas in reporting.

The first day of this class will focus on defining triple bottom line (TBL) accounting: a brief discussion of the linkages between sustainability, corporate social responsibility, regulatory compliance and TBL reporting, the frameworks, performance areas and indicators for a TBL report, examples of TBL reports. The second day will cover boundaries, drivers, risks, liabilities, and stakeholder issues relative to triple bottom line reporting in theory and practice using examples from triple bottom line reports. The class will end by identifying factors for successful implementation of triple bottom line accounting and criteria for the quality of a triple bottom line report.

Defining Triple Bottom Line Reporting
Linkage to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, regulatory compliance and TBL reporting
Frameworks and subject areas for TBL reports
Indicators for subject areas and for industries
Boundaries within performance areas and for an organization
Drivers, risks and liabilities
Stakeholder issues: relevance, monitoring, verification
Success tips for implementation of TBL accounting
Criteria for quality in TBL reports

Triple Bottom Line Reporting: Measuring Environmental, Social and Economic Performance
May 22-23, 2008, 9:00 A.M. to 5 P.M.
REI Downtown Seattle :: Second Floor - Room B :: 222 Yale Ave N :: Seattle, WA

About the instructor: Ms. Laura Musikanski is a lawyer with an MBA and Certificate in Environmental Management from the University of Washington. Laura focused her business and legal education around the sustainability movement. Over the last 5 years she has written sustainability reports and consulted to non-profits, governmental agencies, and small, medium and large enterprises. She is on the board of Sustainable Seattle, serving as Vice President and Treasurer. Currently Laura is the sustainability practice leader at ENTRIX, Inc., a national environmental and natural resources consulting company.

About guest speaker: Richard Gelb is the performance manager for King County DNRP, where he helps determine success measures, tracks progress, and reports on achievements. Program areas he supports include wastewater, solid waste, parks, and water and land resources. He serves on the Countywide Performance Management Workgroup and coordinates the infrastructure committee for King County’s Green Building Team. In a prior role, he served as the Sustainable Building Coordinator for Seattle Parks and Recreation and as an advisor for the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. Richard has a BS in Business Administration, a Masters in Environmental Science, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Case study: For several years, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) has successfully used performance information to enhance service delivery, improve program effectiveness, and maintain public accountability. In 2007, DNRP updated its mission and goals to better enable a Triple Bottom Line approach to performance management and reporting. Additionally, DNRP is advancing a Triple Life Cycle Assessment framework for its infrastructure developments to help optimize and report on benefits realized through these investments. In this session, participants will review and critique DNRP’s 2007 performance report and explore how TBL principles can applied in the planning phase to inform business decisions that help drive organizations toward more sustainable practices. Presenter Bio: Richard Gelb is the performance manager for King County DNRP, where he helps determine success measures, tracks progress, and reports on achievements. Program areas he supports include wastewater, solid waste, parks, and water and land resources. He serves on the Countywide Performance Management Workgroup and coordinates the infrastructure committee for King County’s Green Building Team. In a prior role, he served as the Sustainable Building Coordinator for Seattle Parks and Recreation and as an advisor for the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. Richard has a BS in Business Administration, a Masters in Environmental Science, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Intended audience: Managers, business owners and government officials interested in managing and measuring environmental, social and economic performance and/or in issuing a triple bottom line report. Anyone interested in understanding triple bottom line report formation.

After completing this course participants will be able to:

Understand the frameworks and performance areas of triple bottom line reports
Identify and access indicators appropriate to their organization for a TBL report
Understand the drivers, risks and liabilities in issuing a TBL report and ways to manage for them
Identify boundary issues and a rational for defining boundaries
Understand stakeholder issues and how to identify and determine a methodology for determining which stakeholders to engage
Understand factors for successful implementation of a TBL report
Determine the quality of a TBL report

Prerequisites: None.
More info & registration: http://www.nwetc.org/sust-404_05-08_seattle.htm

Best,
Renata Sobol
www.nwetc.org

Official Website: http://www.seattlegreendrinks.org/node/493