|
Getting to the real bottom line
Triple bottom line reporting is a new way of looking at
the results of Council activities in a more complete way. Traditionally, the only bottom line business and
accountancy has had to worry about has been the
monetary bottom line. As the Christchurch City
Council has quietly moved toward a more sustainable
approach and example it became apparent this old
system was not enough. Trying to become sustainable creates a need to
include the bigger picture that does not just take
environmental factors like air and water for granted but
includes these in the picture. It was also realised that a more sustainable approach
needed to include the human impacts of our actions. It might sound terribly simple that the social and
environmental impacts of our actions also need to be
measured but traditionally it has not been the case. Instead we have historically had a single bottom line
approach. It measured economic impacts and costs, but
ignored the impacts on the planet and on people. The Council decided that to fully live up to its
collective responsibility to the ratepayers, a more full
and complete way of measuring our actions was
needed. This is why we have adopted triple bottom
line reporting for all our significant reports and actions. We now use this system to measure how well each
Council initiative being reported is doing in achieving
environmental, social and economic benefits for the City. Triple bottom line reporting was completely
integrated into the existing Annual Plan process led by
the financial services unit manager and a small group of
staff from key service units. This team also took part in joint workshops with
Council partners in the Redesigning Resources initiative. As a result Council’s Annual Plan is now in a format
which highlights the social, environmental and economic
benefits and impacts of its significant activity areas. Staff now look at how each idea will impact on
Nature, People and the Economy for all major projects
and undertakings. They are now looking out for triple
bottom line impacts as a matter of routine. It is a change that Council staff believe has
strengthened their ability to act in a direction that is
more realistic and sustainable. Garry Moore, Mayor of Christchurch |