ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Environmental and sustainability factors
A manufacturing company reports that it has cut its energy use per unit by 20%, installed water recycling and reduced packaging waste. Under the triple bottom line approach, which of the following BEST describes the dimension that these actions mainly address?
The actions mainly address the planet dimension of the triple bottom line. Cutting energy use, recycling water and reducing packaging waste all lower the company's impact on the natural environment. Any cost savings are a by-product and belong to the profit dimension, not the main purpose.
- AProfit, because lower resource use reduces costs and so raises shareholder returns only
- BPlanet, because the actions reduce the entity's impact on the natural environmentCorrect
- CPeople, because the actions improve the working conditions of employees
Explanation
The triple bottom line measures performance on people (social), planet (environmental) and profit (economic). Energy, water and packaging waste reductions relate to the entity's environmental impact, so they fall under planet. Profit may improve as a side effect, but the actions are mainly environmental, so option A is too narrow.
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