Where's the Denominator? (cont.)
GRI and tools like it are important first steps in the development of CSM, and we enthusiastically support them. But to fully meet the needs of CSM practitioners, they must address the denominator, or supply-side, of the sustainability calculation, not just the numerator, or demand-side. And they must also, of course, address the calculation of the quotient itself: Does the rate of resource use (the numerator) exceed, match, or fall below the rate of resource production or renewal (the denominator)? Are business operations sustainable or not?
This is the fundamental question that CSM practitioners in industry should be trying to answer. Yet, ironically, most mainstream CSM measurement and reporting tools in use today fail to address it: the denominator is entirely missing from their scope of analysis!
At CSI, we're working on solutions to this problem and have some promising ideas to offer. We claim that not only is it possible (and desirable and necessary) to develop quotients for environmental sustainability management, but also for economic and social sustainability management, as well. For a closer look at our ideas, check out the following presentation: Re-casting the Triple Bottom Line.
