As companies proceed further down the environmental management continuum towards sustainability, they increasingly are broadening the scope of their efforts to include social as well as environmental and economic considerations. Many people refer to this perspective as the “triple bottom line.”

According to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, one definition of sustainability that appears to have more resonance with the general public is: Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. This focus on improving quality of life is becoming more widely accepted by governments, companies, and civil society organizations; it makes the sustainability concept more aspirational and changes the emphasis of the sustainable development debate towards solutions rather than problems.