Quantifying the social dimension of triple bottom line: development of a framework and indicators to assess the social impact of organisations

Triple bottom line (TBL) reports, outlining the economic, environmental and social impact of organisations, are increasingly viewed as a business requirement. Unfortunately, with no one established standard against which to evaluate or assess the social dimension, current social reporting is often disparagingly described as a public relations exercise with limited accountability, consistency or comparability. Global sustainability frameworks, whilst providing a valuable outline, do not provide quantifiable indicators or specific questions that enable the measurement and comparability of social impacts. The lack of valid, comparable and quantifiable social indicators diminishes the importance and value of the social dimension, with businesses able to make vague and unsubstantiated comments about their social value and impact. This article outlines the development of a generic TBL social impact framework and questionnaire designed to quantify an organisation’s social impact. Based on valid pre-existing measures appropriate for organisations in the industrialised world, the proposed framework and questionnaire offers a comparable and objective social impact assessment tool for organisations. The aim is to prompt informed debate and discussion about current organisational social impact reporting, whilst providing organisations with a tool which enables the identification, quantification, and comparability of social impact reporting