The Triple Bottom Line

The concept of a triple bottom line encourages organizations to consider: "profits and growth...responsibility to employees...(as well as) its role in the wider community and environment"(p.434). While concern with profit is a familiar perspective for employees of public corporations, the record is decidedly mixed in the area of social responsibility.
Companies that foreground egalitarian social or economic principles at their inception, such as The Body Shop (p. 433) or Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, frequently devolve to a traditional, economically driven, business model in the face of growth and competition.
The phrase "publicly held corporation" reinforces the notion of companies as people, that in turn implies a level of social responsibility. The public performance of corporations in crises with an ethical dimension can often be characterized more by excuses and justification, than righteous conduct.