{"id":1313,"date":"2025-02-17T12:58:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T11:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/materiality.astrotea.pl\/?p=1313"},"modified":"2025-12-03T19:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T18:21:08","slug":"elkington-was-first-as-usual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/","title":{"rendered":"Elkington was first (as usual)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Triple Bottom Line is a concept that enabled the assessment of a company's environmental, social, and economic impact. It formed the basis for various sustainability reporting systems, including GRI, EPL, and integrated reporting. However, TPL was not intended solely to provide more comprehensive accounting of business activities. The aim of the concept was to bring about systemic change that would gradually transform the capitalist economy. The combined consideration of environmental, economic, and social issues was to drive the growth of market solutions that promoted sustainability and replaced or phased out those sectors of the economy that were detrimental to sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, after 25 years, John Elkington decided that TPL, despite its many beneficial effects, was not contributing enough to change, and withdrew it at the turn of 2018 and 2019. If we read his <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/06\/25-years-ago-i-coined-the-phrase-triple-bottom-line-heres-why-im-giving-up-on-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">article in Harvard Business Review<\/a>, we will see that it is by no means a call to abandon the concept, but rather to focus on those aspects of it that have not been sufficiently developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have the impression that the European Commission is now trying to make a similar move, but is not explaining it as clearly as Elkington did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suggest you try a little intellectual exercise: read the recitals of the CSRD Directive, the Taxonomy and SFDR Regulations, and the CSDDD Directive. Just the recitals (the first few dozen numbered paragraphs preceding the first article of each legal act), without reading the provisions themselves. Then compare them with the detailed provisions of the articles, or even better, the implementing provisions. And with what you actually do on a daily basis in companies to comply with all these regulations. Do you see a discrepancy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intention <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/PL\/TXT\/?uri=CELEX:52018DC0097\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em>Action plan: financing sustainable economic growth<\/em><\/a> The 2018 directive, which is the source of all the regulations we are facing today, was intended to mobilize and streamline the flow of hundreds of billions of euros per year to finance new, developing sectors of the economy that will enable Europe not only to achieve sustainable growth, but also to become a leader in many areas. Meanwhile, we are preoccupied with meticulous accounting of individual kilograms of CO<sub>2<\/sub> and translation before certified auditors to ensure that we have correctly calculated the number of hours allocated to employee training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was not the point. It is good that the European Commission has recognized that the aim of the changes is not reporting for reporting's sake. It was and still is about systemic change, about enabling European companies to become global leaders who can grow on a solid foundation and making them resilient to the turmoil that is already present and will only increase in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, we will continue to collect and calculate ESG data, but above all, we need it to be able to actively and strategically manage change. After all, sustainable development is about development and creating value. And to create value, companies must be resilient. They face many challenges. Those related to reporting are the easiest to manage because they depend on legal regulations, which can be modified. The needs of people reflected in human rights or planetary boundaries cannot be changed, and they ultimately set the framework within which we all operate.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Elkington, one of the pioneers of sustainability and creator of the Triple Bottom Line concept, made an unexpected move a few years ago. After a quarter of a century of TBL's existence, he withdrew the concept, just as manufacturers withdraw devices from the market when a fault is detected. This is a very unusual course of action for something that is not a physical product, but a management concept. The European Commission's as-yet unspecified plans for sustainable finance and sustainability reporting obligations seem to mimic what Elkington did. What are the similarities?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-1313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter-piotra-biernackiego","tag-przepisy-i-regulacje"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle) &#8226; MATERIALITY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/knowledge-and-practice\/elkington-was-first-as-usual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle) &#8226; MATERIALITY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John Elkington, jeden z pionier\u00f3w sustainability i tw\u00f3rca poj\u0119cia Tripple Bottom Line, kilka lat temu wykona\u0142 niespodziewany ruch. Po \u0107wier\u0107wieczu funkcjonowania TBL wycofa\u0142 t\u0119 koncepcj\u0119 tak jak producenci wycofuj\u0105 z rynku urz\u0105dzenia, w kt\u00f3rych wykryto usterk\u0119. To bardzo niestandardowe post\u0119powanie w przypadku czego\u015b, co nie jest fizycznym produktem, a koncepcj\u0105 z zakresu zarz\u0105dzania. Nieskonkretyzowane jeszcze plany Komisji Europejskiej dotycz\u0105ce zr\u00f3wnowa\u017conych finans\u00f3w i obowi\u0105zk\u00f3w sprawozdawczych w zakresie zr\u00f3wnowa\u017conego rozwoju wydaj\u0105 si\u0119 na\u015bladowa\u0107 to, co zrobi\u0142 Elkington. Na czym polegaj\u0105 te podobie\u0144stwa?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/knowledge-and-practice\/elkington-was-first-as-usual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MATERIALITY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/materialitypl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/kontakt-hero.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2112\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1110\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"@dm1N-1G@\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"@dm1N-1G@\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/add2478f07f77004ce1e942805f5c153\"},\"headline\":\"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle)\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":561,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Przepisy i regulacje\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Newsletter Piotra Biernackiego\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/\",\"name\":\"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle) &#8226; MATERIALITY\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wiedza-i-praktyka\\\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/\",\"name\":\"MATERIALITY\",\"description\":\"Sustainability Pathfinders\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"MATERIALITY\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MATERIALITY\",\"alternateName\":\"Materiality\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-favicon-materiality.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-favicon-materiality.webp\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"MATERIALITY\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/materialitypl\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/materialitypl\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/materiality.pl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/add2478f07f77004ce1e942805f5c153\",\"name\":\"@dm1N-1G@\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"@dm1N-1G@\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elkington was first (as usual) \u2022 MATERIALITY","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/knowledge-and-practice\/elkington-was-first-as-usual\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle) &#8226; MATERIALITY","og_description":"John Elkington, jeden z pionier\u00f3w sustainability i tw\u00f3rca poj\u0119cia Tripple Bottom Line, kilka lat temu wykona\u0142 niespodziewany ruch. Po \u0107wier\u0107wieczu funkcjonowania TBL wycofa\u0142 t\u0119 koncepcj\u0119 tak jak producenci wycofuj\u0105 z rynku urz\u0105dzenia, w kt\u00f3rych wykryto usterk\u0119. To bardzo niestandardowe post\u0119powanie w przypadku czego\u015b, co nie jest fizycznym produktem, a koncepcj\u0105 z zakresu zarz\u0105dzania. Nieskonkretyzowane jeszcze plany Komisji Europejskiej dotycz\u0105ce zr\u00f3wnowa\u017conych finans\u00f3w i obowi\u0105zk\u00f3w sprawozdawczych w zakresie zr\u00f3wnowa\u017conego rozwoju wydaj\u0105 si\u0119 na\u015bladowa\u0107 to, co zrobi\u0142 Elkington. Na czym polegaj\u0105 te podobie\u0144stwa?","og_url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/knowledge-and-practice\/elkington-was-first-as-usual\/","og_site_name":"MATERIALITY","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/materialitypl\/","article_published_time":"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2112,"height":1110,"url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/kontakt-hero.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"@dm1N-1G@","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/"},"author":{"name":"@dm1N-1G@","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#\/schema\/person\/add2478f07f77004ce1e942805f5c153"},"headline":"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle)","datePublished":"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/"},"wordCount":561,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#organization"},"keywords":["Przepisy i regulacje"],"articleSection":["Newsletter Piotra Biernackiego"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/","url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/","name":"Elkington was first (as usual) \u2022 MATERIALITY","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-17T11:58:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T18:21:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wiedza-i-praktyka\/elkington-byl-pierwszy-jak-zwykle\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Elkington by\u0142 pierwszy (jak zwykle)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/","name":"MATERIALITY","description":"Sustainability Pathfinders","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#organization"},"alternateName":"MATERIALITY","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#organization","name":"MATERIALITY","alternateName":"Materiality","url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-favicon-materiality.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-favicon-materiality.webp","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"MATERIALITY"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/materialitypl\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/materialitypl\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/#\/schema\/person\/add2478f07f77004ce1e942805f5c153","name":"@dm1N-1G@","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0965ab2ca89366c100a6978315ef84a1db5832cc251654877b049a0e3b966653?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"@dm1N-1G@"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materiality.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}