The Role of Triple Bottom Line Accounting in Advancing Sustainable Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61978/summa.v2i3.980Keywords:
Triple Bottom Line, Sustainability Reporting, Environmental Accounting, Corporate Social Responsibility, ESG Framework, Sustainable Development, Corporate GovernanceAbstract
Global demand for sustainability reporting has elevated Triple Bottom Line (TBL) accounting as a key framework that integrates financial, social, and environmental accountability. This review synthesizes research published between 2010 and 2024 to evaluate how TBL has been adopted, its effectiveness, and its limitations across regions and sectors. The study highlights that TBL adoption improves firm performance through profitability, stakeholder engagement, and ecological responsibility. Developed economies show stronger integration due to regulatory and market support, while developing economies face institutional and resource challenges. High-carbon industries struggle to adopt TBL comprehensively, whereas environmentally oriented sectors use it to innovate and increase efficiency. The review identifies regulation, consumer demand, and managerial capacity as critical drivers of success. It also emphasizes the need for standardized metrics, stronger adoption in emerging markets, and exploration of digital technologies to enhance practice. By comparing contexts, this study contributes a global perspective and underscores TBL as a strategic tool for sustainable corporate governance and long-term value creation.
References
Akremi, A., Gond, J., Swaen, V., Roeck, K., & Igalens, J. (2015). How do employees perceive corporate responsibility? Development and validation of a multidimensional corporate stakeholder responsibility scale. Journal of Management, 44(2), 619-657. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315569311 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315569311
Baker, H., Kumar, S., & Goyal, K. (2023). Publication trends in the Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting: A retrospective review. Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting, 34(2), 131-161. https://doi.org/10.1111/jifm.12176 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jifm.12176
Banke‐Thomas, A., Madaj, B., Ameh, C., & Broek, N. (2015). Social return on investment (SROI) methodology to account for value for money of public health interventions: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1935-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1935-7
Callingham, T., Ooi, D., Fan, L., & Roddick, F. (2021). A triple bottom line approach to optimising odour removal from a residential water supply. H2Open Journal, 4(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.2166/h2oj.2021.070 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/h2oj.2021.070
Farooq, Q., Fu, P., Liu, X., & Hao, Y. (2021). Basics of macro to microlevel corporate social responsibility and advancement in triple bottom line theory. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(3), 969–979. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2069 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2069
Gil-Marín, M., Vega-Muñoz, A., Contreras-Barraza, N., Salazar-Sepúlveda, G., Vera-Ruiz, S., & Losada, A. (2022). Sustainability accounting studies: A metasynthesis. Sustainability, 14(15), 9533. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159533 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159533
Ikpor, I., Bracci, E., Kanu, C., Ievoli, R., Okezie, B., Mlanga, S., … & Ogbaekirigwe, C. (2022). Drivers of sustainability accounting and reporting in emerging economies: Evidence from Nigeria. Sustainability, 14(7), 3780. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073780 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073780
Kulevicz, R., Porfírio, G., Oliveira, O., Zavala, A., Silva, B., & Constantino, M. (2020). Influence of sustainability reports on social and environmental issues: Bibliometric analysis and the word cloud approach. Environmental Reviews, 28(4), 380–386. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2019-0075 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2019-0075
Malik, M., & Abdallah, S. (2019). Sustainability initiatives in emerging economies: A socio-cultural perspective. Sustainability, 11(18), 4893. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184893 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184893
McElroy, M., & Thomas, M. (2015). The multicapital scorecard. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 6(3), 425–438. https://doi.org/10.1108/sampj-04-2015-0025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-04-2015-0025
Mook, L. (2020). Performance management, impact measurement and the sustainable development goals: The fourth wave of integrated social accounting? Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 11(2), 15. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjnser.2020v11n2a353 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29173/cjnser.2020v11n2a353
Nogueira, E., Gomes, S., & Lopes, J. (2024). Financial sustainability: Exploring the influence of the triple bottom line economic dimension on firm performance. Sustainability, 16(15), 6458. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156458 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156458
Sisaye, S., & Birnberg, J. (2024). The evolution of sustainability accounting and reporting in the United States: Applications of the ecological anthropology and industrial ecology frameworks. Journal of Business and Socio-Economic Development, 5(2), 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/jbsed-03-2023-0020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JBSED-03-2023-0020
Thoma, G., Ellsworth, S., & Yan, M. (2018). Principles of green food processing (including lifecycle assessment and carbon footprint). 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781782626596-00001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/9781782626596-00001
Webster, R. (2023). Climate action, staff engagement, and change management: A paediatric hospital case study. Healthcare Management Forum, 36(4), 195–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704231165482 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704231165482
Wilson, J. (2015). The triple bottom line. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 43(4/5), 432–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm-11-2013-0210 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-11-2013-0210
Yusoh, N. (2024). The impacts of environmental management accounting system (EMAS) adoption phases on sustainability performance: A social issue life cycle theory approach. Bangladesh Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research, 9(4), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.46281/bjmsr.v9i4.2245 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46281/bjmsr.v9i4.2245
Ghobakhloo, M., Asadi, S., Iranmanesh, M., Foroughi, B., Mubarak, M. F., & Yadegaridehkordi, E. (2023). Intelligent automation implementation and corporate sustainability performance: The enabling role of corporate social responsibility strategy. Technology in Society, 74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102301 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102301
Lee, H. J. (2024). Does corporate ESG, an essential factor for overcoming the climate crisis, affect sustainability: The effects of psychological distance and purchase intention. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(8), 8747–8758. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3945 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3945
Solovida, G. T., & Latan, H. (2021). Achieving triple bottom line performance: highlighting the role of social capabilities and environmental management accounting. Management of Environmental Quality, 32(3), 596–611. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-09-2020-0202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-09-2020-0202




