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Book

Beyond the Triple Bottom Line

Eight steps toward a sustainable business model

By Francisco Szekely and Zahir Dossa

224 pages

Hardcover

Overview

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Overview

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Many recent books make the case for businesses to become more sustainable, but few explain the specifics. In this book, Francisco Szekely and Zahir Dossa offer a pragmatic new business model for sustainability that extends beyond the traditional framework of the triple bottom line, describing eight steps that range from exploring a vision and establishing a strategy to implementing the strategy and promoting innovation.

Szekely and Dossa argue that businesses and organizations need to move away from the business case for sustainability toward a sustainable business model. That is, businesses should go beyond the usual short-term focus on minimizing harm while maximizing profits. Instead, businesses on the path to sustainability should, from the start, focus on addressing a societal need and view profitability not as an end but as a means to support the sustainable organization.

Szekely and Dossa explore key problems organizations face when pursuing a sustainability agenda. Each chapter presents one of the eight steps, describes a business dilemma for sustainability, provides a theoretically grounded strategic framework, offers case studies that illustrate the dilemma, and summarizes key findings; the case studies draw on the experiences of such companies as Tesla Motors, Patagonia, TOMs, and Panera. The book emphasizes leadership, arguing that leaders who question the status quo, inspire others, and take risks are essential for achieving sustainable business practices.

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Axiom Book Awards 2018
Category: Sustainability
Bronze medal

Hardcover

eBook

You can also buy the book on Barnes & Nobles, Book Depository, Orell Füssli and Routledge.

Publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Press

ISBN

9780262035996

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Article

Do more with sustainability data

Many large companies have invested significant amounts of time and capital into sustainability reporting. In 2022, the European Union’s ambitious sustainability reporting framework, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, was projected t...

Sustainability

By Elizabeth A. Teracino, Florian Hoos and Christine Legner

in MIT Sloan Management Review Blog

9 November 2026

Article

Luxury’s growth problem: Can rarity and sustainability restore its appeal?

Earlier this year at Milan Fashion Week, Alessandro Sartori, artistic director of luxury menswear brand Zegna, presented a collection inspired by “a family closet,” emphasizing the emotional value of clothes passed down from grandfathers to grands...

Luxury Sustainability

By Stéphane J. G. Girod

in Observer

30 October 2026

Article

Closing the climate–economics communication gap

As the IPCC is in its seventh assessment cycle, bridging the gap between physical climate science and economics has become more urgent. Estimating climate damages requires a rigorous translation of physical hazards into economic losses, highlighti...

Sustainability Economics

By Steven C. Sherwood, Marion Amiot, Karl Schmedders and et al.

in Nature Climate Change

28 October 2026, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02784-w

Article

True rarity, short supply chains, and made-on-demand models: What today’s luxury brands can learn from the pre-1990s

Luxury brands have witnessed three decades of unprecedented growth. In April 2023, LVMH, home to the likes of Givenchy and Guerlain, even briefly became Europe’s most valuable company. Since then, most luxury giants have lost momentum. Estée Laude...

Luxury Sustainability

By Stéphane J. G. Girod

in Fast Company

22 October 2026

Case Study

A bittersweet paradox: From zero child labor to human rights due diligence

Sustainability Business Ethics Stakeholder Management Supply Chain

By Vanina Farber, María Helena Jaén, Zoe Gudino, Johanna Beatrice Frisch De Crousaz, Simon Paul Ntah and Elisabeth Reus

Article

Why CFOs should build resilience before they need it

Pirelli CFO Fabio Bocchio explains how disciplined capital allocation, sustainability investment, and balance-sheet strength build resilience.

Finance Finance Leadership Sustainability Value Creation

By I by IMD

in I by IMD

Case Study

Holcim: Transitioning toward net zero

Sustainability Change Management Business Transformation Strategy

By Frédéric Dalsace, Goutam N. Challagalla and Nicholas Abery

Article

Luxury’s next competitive advantage is sustainability and business transformation

Luxury’s approach to sustainability has hit a dead end. In Purposeful Luxury, I show that the top 100 luxury brands have started to conscientiously reduce negative impacts across the three ESG categories. But the results are largely insufficient b...

Sustainability Luxury

By Stéphane J. G. Girod

in The European Business Review

11 October 2026

Video

Why sustainability lies at the heart of leadership

André Hoffmann explores how leaders can build resilient businesses by putting nature, purpose, and long-term value at the heart of their decisions.

Board Corporate Governance Sustainability

By Florian Hoos

in I by IMD

Article

Sustainability reporting isn’t the same as risk preparedness

Sustainability reporting is now common among large companies. According to the OECD, firms representing 91% of global listed market capitalization disclose sustainability-related information. Yet we find that firms with strong reporting often assu...

Sustainability

By Christos Cabolis and Karl Schmedders

in HBR.org

9 October 2026

Do more with sustainability data

By Elizabeth A. Teracino Florian Hoos and Christine Legner
in MIT Sloan Management Review Blog 9 November 2026

Summary

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Sustainability

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Luxury’s growth problem: Can rarity and sustainability restore its appeal?

By Stéphane J. G. Girod
in Observer 30 October 2026

Summary

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Luxury

Sustainability

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Closing the climate–economics communication gap

By Steven C. Sherwood Marion Amiot Karl Schmedders and et al.
in Nature Climate Change 28 October 2026, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02784-w

Summary

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Related topics

Sustainability

Economics

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True rarity, short supply chains, and made-on-demand models: What today’s luxury brands can learn from the pre-1990s

By Stéphane J. G. Girod
in Fast Company 22 October 2026

Summary

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Luxury

Sustainability

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A bittersweet paradox: From zero child labor to human rights due diligence

By Vanina Farber María Helena Jaén Zoe Gudino Johanna Beatrice Frisch De Crousaz Simon Paul Ntah and Elisabeth Reus
Case reference: IMD-2712 ©2026

Summary

What does a zero target measure? In 2016, Barry Callebaut launched Forever Chocolate with a pledge to eradicate child labor from its supply chain by 2025. For its 2021-22 financial year, the company reported over 25,000 cases of child labor identified and 2,844 remediated. In May 2023, it changed the target: By 2025, human rights due diligence would cover its entire cocoa supply chain and every identified case would be remediated. A Bittersweet Paradox: From Zero Child Labor to Human Rights Due Diligence uses this decision to examine how zero KPIs and impact metrics behave in practice. A zero KPI states an absolute ethical demand in a single number. That simplicity mobilizes action. It can also conceal the conditions that determine whether change lasts: persistent poverty in farming communities, limited access to education, and constraints that no single company can resolve alone. But Zero KPIs also set a measurement trap. Stronger monitoring uncovers more cases so improved visibility looks like deteriorating performance. A report of zero cases can say more about what an organization fails to see than about the children it has protected. The replacement metrics raise their own questions. Is abandoning zero child labor a retreat or an evolution in the sustainability strategy compliant with the new regulatory environment? Students work with the company's reported figures through the eyes of a sustainability manager, an investor, a child rights organization and a farmer cooperative, each reading the same evidence differently. The questions apply more broadly: to net zero emissions, zero workplace harm and zero discrimination. What exactly does 'zero' cover? Do incentives reward discovering problems? Who verifies that remediation lasts? Do indicators reveal progress or reward an attractive appearance of success?

Reference IMD-2712

Organization Barry Callebaut

Available Languages English

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Related topics

Sustainability

Business Ethics

Stakeholder Management

Supply Chain

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Why CFOs should build resilience before they need it

By I by IMD
in I by IMD

Summary

Pirelli CFO Fabio Bocchio explains how disciplined capital allocation, sustainability investment, and balance-sheet strength build resilience.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Finance

Finance Leadership

Sustainability

Value Creation

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Holcim: Transitioning toward net zero

By Frédéric Dalsace Goutam N. Challagalla and Nicholas Abery
Case reference: IMD-2759 ©2026

Summary

Holcim is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures cement and building materials. Excluding China, it is the top cement producer in the world. Holcim is also a top 50 CO2 emissions emitter. And it decisively put sustainability efforts front and center in its overall strategy. The case describes the integration of different sustainability initiatives into Holcim's overall strategy over more than a decade, a period during which the firm underwent massive transformations, including a merger with Lafarge, a major pivot from cement to construction materials, the sale of assets in key countries and a spin off of its North-American operations. The case pivots the discussion from the traditional question: 'What does Holcim do for sustainability?' to a more interesting one: 'What does sustainability do for Holcim?' It brings clarity to the different ways through which sustainability contributes to the firm's strategy: compliance, resilience and market advantage. Focusing on market advantage, it shows the vast repertoire of sustainability actions that can impact a firm's strategy and how sustainability can be leveraged to create value. It also reveals that not all sustainability actions are designed to have a sustainability impact.

Reference IMD-2759

Organization Holcim Group

Industry Materials, Construction Materials;Materials, Cement

Available Languages English

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Sustainability

Change Management

Business Transformation

Strategy

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