Developing competitive advantage using the triple bottom line: a conceptual framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for a sustainability model to be used by industrial companies for establishing a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach Literature is replete with sustainability models for business; however, few of these models are specific to the industrial supply chain market sector. The authors propose a novel approach for comparing/normalizing data from all three components of the Triple Bottom Line (3BL) sustainability model. Findings A shortcoming of the 3BL sustainability model has been that the data cannot be easily normalized and compared across the three categories of the model. The findings of this paper suggest that it may be possible to develop a model that includes both environmental and social responsibility scales, combined with the more traditional financial data, as a tool for competitive advantage using generalizable data. Practical implications As the industrial companies continue to put increasing pressure on both the upstream and downstream suppliers in their supply chain to demonstrate sound sustainability practice, this model could serve to provide a company with competitive advantage. Originality/value This paper proposes a novel approach to assessing environmental, social and financial impact as a tool for competitive advantage.