Itc Triple Bottom Line Performance Marketing Essay

Sustainable development implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

History of TBL

John Elkington coined the term “Triple Bottom Line”. He reflects on what got him to that point, what has happened since – and where the agenda may now be headed. It was later expanded and articulated in his 1998 book Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business, Sustainability, itself, was first defined by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations in 1987.

People – Planet – Profit version of TBL

triple-bottom-line1.jpg

The triple bottom line is made up of “social, economic and environmental”. The “people, planet, profit” phrase was coined for Shell by Sustainability. “People, planet and profit” succinctly describes the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability.

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“People” (human capital) pertains to fair and beneficial business practices toward labor and the community and region in which a corporation conducts its business. A TBL company conceives a reciprocal social structure in which the well-being of corporate, labor and other stakeholder interests are interdependent. A triple bottom line enterprise seeks to benefit many constituencies, not exploit or endanger any group of them.

“Planet” (natural capital) refers to sustainable environmental practices. A TBL company endeavors to benefit the natural order as much as possible or at the least do no harm and curtail environmental impact. A TBL endeavor reduces its ecological footprint by, among other things, carefully managing its consumption of energy and non-renewables and reducing manufacturing waste as well as rendering waste less toxic before disposing of it in a safe and legal manner.

“Profit” is the economic value created by the organization after deducting the cost of all inputs, including the cost of the capital tied up. It therefore differs from traditional accounting definitions of profit. In the original concept, within a sustainability framework, the “profit” aspect needs to be seen as the real economic benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the real economic impact the organization has on its economic environment. This is often confused to be limited to the internal profit made by a company or organization (which nevertheless remains an essential starting point for the computation). Therefore, an original TBL approach cannot be interpreted as simply traditional corporate accounting profit plus social and environmental impacts unless the “profits” of other entities are included as a social benefits.

Seven drivers of TBL

Sustainability has been fast emerging as a mega trend on the rise and a key survival issue for organizations in the 21st century, as indicated by constant media coverage and rising public pressures in the wake of mounting evidence of irreversible environmental damage. Business enterprises have been called upon to control the Triple Bottom Line – the economic, social and environmental aspects of business operations. Many businesses have responded to this call to boosting their triple bottom line in a variety of ways using different campaigns, “Go-Green”, “Health and Wellness” and “The Greater Good Business Model”.

As per Elkington, in the simplest terms, the TBL agenda focuses corporations not just on the economic value that they add, but also on the environmental and social value that they add – or destroy. With its dependence on seven closely linked revolutions, the sustainable capitalism transition will be one of the most complexes our species has ever had to negotiate (Elkington, 1997). Business, much more than governments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will be in the driving seat. Paradoxically, this will not make the transition any easier for business people. For many it will prove grueling, if not impossible. Organizations should have a systematic approach to sustainability-driven initiatives aimed to fulfill all the seven drivers of the TBL. This will allow organizations more clearly to see if those expectations have been realized, to intervene to guide the action towards the predicted outcome, and to learn from the process. Achieving this paradigm shift in all TBL fronts remain challenging for many organizations. If any one company fits this profile that would be GE

Drivers

Old Paradigm

New Paradigm

Markets

Compliance

Competition

Values (Economic,

Social & Environmental)

Hard

Soft

Transparency

Closed

Open

Life-Cycle Technology

Product

Function

Partnerships

Subversion

Symbiosis

Time

Wider

Longer

Corporate Governance

Exclusive

Inclusive

ITC Triple Bottom Line Performance

ITC has been contributing in all the three parts of triple bottom line, be it economic, environmental or social initiatives. With special committee for sustainability, Triple bottom line is always kept in mind when ITC goes ahead with its work.

ITC sustainability Committee

The role of the Sustainability Committee is to review, monitor and provide strategic direction to the Company’s sustainability practices towards fulfilling its triple bottom line objectives. The Committee seeks to guide the Company in integrating its social and environmental objectives with its business strategies.

Composition

The Sustainability Committee comprises the Chairman of the Company and five Non-Executive Directors, three of whom are Independent Directors. The Chairman of the Company is the Chairman of the Committee.

The growth agenda can become sustainable only if it includes in its wake strategies, both national andcorporate, to enhance environmental and societal capital, thereby translating to development. In line with this philosophy, ITC is pro-actively engaged in enlarging its contribution across the three dimensions of the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ – economic, environmental and social – through a conscious strategy of investment and operations that enhances the competitiveness of entire value chains it is engaged in.

Economic Highlights as part of triple bottomline

ITC is the leading FMCG marketeer in India, the second largest Hotel chain, the clear market leader in the Indian Paperboard and Packaging industry and the country’s foremost Agri-business player. Additionally, its wholly owned subsidiary is one of India’s fastest growing Information Technology companies in the mid-tier segment.

Gross Turnover for the year grew by 13.5% to Rs. 26259.60 crores. Net Turnover at Rs. 18153.19 crores grew by 16.3% primarily driven by a 20.9% growth in the non-cigarette FMCG businesses, a 19.8% growth in the Cigarettes business and a 17.4% growth in the Paperboards, Paper & Packaging segment. Pre-tax profits increased by 24.7% to Rs. 6015.31 crores while Post-tax profits at Rs. 4061 crores registered a growth of 24.4%. Earnings Per Share for the year stands at Rs. 10.73 (previous year Rs. 8.66). Cash flows from Operations stood at Rs. 6620 crores during the year, compared to Rs. 4682 crores in the previous year

During this period, ITC’s Gross Turnover and Post-tax profits recorded an impressive compound growth of 12.4% and 21.7% per annum respectively. Profitability, as measured by Return on Capital Employed improved substantially from 28.4% to 41% during this period. Total Shareholder Returns, measured in terms of increase in market capitalisation and dividends, grew at a compound rate of 24.3% during this period, placing ITC amongst the foremost in the country in terms of efficiency of servicing financial capital. ITC today is one of India’s most admired and valuable corporations with a market capitalisation in excess of Rs. 100000 crores. In celebration of ITC completing a century

The ITC group’s contribution to foreign exchange earnings over the last ten years amounted to nearly USD 4.1 billion, of which agri exports constituted 60%. Earnings from agri exports are an indicator of ITC’s contribution to the rural economy through effectively linking small farmers with international markets.

(Rs Crores)

Key Economic Indicators

2007

2008

Gross Turnover

19300

21356

Net Turnover

12164

13948

Exports

1926

1695

Contribution to Government/Exchequer

8455

10768

Cost of Bought out Goods and Services

7578

8810

Employee Wages & Salaries

630

733

Payments to Providers of Capital – Interest and Dividend

1170

1324

Retained Profits

1335

1577

Community Investments

64

57

Environmental Intiatives as part of Triple Bottom Line

ITC benefits from the generation of sustainable raw material at competitive prices, while conserving scarce environmental resources. All businesses of ITC are mandated to achieve 100% solid waste recycling. The manufacturing and hotel businesses recycled 99.8% of the solid waste generated. The Paperboard and Specialty Paper business not only recycled 99.9% of the waste generated by its operations, but also recycled an additional 125,931 Tons of externally sourced waste paper, thereby adding to its positive environmental footprint.

ITC continued with its commitment to ensure a healthy and safe workplace for its own employees as well as those of the service providers, including guests and visitors, by maintaining the highest levels of safety and occupational health standards across all its units. The Environment, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems in all manufacturing units and hotels conform to the requirements of the International Standards Organisation and are certified by independent, accredited third parties. Numerous certifications and awards, both national and international, have endorsed these standards and practices, bearing testimony to ITC’s commitment to augmenting economic, environmental and social capital for the nation.

Mitigating Climate Change Impact through Diversification of Farming Systems

ITC’s engagement in the social sector since 2000 has addressed these major challenges through interventions on two simultaneous fronts:

Diversifying Farming Systems, as a strategy for climate change mitigation by broad-basing the farm-based livelihoods portfolio of the poor. Initiatives have been spearheaded in five major areas: e-Choupal, wasteland development, soil and moisture conservation, value-added crop rotation and animal husbandry programme.

Expanding Off-farm Income Opportunities, to reduce the disproportionate dependence of rural households on land for supporting livelihoods with the help of two initiatives: economic empowerment of women and community development.

Coverage: Projects implemented during 2009-10 stood at 66, spread across 51 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Together, these programmes reach out to more than 2.20 lakh households and over 1.20 million individuals who are directly benefited by the various interventions spread over 3787 villages.

Soil & Moisture Conservation

This programme was designed to help farmers in identified moisture stressed districts through scientific soil and moisture conservation projects, continues to bring precious water resources to several rural communities. 278 large and small water-harvesting structures were constructed during the year, taking the cumulative total to 2,813 structures to date. These projects created 4.83 lakh person days of work during the current year for the landless and marginal farmers, taking the total to 13.8 lakh person days of employment. As a result, the total area covered under the watershed programme touched 51,294 hectares, covering some of the country’s severely moisture-stressed districts. These structures provide critical irrigation security to 28,301 hectares and have contributed to the Company’s ‘Water Positive’ status.

These meaningful interventions in watershed 

Co2 emissions and sequestration

ITC continued to consolidate its ‘Carbon Positive’ status for the 5th year in a row through concerted efforts in energy conservation, enhanced use of renewable energy resources and large scale carbon sequestration through farm & social forestry initiatives.

It made special emphasis on Carbon Footprint reduction. Specific energy consumption at the Haridwar Units of the Personal Care and Foods businesses reduced substantially as illustrated in the chart below:

Business

Product Portfolio

Percentage Reduction in Specific Energy

Personal Care

Soap

20.4

Shampoo/Cream

31.0

Foods

Biscuit

21.3

Snack Foods

16.8

Similarly, specific energy consumption reduced by 9.7% and 16.3% at the leaf threshing Units in Chirala and Anaparti, 8.7% at ITC’s largest cigarette factory at Bengaluru, 22.6% at Hotel ITC Windsor and by 17.3% at Sheraton, New Delhi.

Total CO2 emissions from ITC’s operations (manufacturing & freight) amounted to 1709 Kilotonnes in 2009-10 (1,572 Kilotonnes in 2008-09). Higher CO2 emissions were on account of significant growth in most businesses and increased pulp production which substitutes imported pulp. The new 6MW wind energy plant and the 90 TPH bio-mass residue fired boiler have contributed to a reduction in CO2 emissions for only part of the year and the impact of these initiatives is expected to be much larger during the course of 2010-11.page27-1

ITC’s farm and social forestry initiatives added 13,333 hectares of plantations during 2009-10. Total plantations, as on March 31, 2010 covered over 1,00,000 hectares. The social & farm forestry initiatives have not only contributed to a sustainable source of raw material for the Paperboards business, but also helped sequester 4785 KT of CO2, thus consolidating ITC’s status as a ‘Carbon Positive Company’ for the fifth year in a row. The forestry programme has also created over 46 million person days of employment for marginal farmers and tribals.

Waster Paper Recycling

Waste paper is a key source of fibre in the manufacture of recycled boards. Unfortunately, mobilization of waste paper in India has been very low at 14% as against 60% in developed countries. ITC has launched a collaborative initiative, called ‘WOW’ (Wealth Out of Waste), for improving waste paper recycling. It has established an efficient collection and recycling chain, targeting large sources of aggregation such as schools, offices, residential colonies and apartments. Winning international appreciation, this initiative was conferred the ‘Papyrus Award’ by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), in recognition of its services and contribution to the recycling industry. Apart from creating employment opportunities and heightened civic responsibility, the ‘WOW’ initiative is serving to preserve and protect the environment, improve civic amenities, public health and hygiene.

We can see below though the waste as increased owing to more production, the % recycled has also increased by 1%.

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

Total Waste (tonnes)

352,970

490,180

578,865

% Recycled

98.9%

98.8

99.8%

Un-recycled Waste (tonnes)

3706

5893

1099

External Wastes Used as Raw Materials (tonnes)**

163,245

125,337

125,931

Waste Recycling Footprint (%)*

145

124

122

* Waste recycling footprint (%):

Wasteland development

ITC’s pioneering initiative of wasteland development through the Social Forestry Programme has so far promoted plantations over 16,442 hectares in 480 villages, covering 19,376 poor households. The households covered under the Social Forestry Programme continue to reap the benefits derived from cut plantations. The total income gained to date is nearly Rs. 12 crores from 2,700 hectares. Not only have their earnings per acre improved significantly as a result of the sale of plantations, but most beneficiaries have also ensured that the contribution to the Village Development Fund continues apace, which has grown to nearly Rs. 94 lakhs. In addition, their own incomes have been invested wisely into productive assets to ensure a long-term virtuous cycle of development.

In continuation of its policy to provide an integrated solution for promoting sustainable water management, ITC has focused on interventions that ensure efficient usage of water aimed at improving farm productivity, promoting group irrigation projects and demonstrating the use of agricultural implements including sprinkler sets. During 2009-10, 79 group irrigation projects covering 298 farmers were installed. Sustainable Agricultural Practices were continued with the promotion of 230 organic fertiliser units through vermi-composting and NADEP technologies during the year. Several varieties of paddy, gram and wheat have been tested in 474 field demonstrations leading to participative selection of higher productive strains by farmers.

Leveraging its green products:

The ‘Classmate’ range of products are outsourced from best-in-class vendors. Notebooks were sourced from small scale manufacturers, who have continuously improved their delivery and quality capability. A majority of them, with ITC’s assistance are ISO 9001:2000 certified. Paper and recycled board are sourced from ITC’s mills at Bhadrachalam and Kovai respectively. The paper used in Classmate notebooks leverages ITC’s world-class fibre line at Bhadrachalam which is India’s first ozone treated elemental chlorine free facility. Classmate notebooks continue to feature different aspects of sustainability as core themes, such as ‘Global Warming’, ‘Save the Environment’ and ‘Save the Tiger’, to name a few. These product values, which are contributing significantly to creating sustainability awareness among the country’s younger population, have distinctly enhanced classmate’s brand equity. Every ‘Classmate’ notebook also carries a powerful social message that reflects ITC’s commitment to improve the quality of primary education in rural India.

During the year the business took significant steps to promote ‘Paperkraft’, its executive and office supplies stationery brand. Working in tandem with ITC’s Paperboards & Specialty Paper Division (PSPD), the business has positioned ‘Paperkraft’ as the finest green paper for business applications viz. copy-scan-print-fax. Paperkraft’s green credentials are supported, among other factors, by ITC membership of the prestigious Global Forest & Trade Network, an international initiative of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and ITC’s social forestry programme which has created a green cover of over 100,000 hectares by planting high yielding varieties of trees. Paperkraft’s ‘green’ profile has begun to appeal to a number of corporate and other institutional consumers who are switching over to Paperkraft to symbolise their own commitment to reduce their carbon footprint.

Water Conservation

Though a large number of business Units have achieved significant reduction in specific water consumption, what needs special mention is that the Paperboards and Specialty Papers business which accounts for over 90% of ITC’s fresh water usage has achieved significant reduction in specific fresh water intake over the previous year.

Snapshot of achievements in reduction of water intake by the Paperboards and Specialty Papers business across all Units:

Unit

Specific Fresh Water Intake (KL/tonne)

Percentage Reduction

2008-09

2009-10

Bhadrachalam

72.2

54.7

24.3

Kovai

15.3

13.1

14.5

Bollarum

1.2

0.9

25.6

Tribeni

120.1

116.6

2.9

Some of the other Units that achieved significant savings in specific water intake during the year were: Anaparti Leaf Processing Plant (20.2%); Foods Business Unit at Haridwar (40.6%); Packaging & Printing Unit at Tiruvottiyur (10.3%); ITC Hotel Grand Central (12.7%), Maratha (10.4%), Sheraton Hotels Chola (16.6%) and Rajputana (11.9%).

Zero Effluent Discharge: The Cigarette Units at Bengaluru & Saharanpur, Leaf Processing Units at Anaparti & Chirala, Packaging & Printing Unit at Tiruvottiyur, Research Centres at Bengaluru & Rajahmundry, Paperboards Unit at Bollarum and ITC Green Centre at Gurgaon recycled all their treated effluents within the Unit.

Rainwater Harvesting: ITC continued to invest in rainwater harvesting potential (RWH) both within the Company premises and through external watershed development projects in socially relevant areas.

Total rainwater harvesting potential so far created by the Company is over three times the total water consumed by its operations.

Water Balance at ITC

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

Fresh water intake

27.5

32.7

29.96

Treated effluents discharged

19.0

24.5

23.41

Percentage of treated effluent utilised for irrigation by nearby farming community

79.4%

72.3%

84.8%

Net water consumption

8.5

8.2

6.55

RWH potential created within ITC Units

0.4

0.5

0.42

RWH potential* created through watershed projects (till date)

25.4

19.5

20.18

Total RWH potential* created (till date)

25.8

19.9

20.6

LEED Rating for its hotels and Wind Energy: ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru achieved the distinction of being the world’s largest hotel and the first in Asia to receive the LEED Platinum Rating for green buildings – yet another expression of ‘Responsible Luxury’. It is the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rated hotel in the world and the first in Asia to achieve this distinction. It was recognized as the ‘Best New Launch in the Luxury Upscale Category’ at the Hotel Investment Conference, South Asia. It has successfully occupied the niche position of ‘Responsible Luxury’ within a short span of time.

The business has invested in wind energy to provide clean power to its Mumbai property, the ITC Maratha. Additionally, solar energy is being used to produce steam at the ITC Maurya, New Delhi and the ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru. These green initiatives are being replicated at other locations across the ITC Welcomgroup chain.

Awards and Recognition: ITC became a member of the WWF Global Forest and Trade Network, the first Indian Company to have been so invited. ITC has also won the Forest Stewardship Council’s ‘Chain of Custody’ certification, a global industry benchmark for sustainable development, for its units at Bhadrachalam and Kovai. This certification is a global industry benchmark for sustainable development. All units of the business have obtained the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification. The Bhadrachalam unit was awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ by the British Safety Council. All four units got the ‘5 Star Rating’ from the British Safety Council for the first time in the same year. Further, the Bhadrachalam unit received the ‘5 Star Audit Grading for Environment’ in the very first audit.

Social Initiatives

Worldwide there is an increasing realisation that societal challenges arising out of poverty, environmental degradation and climate change pose an unprecedented threat to the future sustainability of businesses across the globe. ITC draws satisfaction from the fact that, foreseeing these challenges, it has vigorously pursued for more than a decade now a conscious strategy to align its businesses to serve a larger societal purpose. Unique business models have been crafted to synergistically deliver economic, environmental and social value.

ITC’s ‘Triple Bottom Line’ achievements are today acknowledged globally as exemplars in Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship. ITC continues to sustain its unique position as the only company in the world of its size to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive. Packaging Business ensure that 31% of ITC’s total energy requirements are met from renewable sources, thereby drastically reducing ITC’s carbon footprint.

Livestock Development

After land, livestock is the second most important asset for a vast majority of the rural population. Owned by more than 70%, it is one of the primary sources of livelihood. The Company’s Integrated Animal Husbandry Programme targets this source of livelihood through an artificial insemination programme aimed at increasing yields of milch animals. 40 additional Cattle Development Centres (CDCs) were established during the year, taking the total to 161 CDCs. 1.31 lakh artificial inseminations (AIs) were performed and 35,881 live births took place during the year, taking the total number of cross-bred calves born to date to 1.04 lakh. There was significant improvement in the average number of artificial inseminations performed per Cattle Development Centre, a trend that has continued since 2006-07. This was largely possible because of the robust performance of 51 financially viable CDCs, up from 18 CDCs last year

Economic Empowerment of Women

These programmes aim to genderise development by creating sustainable income opportunities for women. A total of 1,035 self-help groups were functional during the year with a membership of more than 14,000 women handling a total micro-credit corpus of Rs. 1.79 crore. In addition, the groups raised Rs. 98 lakh as loans from banks for various income generation activities during the year. 7,010 women were gainfully employed either through micro-enterprises (1,641) or as self-employed (5,369) through income generation loans.During the year, the business entered into partnerships with the Governments of Orissa, Assam and Tripura to set up sourcing centres which would create livelihood opportunities for rural women through agarbatti rolling. ITC continues to partner with small and medium enterprises to assist them in raising their process and quality standards.

Marketing Kisan Credit Cards and rural employment

ITC actively pursued its initiative of marketing Kisan Credit Cards on behalf of the State Bank of India. The quantum of farmer loans facilitated by the channel grew 29% during the year. Credit camps organised by the business to help farmers improve the awareness of a seemingly complex product like Kisan Credit Card drew all round appreciation from farmers and other stakeholders. This increased awareness and continuous communication at the field level significantly improved the quality of documentation and helped achieve a substantial reduction in rejection of applications and improved turnaround times.

Distribution of FMCG products in the rural markets through the e-Choupal network gained traction with throughput during the year recording an impressive increase of 44%. Plans are on the anvil to expand distribution reach of this initiative to more than 50,000 villages over the next 12 months.

Following the semi-urbanisation of some of the top-tier villages, rural youth from these areas now prefer urban jobs to agriculture and farm employment. Recognising the potential opportunity for the e-Choupal model in this space, the business, in alliance with Monster India – an online career and recruitment firm – launched a web portal christened ‘rozgarduniya.com’ during the year.This portal will enable job seekers in rural areas to apply for jobs through e-Choupals.

The e-choupal Initiative

The eChoupal initiative is part of ITC’s aim at addressing the social and economic bottom line – covergence approach of working with society. By 2007, e-Choupals were already spread over 38,000 villages with 6,500 e-Choupal installations serving close to 3.5 million farmers.

The initiative of ITC was successful in bringing two concepts together – Profits and People

Farmer’s Plight

ITC IBD – International Business Division was working on increasing the export of agricultural commodities like soyabean meal, rice using its strength in agri-business sector. In 1998, it realised that both the core stakeholders in ITC’s agri-business i.e. ITC and Farmer ‘s benefit was getting eroded due to the middlemen involved in the sale of produce from Farmer to ITC. The farmers never got a fair price as the price was always manipulated by the middlemen who ensured that the market information never reached the farmers correctly. On the other hand,the middlemen’s involvement would create blockage for procurement process of ITC.

Direct-to-Farmer Initiative – Improved Supply Chain

ITC decided to do away with the middlemen. In 2000 it set up the Internet kiosks in villages which would try to replace the infrastructure that the middlemen provided. The farmers would liase with ITC Sanchalak, ITC’s contact in the vilage, to obtain rate for his/her produce. Once the price is set, the farmer could go to ITC hub and to deliver the produce and get paid. ITC gained on the money saved on commission and transportation , whereas the farmer got the rightful price and grew wealthier.

The e-choupal delivery framework would consist of three parts

a) The website (echoupal.com) which would give information on prices of commodities in various exchanges, weather information, agricultural techniques.

b) Sanchalak: The kiosk manager ( who would be locally elected farmer) would liase between the computer terminal and the (often illiterate) farmers. ITC had trained the managers to evaluate a sample of produce and provide a spot quote to the farmer.

c) Choupal Sagars( ITC hub)

Choupal Sagars would serve as alternative to mandis. The farmer would bring the produce if he/she decides to sell it to ITC. The farmer had the benefit of accurate weighing of the produce and the payment within 2 hrs.

Economic Bottomline through e-choupal

The biggest economic benefit that e-choupal brought in was farmer’s role in price determination which triggered further improvement in productivity. Earlier the middlemen had a greater say determining the price and who would often neglect the quality of the produce that was sold. Hence there was no incentive to the farmer if he/she used scientific farming techniques for produce good quality of grains. With price determination on a fair basis, it also accounted for the quality of the grains. The farmers would now could get a better price for the foodgrains.They adopted modern farming techniques to ensure higher quality of seed. Instead of being an exploited farmer, they had transformed themselves to a confident entrepreneur.

Social Bottom line through e-choupal

The delivery of the information through Internet kiosks and the infrastructure proved to be enabler of social transformation. It brought in a lot of benefits in areas such as primary education, women empowerment and health ca