Integral Logistics Management — Operations Management and Supply Chain Management Within and Across Companies

3.3.6 CSR and IPL Statement — Social and Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Supply Chains in Industrial Practice

Intended learning outcomes: Produce an overview on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Present in detail the integrated profit and loss statement (IPL) of Holcim Global.



The awareness from various stakeholders for Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL) thinking and acting becomes evident when looking at the increasing effort of multinational corporations related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Sustainability reporting can be misused to “greenwash” the image of a company. To prevent this, reporting reqires transpa­rency, complete­ness, relevance, and auditability. See here also [SuRi16].

A current example from industrial practice for the above mentioned method of “full costing” is the integrated profit and loss statement (IPL) of Holcim Ltd. [Holc22], one of the global market leaders in the building materials industry (cement, concrete, aggregates and asphalt). Holcim has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for more than 10 years. The aim of this index is to track the financial performance of best-in-class companies worldwide. It examines economic, environmental and social criteria with a focus on long-term value for stakeholders. Holcim's IPL was first used in 2014 with an effort to quantitatively measure TBL. Fig. 3.3.6.1 shows the IPL as a waterfall representation. This lists the various indicators that contribute to TBL.

Fig. 3.3.6.1. The integrated profit and loss statement (IPL) of Holcim Global [Holc22].

In [Holc22], Holcim mentions that “Triple bottom line can be used to assess opportunities beyond compliance”, whereby it mentions “compliance with governance, social and envi­ron­mental requirements and standards”. In essence, IPL emphasizes the goal of continuously striving for sustainability and measuring progress over time. Moreover, IPL can already be used to “to identify where 1 US dollar invested would bring the highest societal return”.




Course section 3.3: Subsections and their intended learning outcomes