BSC Director Jessica Thomas Recognized for Work Promoting Triple Bottom Line Principles

Jessica Thomas, director of the NC State Business Sustainability Collaborative (BSC) based in the NC State Poole College of Management, is one of four individuals that will be recognized by the North Carolina Business Council at its Second Annual Leadership in Visionary Enterprise Awards Luncheon, held on November 8, 2018.

The program “honors four business leaders who have demonstrated excellence in implementing and promoting Triple Bottom Line business principles – putting a premium on people, planet, and profit.” The event was held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Raleigh.

In her work through the Business Sustainability Collaborative, Thomas prepares students to serve as consultants through the BSC’s B Corp Clinic, helping companies in the process of achieving B Corps status by implementing Triple Bottom Line principles.

Read more about Thomas at the BSC website.

Also to be recognized at the Leadership in Visionary Enterprise Awards Luncheon are:

• Seth Gross, owner of Bull City Burger & Brewery;
• Sarah Parker, owner of Durham Catering; and
• Lloyd Smith, CEO, Cortech Solutions, Inc.

Christopher Chang, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), delivered the keynote address.

“In recent years, a growing number of for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations have adopted TBJ sustainability framework to evaluate their performance,” according to a statement in an NCBC news release about the award.

“The TBL is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental and financial. The movement is paying off. Earlier this year, the investment magazine Barron’s produced its first annual list of the 100 most sustainable companies in the USA. It reported that these companies enjoyed remarkable share price growth of 29% in 2017, compared to 22% for the S&P 500 index.”

Originally published on Poole College of Management News.