Topic: Triple bottom line in the plastic

manufacturing sector
CONTENTS

TABLE OF FIGURES..................................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................................4

WHAT IS TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE?....................................................................................................................4

THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT CONSISTS ONE THE THREE PS...................................................4

THE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT 1: PROFIT......................................................................................................4

THE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT 3: PLANET.....................................................................................................5

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?...............................................................................................................................5

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE....................................................6

ADVANTAGES.........................................................................................................................................................6

DISADVANTAGES..................................................................................................................................................7

WHO USES THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT?.......................................................................................7

BUSINESSES............................................................................................................................................................7

 ECONOMY....................................................................................................................................................7

 SOCIAL.........................................................................................................................................................8

 ENVIRONMENTAL.....................................................................................................................................8

GOVERNMENT.......................................................................................................................................................8

 ECONOMY....................................................................................................................................................8

 PEOPLE.........................................................................................................................................................8

 ENVIRONMENTAL.....................................................................................................................................9

NON-PROFITABLE ORGANISATIONS..............................................................................................................9

 ECONOMY....................................................................................................................................................9

 PEOPLE.........................................................................................................................................................9

 ENVIRONMENTAL.....................................................................................................................................9

THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR......................................................................................................10

WHAT OR WHO IS THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR?............................................................10

1|Page
 COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE PLASTIC PRODUCTS.................................................................................10

 VERI GREEN (PTY) LTD.........................................................................................................................10

 SIZABANTU PIPING SYSTEMS (PTY) LTD.........................................................................................11

 PRIDE PLASTIC AND PACKAGING CC...............................................................................................11

 MPACT........................................................................................................................................................11

 WAX PAK (PTY) LTD...............................................................................................................................12

 PRINCIPLE PLASTICS (PTY) LTD........................................................................................................12

 ITB SOLUTIONS........................................................................................................................................12

 ISIGIDI MEDICAL CC..............................................................................................................................12

EXAMPLES OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS USED ONCE:....................................................................................12

EXAMPLES OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS BEING USED BY OTHER INDUSTRIES:....................................14

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH THE PLASTIC PRODUCTS?...............................15

PROBLEM IDENTIFIED IN THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR...................................................16

WAYS IN WHICH THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR COULD USE THE TRIPLE BOTTOM
LINE CONCEPT........................................................................................................................................................16

 PROFIT............................................................................................................................................................17

 PEOPLE...........................................................................................................................................................17

 ENVIRONMENT............................................................................................................................................18

CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................................19

REFERENCES:...........................................................................................................................................................20

2|Page
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1.. Triple Bottom Line Concepts............................................................................................................4
Figure 2... Concept 1 - Profit..............................................................................................................................4
Figure 3... Concept 2 - People............................................................................................................................5
Figure 4.. Concept 3 - Planet..............................................................................................................................5
Figure 5… Proudly South African...................................................................................................................10
Figure 6... Picture of the Durban Beach Front.................................................................................................15
Figure 7... Medical waste found on Durban Beach..........................................................................................16
Figure 8... Picture of the Isipingo River in 2009..............................................................................................16
Figure 9... Example of A recyclable plastic home...........................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION

3|Page
WHAT IS TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE?
The triple bottom line is a concept that was developed by an entrepreneur in the year 1994. The triple bottom
line concept was developed to help businesses become more sustainable by consider their impact on society
and the environment rather than just concentrating on making a profit. For businesses that conduct the triple
bottom line strategy to means, businesses trying to improve the sustainability by insuring they are making a
positive impact on the community around them and the environment as much as they are concentrating on
making a profit in business operations.

Most businesses assume that shareholders are only interested in the business’s turn over but it found that
many shareholders are also interested in what the business does to contribute to the plant and for social
responsibility. To some businesses it may be time consuming as their main concern is profit maximisation.
But they fail to realise that by practicing the triple bottom line concept of social responsibility and
environmental impact, the business will benefit by building a better brand image and this will help promote
the business.

THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT CONSISTS ONE THE THREE PS

 PEOPLE – making sure that the business is always making
a profit
 PEOPLE – the business’s social impact on the community
that the operate in
 PLANET – the business’s impact on the environment

Figure 1… Triple Bottom Line Concepts

THE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT 1: PROFIT

Every business aims to making a profit, as businesses are
evaluated based on how liquid or how financially stable
they are. But businesses don’t realise that they need people
to support their business in order for them to make a profit
and a great way to ensure that you customers or clients
always choose your business in by ensuring that you give
Figure 2... Concept 1 - Profit
back to the community or the city that the operate in. It is
also a great way to attract new client as the business will gain publicity by doing things to help the

4|Page
community. HAPPY SOCIETY + HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT = INFLOW OF REVENUE
THE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT 2: PEOPLE

Social impact is the second component of the triple bottom

line concept. It is also known as corporate social
responsibility, it is the acts of the business to help invest in
the community that they operate in. For example donations
towards the covid 19 salutatory response fund, finding a
Figure 3... Concept 2 - People
way to help out the communities that was affected by the flooding or businesses such as Thirsty and aquelle
could donate water to areas that don’t have water.

THE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT 3: PLANET

Environmental impact is ways that the business can improve their
business operations to ensure that the product that they produce and
sell does not affect the environment negatively. For example:

 Businesses can try and use more electronic methods, such as

emailing of invoices, quotes, etc. instead of printing these
documents. This will help reduce the amount of paper been
Figure 4… Concept 3 - Planet used by the business and also results in less trees been cut down

 Businesses that produce plastic products can try and ensure that their products are environmental
friend or biodegradable.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?
Sustainability in the business refers to the combination of two aspects of the triple bottom line, this is the
environment and the people. This is when the business tries to improve their impact on the environment
while considering ways to improve the wellness of the communities around them. For example if a business
finds a way to ensure that there is less pollution, this will not only benefit the environment but it will also
benefit society as it will make the environment a healthy place to live. By doing so the business will have
endless possible benefits from this.

WHY IS TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE IMPORTANT?

The triple bottom line is important because it has an impact on everyone, it doesn’t just concern the business
and shareholders but it includes the members of the community that it operates in and the environment. It
helps the business find ways to give back to their employees, as employees play a major role in the business.
It also helps the business to set future goals to improve the business, by finding ways to reduce pollution the
business will also be benefiting as they will be finding a way to improve the business.
5|Page
THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TRIPLE BOTTOM
LINE
ADVANTAGES
“Do good and good will come to you” – Aman Mehdiratta. If a business practices doing good things, good
things shall happen to the business over time. For example:

 By the business investing in the betterment of the community and environment it will help the
business become well recognized by larger client base. As some businesses prefer supporting other
businesses that environmental conscious and are willing to invest in the community that they operate
in.
 Most businesses employee people or staff from the nearby community as it is easier for employees
to travel to work, by investing in the improvement of their community this will help keep employees
loyal to the business and it benefits the business as employees will keep wanting to work more
efficient and effectively to ensure profit maximisation in the business operations.
 Reducing pollution in the environment, this will result in a better working and living environment
for all.
 If businesses invest in nearby communities they will be investing in talent. This will help bring our
talent people from those communities and back to the business.
 Attract businesses investors and talented employees that have innovative ideas to better the business,
that will help achieve the triple bottom line goals and help the business maximise profits at the same
time.
 Businesses play a huge role in the economy, as they help decrease unemployment by creating more
employment and when they export their products to other countries they bring in income into the
country. This been said if businesses contribute to people and the plant through the triple bottom line
concept, this will make it lighter on the government when it comes to certain aspects of the public
and the environment. The business will still benefit from this as the government might recognise
what the business has done and when in need the government might step in and help the business
out.
 If businesses use alternative business advertising methods such as social medial platforms
(Facebook, Instagram, tiktok, etc.) they won’t just save on advertise costs but will also help save the
environment as there will be less paper been used for advertising.
 There is no specifications of what is required of a business to do to contribute nor is there any rule
or law saying that business should contribute back to the environment or community based on what
industry they belong to. Instead business could give back in ways that they see fit, and in ways that
they could afford and have resources to help with.
6|Page
DISADVANTAGES
 There is no guide lines to help businesses determine what is required of them. And there is no
documentation to serve as proof that a business is following the triple bottom line concept, as such
there could be businesses that are just claiming that they are practicing the concept.
 It may be a financial disadvantage to businesses in the short run as it will take some times before
business can start benefiting from the business recognition.
 It can become time consuming as the business will have part of their employees stop working on
clients orders and instead work on the triple bottom line goals. This will result in a decrease in
production.
 How does one measure the amount of contribution to society and the environment? How much is
good enough? It is difficult to measure how much the business is doing to give back to the
community or the environment.
 How will businesses know when they should apply the triple bottom line concept? There is no guide
line to inform a business when they should start applying the triple bottom line nor how much they
should do.

WHO USES THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT?

As the triple bottom line is meant for entities to take into consideration other aspects then just business
operations. Therefore the triple bottom line concept can be use by all types of businesses, the government
and non-profitable organisations.

BUSINESSES
All types of business are able to use the triple bottom line concept as it will help make their businesses a
become more sustainable and connected to the community around them. The triple bottom line is not all
about how the business can benefit from it but how the business can give back to the people that work for
them, people that support them and the environment. Everything that we do has a ripple effect it is up to the
business on what type of effect it wants to start, whether it is a positive or a negative one.

 ECONOMY
When it comes to the economy, businesses operations help contribute the country’s economy.
Another way businesses could help make a positive impact on the county’s economy is by
supporting other businesses in the same country instead of importing goods or products that will be
required in their production line.

 SOCIAL
As much as it is important for businesses to look out for the community they should first take a look
at what is happening in side of their premises, what is happening to their employees and if they
7|Page
 employees are taken care of. Business should first makes sure that they contribute to their
employees’ health care and pension fund. So when employees retire they would still have some
money to fall on.
Business could look for employees from nearby communities before they recruit employees that stay
in far off communities. This will make sure that employees in nearby communities are given the first
preference and will benefit the business as employees would be on time for work. For manufacturing
industries their engineers and electricians will be able to get to the factory quickly when there is an
emergency.

 ENVIRONMENTAL
Business once again should look at what is happening in their own premises before they consider
doing anything for everyone outside of their business. Management should first insure that their
employees working environment is safe. For example manufacturers in the oil and chemical industry
will have to ensure that their employees have the proper safety gear such as masks when working
with chemicals, hard hats and proper working gear such as boots. As employee’s safety is key,
without employees business operations cannot continue.

GOVERNMENT
The government makes decisions for the whole country, they ensure that the country is running smoothly in
terms of people been taken care of, the environment is being improved and the economy is stable. The
government makes use of the triple bottom line as they have different departments that are in charge of
different aspects of the triple bottom line concept.

 ECONOMY
The government helps reduce the amount of employment by encouraging businesses to employee
people. The government also creates employment by entering into contracts with people or
businesses that repair our roads.

 PEOPLE
Everything the government does is to takes care of its people, by ensuring that people by offering a
grant to them, ensuring that there is clinics in all communities.

 ENVIRONMENTAL
The government also takes care of the environment by ensuring that business don’t pollute the sea,
there is no illegal dumping taking place by the public and businesses. The government also takes
ensure that

8|Page
NON-PROFITABLE ORGANISATIONS
Non-profitable organisations aim to help others, they receive their funding through local donors and they use
their donations to give back to the people in the same country. This is why non-profitable organisations are
considered to be participating in triple bottom concept as it is their aim in their operations.

 ECONOMY
Non-profitable organisations such as gift of the givers, generate income from donations from
businesses and the general public. They don’t use this income or cash flow to give back to people
outside of the country instead this money stays inside the economy and is there for benefiting the
economy. They also try to support local as this helps benefit small businesses as it will help them
grow. This will then create a positive ripple effect by supporting local small business, this will help
them grow and by them growing they could create more employment.

 PEOPLE
Non-profitable organisations aim to benefit people that are in need.
For example non-profitable organisations where going around KZN and Gauteng distributing food
hampers to families that did not have anything after the unrest that took place in 2021. If it wasn’t for
non-profitable organisations many families would have died from starvation
Another example is during the floods that took place in April 2022, non-profitable organisations
together with their generous donors had distributed thousands of litres of water to areas that was left
with no drinking water for days and are currently still doing an excellent job at as there is still many
areas that are still without water.

 ENVIRONMENTAL
There is non-profitable organisations that aim just to protect the environment. Even though most
NGOs are more for people but they also find ways to give back to the environment whenever they
can. There is non-profitable organisations host annual beach clean-up, which helps sure our beaches
are clean and safe to use.

THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR

WHAT OR WHO IS THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR?
The plastic manufacturing sector produces products from material that is commonly known as plastic. Their
service or product manufacturing plays a major role in a lot of other manufacturing industries and in the day
to day use of the public. But it is also one of the biggest environmental hazard and one of the largest
contribution to pollution. As there are many products that can only be used once, that is what contributes to
pollution.

9|Page
According to the department of trade there are approximately 1 800 companies in the plastic manufacturing
sector. Yes 1 800 companies that produce products that contribute to pollution. We can’t blame these
businesses for what is happening, as they are merely manufacturing it and making an income from this type
of business operations. There is ways for them to change this, but it might have a negative effect on their
business as single use plastic products creates more business for them.

COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE PLASTIC PRODUCTS

There are many companies in the world that produce plastic products as there is a high demand for this
industry. But it is always a great idea to support local as it saves the business money and contributes to the
country’s economy .In order to learn about the plastic industry we would need to take a look at companies in
the plastic industry and understand what the products they produce, in order for us to determine how they
could benefit from the triple bottom line concept. Below is a list of companies in South Africa that produces
plastic products.

Figure 5… Proudly South African

 VERI GREEN (PTY) LTD

Veri green is a South African based business that operates in Pinetown Durban, all the products
produced by this company is plastic based and are for day to day use. They produce products for a
product line called super mama, their products can be found in retail stores such as Pick n Pay,
Checkers, Makro, etc. Some of their plastic products in the product line are freezer bags, plastic
cups, bin bags, cling wrap, oven roasting bags and snake bags. All of their plastic products are for
one use only, and this contributes to land pollution

 SIZABANTU PIPING SYSTEMS (PTY) LTD

Sizabantu piping system is a South African based business that operates in Pinetown Durban, all of
products produced by this business is plastic based and can be used both by business and households.
Some of their products in their product line are drain pipes, repair clamps, Enerseal Fittings,

10 | P a g e
 domestic water meters, etc. even though their products are meant to last for a long period of time but
what happens when there is a break in these products? They don’t just get replaced but they also get
thrown away in the dump site and this increases the amount of garbage at dumbs sites, which then
results to more pollution.

 PRIDE PLASTIC AND PACKAGING CC

Pride plastic and packaging is a closed corporation that is proudly South African, they operate their
business in Johannesburg. Pride plastic and packaging, produces carrier bags, bin bags, bread
packets, etc.

 MPACT

Mpact is one of the biggest paper and plastic manufacturing companies in southern Africa. They
operate their business in 39 operating sites in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique. They don’t
just produce it but they are also play a bigger role in the country by being one of the biggest
collectors of paper and plastic recyclers, that’s a great way to help decrease pollution and ensuring
that they play a positive role in the environment. Mpact produces plastic platforms, bottles, jars and
closures.

 WAX PAK (PTY) LTD

Wax Pak (Pty) Ltd is family owned business that produces plastic food packaging. They are based in
Chamdor west of Johannesburg. They produce plastic packaging for food products like fruits, salads,
sushi, etc.

 PRINCIPLE PLASTICS (PTY) LTD

11 | P a g e
 Principle plastics (Pty) Ltd is a South African organ company that was founded and continues to
operate business in Port Elizabeth. They manufacture injection moulding components for the
automotive industry.

 ITB SOLUTIONS

ITB solutions is the manufacturer of flexible packaging solutions that produces carrier bags for
companies such as Spekko rice, bobtail and many others. They operate business from Isithebe
industrial estate in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

 ISIGIDI MEDICAL CC

Isigidi medical supplies cc is a South African bases business the manufactures and supplies single
use medical supplies such as syringes, gloves, bloodline sets, etc. Isigidi medical supplies was
founded in 2006 and continues its operations in Centurion.

EXAMPLES OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS USED ONCE:

There are many items used on a daily bases or commonly used but are only used once and this contributes to
the pollution. Some of these items are:

PICTURE EXAMPLE EXPLANATION

 Bin packets – you always need something to put your dirt in and
it makes it easier for the bin trucks to collect your general waste
on a weekly basis.

 Water bottles – with a lot of things going on, after the floods that
hit KZN members of the community was asked not to drink water
from the tap which resulted in the increase in demand for water
bottles.

12 | P a g e
  Garden bags – due to the storms that have been taking place,
there is a significant increase in the demand for garden bags as
people need to start cleaning up their property.

 Plastic bags – every time you visit the grocery store or malls, you
tend to purchase plastic carrier bags to put your items into

 Plastic bread tags – whenever you purchase a loaf of bread you

receive with a small plastic tag that helps seal the bread.

 Plastic straws – when you visit the shop and purchase something
to drink you generally receive a straw with it

 Plastic cutlery – when you purchase takeaways such as fish and

chips, you sometimes receive plastic cutlery such as plastic
spoons, knifes and spoons. But it is found that many people throw
these things away without using them or even after using it.

EXAMPLES OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS BEING USED BY OTHER INDUSTRIES:

 The beverage industry
The beverage industry or companies such as Coco Cola, Coo-
ee, Aquelle, Etc. use plastic bottles to bottle their products
before they distribute their products to retail businesses such
as Pick n Pay and checkers for sale. But that is not the only plastic product they use, as the label on
their products is also made from plastic.
 Aviation
When you visit the airport while traveling, you will notice
that many people traveling long distances tend to wrap
their luggage or suit cases. This is a service provided by

13 | P a g e
 the airport (a service that you would have to pay additional fees for) or many prefer ding it on their
own. But when you reach your destination you cut this wrapping and you are unable to use it again.

 Municipality and pluming industry

The municipality and plumbing
industry have one thing in
common, they both use plastic
pipping. The Municipality
might not always use it as they
tend to use it on smaller projects but there is still a demand for it by them. The plumbing service
industry uses piping in projects such as sewer line repairs and water pipes repairs.
 Automobile manufacturers
If you are not a car person then you will not have
known the 1/3 of your motor vehicle is actually made
out of plastic. This helps make a vehicle lighter and
helps cut down on the cost as plastic is cheaper than
metal.

 The food sector

the food sector is one of the largest contributes to the high
demand of packaging as there is may types of food items
that cannot be put into paper bag for packaging. For
example dairy products such as yogurts, and salads that you
purchase from restaurants and stores (Pick n Pay and food
lovers market).

 The healthcare industry

14 | P a g e
 The plastic products used by the healthcare industry is
generally only used once as it is unhygienic for it to be used
on more than one patient even if they are from the same
family. The healthcare industry requires plastic gloves,
plastic syringes which are used when giving patients
injections, etc. unfortunately all of these items fall under
single use and become medical waste.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH THE PLASTIC PRODUCTS?
Once there is no need for the plastic products, people tend to just throw them away. This is how plastic
waste is generated. This waste is generally put into bin bags and then taken away to landfills. But the bin
bags they are put into also contributes to pollution as it is made out of plastic and tends to tear. When there
is terrible storms, heavy winds and heavy rains these waste from the landfills end up in the ocean. This is
when marine pollution occurs and harms the ocean creatures.
This is an image of the Durban beach front after the flood that
took place on the 12th of April 2022. As you can see there is a
lot of plastic waste that had wasted out at sea. This is due to
letting that takes place on a daily bases, illegal dumping, and
waste from landfills.
The way in which general waste and medical waste is disposed
of is really important. If it is not disposed of in a proper
manner it could have several consequences to the planet and
all that is a part of it. Another example of marine pollution is
Figure 6... Picture of the Durban Beach Front
an event that took place in 2016, where the beaches of Durban
had to be closed off to contain the pollution after medical waste had washed up to shore. These item where
sealed but could have still caused harm.

A beach clean-up was held and it was found that all the
waste was sealed. If this was found by the wrong people
there could have been a lot of sick people in Durban.
There are many cause of soil pollution and one of them is
caused by the chemicals used to manufacture plastic. When
plastic is thrown away, it tends to end up somewhere either

Figure 7... Medical waste found on Durban Beach on land or in the sea. When plastic gets suck in the ground,
it does not decompose like living organisms but instead it remains there forever.

15 | P a g e
This is a picture that was taking in 2009, when local woman
voluntarily clean up a river bank in Isipingo Durban. If it
wasn’t for these woman that waste would have just
accumulated and had contributed to soil pollution and marine
pollution as this waste would have ended up back in the ocean
at some point.

PROBLEM IDENTIFIED IN THE Figure 8... Picture of the Isipingo River in 2009
PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR
The plastic manufacturing industry is a major contribution to pollution as they are the root to the problem.
They are the manufacturers of the products and also the ones that are using harmful chemicals while doing
so. All though they are not the ones to blame for what happens when the plastic is being disposed. But the
main question is what are they willing to do to help disposal off their products after it is been used. There is
many possible ways a business can contribute to reducing the amount of pollution but that is only possible if
the business is willing to do it, as it could have a positive or a negative impact on the profits of the business.

WAYS IN WHICH THE PLASTIC MANUFACTURING SECTOR

COULD USE THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE CONCEPT
As discussed earlier in the report the triple bottom line concept consists of the three Ps, and for a business to
be triple bottom line compliant, they would need to move their focus from just making profit to making
profit, ensuring that they make a positive impact on the environment (the plant). These are a few ways how
they can do so.

 PROFIT
Every business wants to make a profit, if a business’s aim is not to make a profit they are in the wrong line
of work. For a business to make a profit or operate its business it would need a target market or customers.
And in order to do that you have to make some form of difference to your customers in order for them to
keep coming back and supporting your business.

 PEOPLE
Businesses are always putting all of their attention and labour into one aspect which is profit maximization.
But the triple bottom line allows businesses to divert a part of their attention and labour on to the society or
the people in the community in which they operate in.
 Businesses find it difficult to determining on what they should do to help out people of the
community. Instead business could ask their employees the differences they would like to see in their
community or what is needed by their community in this way business could evaluate what resources
they have to fulfil the needs of the community.

16 | P a g e
  When investing in the wellness of people businesses should start of by first investing in their
employees. They saying goes “charity starts at home”, the same concept should be applied in
businesses. When businesses start to look out for the betterment of their employees, it will help
ensure that employees wanting to remain in the business and will sure that they will always remain
loyal to the employer. Business could start by contributing to employee health plans and pension
funds.
 The plastic manufacturing sector could start offering the grade 12 learners in the community
bursaries for studies of their own chose or they could specify by telling they grade 12 students that
qualify for the bursary to study in a specific aspect for example engineering. In this way when they
finish their studies they could come back and do their internships in the business.
 Business could find ways to contribute to the wellness of the people that have been affected by the
2022 floods that had left many families without homes, water and electricity. businesses could start a
contribution fund and the money that is raised from these funds could help people without homes and
help supply bottle water to areas without water, (Example: the Tongaat area)
 The 2022 floods did not just take away homes from people, or caused destruction but it also cause a
lot of bust pipes which left many people without water. Businesses that manufacture and supply
plastic pipping could offer to supply the municipality with pipping at cost price. This will not only
help the municipality move quicker as they will spend less time waiting for suppliers to provide them
with the pippin but will also help people have their water restored quicker
 As mentioned above many people have lost their homes due to the floods, if companies in the plastic
industry come together with other industries, such as construction industry and build homes out of
recyclable material. In this way businesses will be able to contribute to communities that was
affected by the flood, help improve the environment by recycling and they would have completed
two aspects of the triple bottom line.

This is an example of a house made out of recyclable material

such as plastic bottles. It might not be the best looking house
nor the most suitable house but it will help by giving them a
home for the meantime, until they are able to get their own
homes.

Figure 9... Example of A recyclable plastic home

17 | P a g e
  ENVIRONMENT
Paying attention to the environment (plant) is as important as making a profit and ensuring that the business
shares a positive relationship with the community in which it operates in. Because in order to operate a
business you would first need healthy environment or plant to be in. so by looking at for the best interests of
the plant the business will be one step closer to adding a few more years for their business operations and
mankind.

 When producing products made of plastic it was found that business tend to use chemicals that can
be harmful to the environment, businesses could try and find less harmful chemicals in their
production line.
 Businesses in the plastic industry could find ways to recycle their product. Example: businesses in
the beverage industry could ask the department of environmental affairs to reconsider implementing
separate bin packets for general waste and a separate bin packets for plastic bottles, plastic carrier
bags, plastic cutlery, etc.
 Businesses that produce packaging for the toilet paper and tissue paper could make their product out
of recycled plastic material. In this way it would reduce the amount of plastic that been is produced.
 Businesses that produce plastic medication containers could ask pharmacies, hospitals and doctors
that to keep a recycling bin on their premises. In this way patients could drop off all their empty
containers in those bins. This will help the manufacturer to easily collect and recycle them.
 A lot of businesses in the plastic manufacturing industry produces products such as bin bags and
garden bags. With the flooding that took place on the 12th of April 2022, there was a lot of landfill
waste or general waste that was washed up on to beaches (as shown above) and river banks. Business
could start by donating some of their bin bags and garden bags to organizations that are hosting
clean-up programs

CONCLUSION
The Triple bottom line concept was designed in the year 1994 by an entrepreneur who was looking to make
businesses more sustainable in a way that it won’t just benefit the business but will also benefit those around
the business. Businesses are not obligated to follow the triple bottom line concept as there is no law enforced
nor are there any rules in business finance that are forcing businesses to do it. It is up to the owners or
management of the business if they want to enforce the triple bottom line concept in their business
operations.

The triple bottom line concept aims to make business more involved in the public and environment as much
as they are when ensuring that their business always makes a profit. It is not about the business benefiting in
every way as there is many ways that the business can benefit from practicing the triple bottom line concept

18 | P a g e
but it is also about businesses looking for ways to give back to the community that they operating in and the
environment. They could do so by donating to non- profitable organisations and ensuring that they make a
positive impact on the environment by using less harmful chemicals while producing their products.

Businesses outside the manufacturing industry such as the insurance sector and banking sector can find other
alternatives to give back to the community and environment. For example, by ensuring their employees are
taken care off by contributing to their employees’ health care and contributing to donation funds.

In this report we took a look at businesses in the plastic manufacturing sector. They play a major role in our
lives as almost everything that we use in our lives consists of some form of plastic. The triple bottom line
helps businesses see what they could do to ensure that the products they produce don’t harm the
environment.

REFERENCES:
1. Diner.L.2021.The Bottom line making your business more sustainable. Available:
https://sustainlab.co/blog/the-triple-bottom-line-making-your-company-more-sustainable
2. Anon.2020.9 Benefits of the triple bottom line. Available:
https://ezop.com/blog/water-cooler-talk/benefits-of-triple-bottom-line-madison-wisconsin/ Accessed:
24 April 2022
3. Potts.T, 2014.Triple bottom line reporting: a tool for measuring, communicating, and facilitating
change in local communities. Available:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237733426_TRIPLE_BOTTOM_LINE_REPORTING_A_

19 | P a g e
 TOOL_FOR_MEASURING_COMMUNICATING_AND_FACILITATING_CHANGE_IN_LOCA
L_COMMUNITIES
4. Greenpath, 2017.”People, planet, profit – it’s not a triple bottom line. Available:
https://greenpathrecovery.com/blog/people-planet-profit-not-triple-bottom-line/
5. Veri green.2022. Available: https://verigreen.co.za/
6. Sizabantu piping systems(Pty) Ltd.2019. Available: https://sizabantu.com/#
7. Pride plastics and packaging cc.N.D. Available: https://www.prideplastics.co.za/products.html
8. Mpact.2022.Available: https://www.mpact.co.za/
9. Wax Pak.2021.Avaiable: https://waxpak.co.za/
10. Principle plastic. N.D. Available: https://principleplastic.co.za
11. ITB solutions incorporated.2020. Available: https://www.itbplastics.com/
12. Isigidi medical supplies.2017. Available: http://www.isigidi-medical.com/
13. Anon.2020.local woman clean up polluted Isipingo River in Durban South Africa. Available:
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/local-women-clean-up-polluted-isipingo-river-in-durban-south-africa

20 | P a g e