WHAT’S THE (TRIPLE) BOTTOM LINE?
As the pub trade makes its way out of its toughest period in living memory, much focus has rightfully been placed on the financial aspect of trading – reducing expenditure as pubs battened down the hatches for lockdown, then returning to trade and profitability on the other side.
However, we at Wells & Co. recognise that there is more to doing good business than money. Like many, we’ve done some serious thinking during the pandemic and decided to emerge with a new way of operating that prioritises our impact both on the natural environment and the communities around us, including our own colleagues.
The model of the Triple Bottom Line is rapidly gaining momentum across forward-thinking businesses and holds obvious appeal for us at Wells & Co. Instead of focusing on just a single bottom line – profit – the Triple Bottom Line model, incorporating Planet, People and Profit requires companies to focus attention on social and environmental issues alongside their financial targets.
Peter Wells explains: “Understandably, a lot of our recent work has been geared around delivering financial targets and returning the business to a normal footing. Going forward, however, we will need to ask ourselves more challenging questions about the impact we are making on the environment and the communities around us (which also includes everyone in our business). To make a clear difference, we need to understand where we are now and then introduce the measurements and targets to improve.
“We at Wells & Co. have always understood the importance of people and community; recent news has reminded us of the dire environmental situation we are all faced with, and we are determined to evolve our family business into one that will make future generations proud of the part we play in protecting our planet.
”In pursuit of this goal, fifth-generation Wells family member Ed Robinson has recently been appointed to the new role of Group Planet and Community Impact Lead, providing some dedicated focus to help steer us into this new way of working.
Ed adds: “It’s early days in my new role, but I’m already learning at a rate of knots and am hugely excited to drive the Triple Bottom Line approach to doing business across the Wells & Co. estate. Everything from waste management to supplier ethics to community support will come under the microscope; we need to ensure that we’re acting as great neighbours, guardians for our environment and responsible operators, all whilst continuing to deliver experiences you’d recommend to friends. My role will help to shape the future outlook of our brewery and pub estate, ensuring that our actions match our values when it comes to sustainability and social responsibility.
This will mean evolving the ways we currently do business in many respects; no small objective, but it’s a hugely worthwhile goal and we’re up for the challenge.”
