It’s more than profit — measure performance with Triple Top Lines & Triple Bottom Lines
The Harmony Project identifies measurable objectives to better align the investor, clients and employees through the design and operating phases of the investment.
The Harmony Project recently has coined the term Human Permaculture to recognize that human life is now a significant part of “natural ecosystems”. Vibrant human interconnectivity generates an authentic community, a more compelling definition of traditional (agriculture-based) permaculture.
The Triple BOTTOM Line, a concept developed by John Elkington in 1994, has been and remains an important tool for integrating sustainability into the business agenda. The concept pertains to the beneficial values of three concerns — economic growth (profit), environmental protection and social equity. Much has been written about the Triple Bottom Line ideals, yet few actually and regularly report quantitative measurements of Triple Bottom Line.
The Harmony Project utilizes values as a percentage of RevPar (revenue per available room) informs the hotel operator about the property’s sustainability indicators when considered historically. Particular operating profit & expense categories are assigned to one of the three concerns and expressed as a percentage of RevPar to be evaluated over time.
There are now 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related chiefly to global poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace and justice. The Harmony Project typically addresses 10 of the 17. A complementary framework is necessary for a designer, builder and operator of authentic hospitality destinations enabling business enterprise actions to support global objectives.
Sustaining rather than sustainable
For some eco-tourism and sustainable development are not compatible — an exercise in doing without. Our model is different because it reintroduces indigenous life instead of replacing it with something else. It advances indigenous life through honorable use of place, indigenous knowledge and educating visitors to appreciate it by asking the question, “how can I use indigenous knowledge as a Resource for Life?” These are not examples of “sustainable development” but rather “responsible development”.
The Triple TOP Line, a concept developed by McDonaugh and Braungart in 2002, moves accountability to the beginning of the development and design process, assigning value to an array of economic, ecological and social questions that enhance the project’s value. Just as Toyota can’t build a world-class auto in a poorly designed factory, optimum hospitality product delivery goals begin with design.
The approach departs from the “eco-hotel” model’s emphasis on the budget lodge doing without, (e.g.: water flow-restricted showers, reused towels and bed sheets, LED lighting, solar water heating, and compost toilets). Luxury meant “excess," so at the start of the movement there were no eco-luxury operators. Today, there are still hardly any such operators able to deliver on the “eco-hotel” expectation.
The movement evolved into “sustainable” hotels that claimed to be driven by the “triple bottom line”. They speak of balancing traditional economic goals (profit) with social and environmental concerns. Today few actually quantify such efforts, nor communicate achievements and few tourist markets involve certification such as Costa Rica’s Green Leaf.
For the luxury traveller these simple themes (e.g., the triple bottom line and eco-hotels) are not sufficient, nor is market-place certification consistent.
Solution: The Harmony Project differentiates its approach from Eco-Hotels and by embracing "Triple Top & Bottom Lines".