What is the quadruple bottom line? - One Good India

 In this blog post, we want to explore why we believe animal rights is an essential part of our business model that helps us achieve success, drive more impact, and connect with the evolving consciousness of consumers.

What is animal rights?

We believe animal rights is the condition that all animals are entitled to the right to be treated with compassion and respect, regardless of whether or not they have fur, feathers, scales, or exoskeletons. 

Animal rights applies to all species of animals, including those whose lives are ripped apart by medical research, hunting, performances, and any other form of exploitation.

Why do we believe in animal rights? Because animals who are used for food and other purposes are severely abused, unjustly treated, and suffer just as much as our beloved cats and dogs do.

Fortunately, a massive shift in attitude is taking place in India and all around the world, and we want to be at the forefront of this revolution. 

As the general public continues to grow more aware of how animals are treated, consumers will keep demanding more environmentally friendly and cruelty-free products from ethical businesses. 

How was One Good founded?

One of our founders, Abhay Rangan, has always been passionate and outspoken about animal rights. In fact, he was attending an animal rights awareness campaign when a man approached him and told him that plant-based alternatives are too expensive and that he could never go vegan.

And it was true. When this incident happened in 2016, there weren't many alternatives that were tasty or affordable. And until there are, activism alone will not change the fact that billions of animals suffer every year.

Inspired by this experience and the conversations he had with his family about it, he and his mother Veena decided to take their passion for animal rights to a whole new level. As a result, OG was started to make plant-based foods more affordable and accessible in India. 

We're not in business just to turn a profit; we seek a bigger purpose—to promote animal rights in our messaging and to help spare animal lives with our products. Because until veganism is affordable and accessible to all, we cannot effectively help increase the adoption of plant-based diets. 

The triple bottom line

First of all: what is a bottom line? A bottom line can be defined as a company's income after expenses have been deducted from revenues. Sometimes it's called net earnings or net profits. 

While the original bottom line still plays a big role in attracting and influencing investors, it fails to capture a company's impact socially and globally.

And what is the triple bottom line? You guessed it: instead of just measuring financial success, a triple bottom line helps companies measure their social, environmental, and financial performance.

The point is to focus on more than just generating profit, and to hold companies accountable beyond their financial decisions.

There are three Ps any business major will learn about: People, The Planet, and Profit. We’ll explain what they are.

1. Profit

In the past, companies only sought to generate as much profit as possible. Now that more leaders are recognising their power to use business for social good without sacrificing financial performance, it's clear that purpose-driven businesses can be successful in today's market and beyond.

2. The Planet

Starting in the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution has made great strides in the development of the world, but it has contributed to a staggering amount of pollution. 

Even though large businesses have historically accelerated climate change the fastest, they can also take the most significant steps to mitigate global warming. 

Many business leaders are now recognising their role and responsibility in this, and are pursuing opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint. 

3. People

Companies with a social impact are building their business models around the idea that treating people well is good for business. It's now important to hire responsibly, pay sustainable salaries/wages, encourage volunteering for a good cause, form strategic partnerships with nonprofits, and foster an inclusive culture internally. 

The three Ps are perfect! So what could be missing from any of this?

Animals: the fourth P

We think the triple bottom line approach is a great start, but as an animal rights company we were disappointed that it didn't include anything about the animals. So we invented a fourth component: the animals.

What is the quadruple bottom line? It builds on the triple bottom line concept by describing a company's purpose in addition to its social, global, and financial performance.

We do business based on our very own Quadruple Bottom Line, which measures how many animal lives have been spared by using or supporting our products. 

Why is the quadruple bottom line important?

It isn't just our goal to treat people and the planet better. We believe we can do all of this and more by tracking how many animals we’re removing from the supply chain and how many people we’ve helped switch to plant-based foods. 

The greater the purpose a brand has, the better it will treat people, the more environmentally friendly it'll be, and the better it will fare in today's marketplace. 

If you found this article interesting, give us a share! And if you want to learn more about veganism in India, check out our other blog posts: