From the course: Build a Career for Positive Social Impact

Understanding the three Ps

From the course: Build a Career for Positive Social Impact

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Understanding the three Ps

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- There are a zillion definitions, theories, and frameworks focused on positive social impact. I've included a few examples in the resource handout if you're curious to learn more, but some widely used in reference examples include the United Nations Sustainment Development Goals, or the SDGs, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the framework I like most is the three Ps, people, planet, and profit, sometimes referred to as the Triple Bottom Line. People can mean the humans both inside an organization and/or the participants served through programs; planet, it's a broad-stroke way of describing the impact on the environment and the earth; and profit, it's money, and more specifically, financial gain. Every organization approaches the three Ps uniquely and prioritizes different aspects. How they prioritize these is important. Traditional companies tend to prioritize profits over people and planet. Certified B Corps, a subset of companies, which we'll talk more about later, weigh the three equally. Nonprofits, they reinvest profit back into the missions that serve people and the planet. Governments use tax dollars to carry out social impact work and service of people and the planet as part of political agendas. And large international organizations called multilaterals are made up of member countries that determine which social impact people and planet objectives get prioritized. Who defines positive social impact and how it's measured are key considerations as well. This might feel like drinking from a fire hose, but fear not, dear learner. You can do it.

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