Intellectual capital and the triple bottom line: Overview, concepts and requirements for an integrated sustainability management system

Societal stakeholders will increasingly demand evidence of sustainable management from the corporate world. A structured approach towards sustainable management provides the basis for a transparent assessment of the enterprise's performance and the continual improvement of its processes, products and services along with opportunities for innovation. Benefits deriving from such an approach are resource efficiency, a high-quality workforce, customer satisfaction and public acceptance. At the same time, there is hardly any doubt that for the successful implementation of sustainable strategies in companies, the intelligent management of knowledge and other intangible resources is a fundamental basis. Therefore, the intellectual capital can be seen as a driver for a sustainable development at a corporate level that has to be measured and applied in order to increase the value of an organisation. An integrated view of both perspectives has not taken place yet. Therefore, this research paper aims to show requirements and perspectives for an integrative approach. As a conclusion the paper will outline a proposal for an integrated management system considering conceptual aspects as well as a procedural model for implementation.