Attracting sustainable business
November 20, 2005

West end councillor Brian McHattie has given notice he will be asking his colleagues to establish a "Hamilton Triple Bottom Line Business Criteria Task Force" at Wednesday evening's council meeting. The group is intended to attract new businesses and assist existing Hamilton companies.

Triple bottom line is a tool intended to promote sustainability and ensure that all decisions improve social, economic and environmental goals - the three bottom lines. The approach has been adopted by the city as a means of evaluating recommendations and administering municipal operations. Reference to it has recently begun to appear in staff reports.

McHattie's motion says the task force job will be to "attract companies to Hamilton 's employment lands that demonstrate a commitment to the triple bottom line [and] the city's Vision 2020 principles." He suggests it be comprised of city staff, three councillors, and "three representatives from recognized Hamilton triple bottom line companies including . Dofasco".

Dofasco is the only steel company in the world that to be listed for seven straight years on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. It has adopted the triple bottom line approach is formally committed "to the principles of sustainable development, which require that we conduct our activities in a manner that provides for the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."