Asia is awakening to the need and opportunity to address global concerns for the sustainability of people and planet, and enterprise profitability. Globally, these three characteristics of corporate social responsibility are not simply elements of a public relations campaign but categories of accomplishment in the new Triple Bottom Line (TBL).

Measuring organizational (and societal) success means expanding the traditional company reporting framework to take into account not just financial outcomes but also environmental and social performance. The trend toward taking the TBL approach to business continues to accelerate, and we have reached the tipping point - sustainability of people, planet and profit is now a mandate for multi-national companies operating in a global economy.

What does this mean for practitioners of real estate and workplace strategy? Creating sustainable workforces [people] - ensuring the continuous availability of the right talent, in the right place at the right time - may just be the answer to the question of how to win the global war for talent. Creating sustainable workplaces [planet] - minimizing the environmental impact of buildings and designing for flexibility - could be the right strategy for mitigating the devastating effects of rising energy prices and the opportunity costs associated with inflexible infrastructure. Excellence in execution of sustainable workforce and workplace strategies is our contribution to creating sustainable businesses [profit] - enabling growth by ensuring that workplace solutions attract and retain the right talent, support speed-to-market, and are monetarily efficient in the short and long terms.

The 2007 CoreNet Global Summit Singapore examined people, planet, profit and the acceleration of sustainability practice in Asia in the context of workplace strategy and integrated infrastructure management.