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“How do you bring sustainable strategy into action?” That is a question that most businesses ask themselves when they are making the transition to a sustainable model. But what if there was a way to find out? What if businesses had the opportunity to undergo a trial–and–error scenario before they could apply their strategies in a real–life company? 

That is precisely what The Triple Connection aims to address. In the very first experience session – where over 100 participants from around the globe joined in – Inchainge’s co-founder Egge Haak addressed some relevant points and factors that affect businesses’ transition to a sustainable model. Through this 1-hour session Egge dived into: 

• What is The Triple Connection and what is its purpose?
• The uniqueness of The Triple Connection 
• Measuring sustainability within a business simulation game 

About The Triple Connection 

The latest business simulation game serves as a catalyst to driving the change towards sustainability. Taking into consideration the Triple Bottom Line as it was actually intended the three pillars are People, Planet, and Prosperity. The Triple Connection finds its roots in the cacao industry and follows the path to create maximum value in its sustainable value chain. It strives to improve strategies concerning sustainability at the source of the supply chain.  

The Triple Connection focuses on the farmers who are delivering the raw material to the processors. Most businesses keep a keen eye on their supplies to ensure that their raw materials are efficient enough to give their products longevity. In The Triple Connection that plays a key role. Participants can immediately get the result of their decisions on raw materials, worker conditions, as well as product longevity. The Triple Connection takes into consideration 13 out 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDG’s) set by the United Nations. Meaning that participants must consider life-like consequences of every decision they make. 

As Egge Haak puts it, “It is about ambition and realization.” 

The uniqueness of The Triple Connection 

While it is similar to its predecessors, like The Fresh Connection – in that it is a cloud-based business simulation game – it comes with its own set of unique features. The session revealed that The Triple Connection specifically looks at expanding the value chain by looking at Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers. This immediately stood out for most participants! 

It also comes with the added challenge of a limited budget to give participants a closer look at the practicalities of a business. Participants must keep in mind that they need to keep their business afloat without losing sight of their sustainable goals. It gives businesses an insight into how to balance the 3Ps. The business game is designed to enhance the skills and talents of various departments – right from manufacturing to marketing – to enhance the kind of effort required to build a sustainable business model. In this experience session, participants got to witness first-hand what that effort looks like. 

Framework of measuring sustainability, according to The Triple Connection 

One of the most common difficulties that companies face is how to measure sustainability. For example, it is easy to measure profit which relies on numbers, sustainability on the other hand is a vast scope. While there is still no established method to fit sustainability into one KPI, The Triple Connection proposes the True Return on Investment (TROI) as a suitable method.  

“What we did come across was a lot of articles focused on True Cost and True Pricing. That created the idea of going down the path of True Return on Investment (TROI).” Egge clarified, “It is not a known term out there, we made it ourselves for the purpose of the game.”  

TROI not only measures profit but also takes into consideration the Triple Bottom Line which is an integral part of The Triple Connection. Through TROI participants keep track of whether they are maintaining a balance in prioritizing all 3 Ps (People, Planet, and Profit) or if they are prioritizing only one aspect.  

Do you want to be part of more such experiences? Keep an eye on our calendar to never miss out on any such events.