AMDP ROUGH DRAFT

AMDP Rough Draft

TO: Professor Clark Hansen, CEO of AMDP

FROM: Andrew Burk

DATE: July 1, 2018

SUBJECT: SolarCity

When you instructed me to identify and research a possible investment opportunity in a company that is committed to the triple bottom line, one company immediately came to mind: SolarCity. The company has been a subsidiary of Tesla Inc. since 2016, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased it for $2.6 billion. Before I dive into SolarCity’s specifics, I would like to reiterate the most important aspects we are looking for in a potential investment. 

Triple Bottom Line

The triple bottom line is an accounting framework that has three parts: social, environmental, and financial. The financial aspect has obviously been the most important in the eyes of many when it comes to business, but the last few decades have led to more and more companies focusing on the social and environmental impact of their business decisions. 

1.     Social– Everything to do with people, including fair treatment of employees and off-site labor, enacting favorable practices in business communities, etc. 

2.     Environmental– Implementation of sustainable practices and reduction of environmental impact; green initiatives, recycling programs, etc. 

3.     Financial–Addition of social and environmental responsibilities can benefit a company’s financial bottom line. A lot of this has to do with millennials being more environmentally conscious and more willing to spend money on sustainable goods.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

CSR is a company's sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates. Companies express this citizenship through their waste and pollution reduction processes, by contributing educational and social programs, and by earning adequate returns on the employed resources.

Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that is involved in the sale of goods and services to a market, but also has specific social goals that serve as its primary purpose. They are notvolunteer organizations in that they operate as an enterprise by selling in a market, and can be registered as for-profit or non-profit. Profits are then used to fund social programs.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint, regarding businesses, refers to the amount of carbon dioxide (and other carbon compounds) emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by that business. This can be measured by finding the total output of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the organization. It is extremely important to reduce carbon footprints because an increase in gas emissions is primarily responsible for the climate change that has led to global warming.