Evaluating Google’s Vision, Mission, and Goals through the Triple Bottom Line Framework

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Google is one of the world’s most successful and important corporations. It is also a socially, environmentally, and economically responsible corporation. This devotion is reflected in Google’s vision, mission, and goal statements. In this discussion, I would like to evaluate Google’s vision, mission, and goals through the triple bottom-line framework. According to Miller (2020) in her HBS article, The triple bottom line can be broken down into “three P’s”: profit, people, and the planet. These categories might help businesses grasp their environmental responsibilities and identify any negative societal repercussions to which they may be contributing.

Vision Statement

Google’s vision statement states: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” (Google, 2023)

Mission Statement

Google’s mission statement reads: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, and to make money.” (Google, 2023)

Implicit Goals

Implicitly, Google’s goals encompass expanding its user base, enhancing the quality and relevance of search results, increasing advertising revenue, and sustaining its position as a technology leader (Google, 2023).

Evaluation using The Triple Bottom Line

Social (People)

1. Vision: The vision emphasizes universal accessibility and usefulness, which may have a positive influence on society by democratizing access to knowledge. It does not, however, clearly address social obligations.
2. Mission: Google’s mission and aims are in accordance with the triple bottom line’s social dimension. The organization is committed to making information more accessible and valuable to everyone, inventing innovative products and services that benefit people, and providing a work environment in which workers may thrive. Google also offers a variety of social projects, such as work on climate change and education support.
3. Implisit Goals: Google aims to prioritize user enjoyment and relevance, they do not expressly include social responsibility features such as diversity and inclusion or charity.

Here are some specific Google social responsibility initiatives according to Google (2023):

1. Google Scholar: This free online resource contains scholarly material from all across the world. It is a must-have resource for students, researchers, and other professionals.
2. Google Maps: This free program gives users directions, traffic updates, and other location-based information. It is a useful tool for folks who travel or explore new areas.
3. Google Translate: This free service translates text and audio between over 100 languages. It is a useful tool for those who communicate with people from various cultures.
4. Google Arts & Culture: This online portal offers high-resolution photographs of artworks from over 2,000 institutions worldwide. It is an excellent resource for those interested in art and culture.
5. Google for Education: This initiative delivers free educational tools and materials to students and instructors. It is assisting in the improvement of education quality for millions of individuals all around the world.

Economy (Profit)

1. Vision: Google’s vision emphasizes making information universally accessible and useful, which inherently drives economic value by attracting users and advertisers. However, it does not explicitly address economic responsibilities beyond profitability.
2. Mission: Google’s mission explicitly acknowledges the goal of making money, reflecting a strong economic focus. Nevertheless, it lacks mention of responsible profit generation or wealth distribution.
3. Implicit Goals: Google’s implicit goals, including revenue generation and market leadership, align with economic sustainability but lack specific commitments to broader economic well-being or equity.

Here are some specific examples of Google’s economic impact according to Google (2023):

1. Job creation: Google employs over 160,000 people around the world. These jobs support Google’s employees and their families, and they also contribute to the economies of the countries where Google operates.
2. Revenue generation: Google’s revenue in 2022 will be more than $257 billion. This income comes from a number of sources, including advertising, cloud computing, and hardware sales. Google’s income supports the company’s operations and investments, as well as the tax bases of the nations in which it operates.

Environment (Planet)

1. Vision: Google has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 (Google, 2023).
2. Mission: Google is committed to reducing its environmental impact. The company uses renewable energy to power its data centers and has a number of energy efficiency initiatives in place. Google also invests in research on sustainable technologies (Google, 2023).
3. Implicit Goals: Although Google has made commitments to renewable energy and carbon neutrality, these are not explicitly articulated in its implicit goals.

Here are some specific examples of Google’s environmental responsibility initiatives:

1. Renewable energy: Google uses renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, to power its data centers. This helps to reduce Google’s carbon footprint and its reliance on fossil fuels (Google, 2023).
2. Energy efficiency: Google has a number of energy efficiency initiatives in place, such as using water-efficient cooling systems and designing its data centers to minimize energy consumption (Google, 2023).
3. Sustainable technologies: Google invests in research on a variety of sustainable technologies, including solar and wind energy, energy storage, and transportation (Google, 2023). This research could help to develop new technologies that will help to reduce our impact on the environment.
4. Circular economy: Google is working to transition to a circular economy, which is a system that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems (Google, 2023)

Reformulated Mission Statement

Based on the evaluation through the Triple Bottom Line framework, a reformulated mission statement is proposed would be:

“Google is dedicated to organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful while fostering sustainable economic growth. We commit to responsible profit generation, social inclusivity, community engagement, and environmental stewardship to create a better world.”.

Conclusion

Google’s vision and mission statements, while emphasizing universal access and usefulness of information, benefit society and the economy. However, they lack explicit reference to broader social and environmental responsibilities. By adopting a reformulated mission statement that integrates economic, social, and environmental considerations, Google can further align with the principles of the Triple Bottom Line framework and contribute to a more sustainable and responsible future.

References

Google (2023). About Google. Retrieved from https://about.google/

Google (2023). Google for Education. Retrieved from https://edu.google.com/

Google (2023). Google Scholar. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/

Google (2023). Google Maps. Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/

Google (2023). Google Translate. Retrieved from https://translate.google.com/

Google (2023). Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved from https://artsandculture.google.com/

Miller, K. (2020, December 8). The triple bottom line: What it is & why it’s important. Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-the-triple-bottom-line

This article is written based on University of The People, Strategic Decision Making and Management (BUS 5117) written assignment by Fristy Tania in September 2023