Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECTS OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF LUZON, DAGUPAN CITY:

THE TRIPLE BOTTOMLINE APPROACH

Abstract

The idea of business opportunity and entrepreneurial development

through social entrepreneurship has become the focus not only of

Governments but also of civil society, the private sector and even the

academic institutions like the University of Luzon attuned to the

promotion of the concept of corporate social responsibility.

This study probed into measuring the impact of its initiatives

concentrating on financial literacy and entrepreneurial development

consistent with the triple bottomline approach (TBL) focusing on people

(social), profit (economic) and planet (environmental) indices as a way to

gauge the quality of life and standards of living of the beneficiaries.

Selected social entrepreneurship projects were assessed on the

basis of a 5-element criterion. In addition, weaknesses were identified

alongside the implementation and the management of the said projects.

Findings were then made as reference for the formulation of set of

interventions for the better execution and quality of the projects.

Key words: Social Entrepreneurship, Triple Bottom Line Approach, UL

                                         Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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Introduction

At the 2005 World Summit it was emphasized that sustainable

development requires the reconciliation of environment, social equity and

economic demands which constitute the three pillars of sustainability or

the so-called triple bottom line that serves as a common ground for

numerous standards and systems.

With the triple bottom line approach, sustainability is viewed as a

totality economic growth, human development and environmental

protection requiring the involvement not only of Governments but also of

civil society, the private sector and even the academic institutions and

repeatedly highlighted in global conferences, including the 1992 Earth

Summit and World Summit on Sustainable Development, with the end in

view of implementing integrative and participatory strategies attuned to

the achievement of the core of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) which range from reducing poverty to improving health care

especially among children and women, increasing literacy levels and

ensuring environmental stewardship.

This perspective in development brought in the concept of Social

entrepreneurship which backs up the article of Clark (2010) in

http://content.undp.org to promote the economic recovery as a way to

achieve the MDGs.

                                         Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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Indeed, social entrepreneurship has become very important in the

context of the race for globalization in the purview of poverty alleviation

in both developed and developing countries.

The idea of business opportunity and entrepreneurial development

through social entrepreneurship in meeting the challenges of the 21st

Century World has led to formation of organizations and redirection of

existing institutions. Be it non-government or government; school-based

or community-based; local, national, regional or international.

In keeping with the social entrepreneurship criterion “Considering

the relevant economic concepts and an entrepreneurial approach to

improve their quality of life and standard of living,“ the University of

Luzon SIFE (ULSIFE) made a phenomenal success in breaking new

grounds in the field of social entrepreneurship consistent with one its

core values – Social Responsibility, anchored upon business concepts of,

but not limited to, financial literacy and entrepreneurial development.

This expresses the commitment of the University to its philosophy of

perecias y valias (skills and values) to fulfilling its trifocal function:

instruction, research and community extension services.

Noting rigors and hardships of organizational management, project

implementation, monitoring and evaluation and most especially financial

                                         Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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administration in the implementation of the social entrepreneurship

initiatives, the study concentrates on selected projects executed from

2010 to 2012 highlighting, among others, the Project WOW (Wealth on

Wonders) in Ifugao, Project SAVE+ (Sustainable Actions for Viable

Enviro-preneurship Plus), Project Intensified CARE (Community Actions

to Rescue the Earth) and Project WELL (Women Energizement towards

Life-long Livelihood) for the marginalized sectors in Pangasinan, in

particular, and the North Luzon Region, in general toward addressing

contemporary issues and concerns through the positive power of

business.

With these social entrepreneurship projects, UL did not only

assisted thousands of people but have upscaled in raising the level of

committed of the students, teaching and non-teaching personnel, the

administration and other stakeholders of the University in pursuit of

corporate social responsibility..

In view of the foregoing ratiocination, UL social entrepreneurship

projects were assessed along the five (5) evaluation elements of the single

criterion for social entrepreneurship ventures to offer a framework for

quality project management on alternative measures on economic

recovery for sustainable development.

                                         Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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Relative to this end is the identification of the restrictions and

constraint that impedes project implementation essential to laying down

the strategies for the review and updating of financial literacy and

entrepreneurial development projects bringing diverse network of

students, professionals and industry leaders around the shared mission

of creating a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of

business. Hence, by appropriately gauging the SIFE projects, the results

of this study could be a reliable input for improving the quality of lives of

the people specifically the underprivileged, the underserved and the

depressed thus serving as a powerful tool for change in making a

difference in the communities and at the same time develop the skills

and competencies of the social entrepreneurs and transforming them

into socially responsible business leaders.

Conceptual Framework

Measuring the impact and sustainability of social entrepreneurship

projects is generally in terms of quality of life. The social, cultural and

emotional circumstances of an individual or target groups, non-material

aspects and standard of living; the physical, financial and environmental

circumstances of an individual or target group are to be considered.

                                         Univers ity of Luzon Dagupan City      

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Beyond the foundation of measuring sustainability on three

fronts—people, planet and profits—the flexibility of the triple bottom line

(TBL) allows organizations to apply the concept in a manner suitable to

their specific needs.

Encompassing the aforementioned guides to evaluation of UL

financial literacy and entrepreneurial development initiatives is a

framework of gauging the level of sustainable framework goes beyond the

traditional measures of profits, returns in investment, and shareholder

value to include environmental and social dimensions. The TBL

dimensions are also commonly called the three Ps: people, planet and

profits that relates to economic, environmental and social measures.

Economic variables ought to be variables that deal with the bottom

line and the flow of money. It could look at income or expenditures,

taxes, business climate factors, employment, and business diversity

factors.

Environmental variables, on the other hand, should represent

measurements of natural resources and reflect potential influences to its

viability. It could incorporate air and water quality, energy consumption,

natural resources, solid and toxic waste, and land use/land cover.

Ideally, having long-range trends available for each of the environme