Implementing the Triple Bottom Line in Supply Chains? 'I think a few us had to Google it.' The case of a UK high street retailer

Purpose: The growing pressures from stakeholders for firms to be fully accountable for their actions are intensifying (Hartmann & Moeller, 2014). As such, the study of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has emerged as an emergent strategy to improve sustainable performance across the three pillars of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) (Elkington, 1999). This paper seeks to explore the challenges associated with implementing the TBL within a traditional organisation from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goal 12 - 'Responsible Consumption and Production' Literature Review: This paper explores the notions of sustainability, supply chain management, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), strategic implementation and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) in order to broaden perspectives on current literature, whilst identifying areas for further study. Methodology: An inductive, qualitative, case based enquiry was conducted within the sustainability department of a major UK retailer. The analysis was carried out in the thematic analysis tradition, resulting in three major themes. Findings: The three themes of Technology & Infrastructure, Collaboration & Engagement and External Policy were identified as being relevant to the implementation of the TBL within supply chains.