“Providing for the needs of the present generation while not compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs”.

That is the original definition of sustainable development put forth by UN’s Brundtland Commission in 1987.

Recently, the “Triple Bottom Line” concept has proven useful in terms of clarifying what it takes to become a sustainable company. The Triple Bottom Line suggests that an organisation's license to operate in society comes not just from sustained growth and profits (the economic bottom line), but also from improving its environmental and social “bottom lines”. Vice versa - a highly responsible yet loss-making company is evidently unsustainable in the long term.  

The ISS approach to sustainability stresses that: 

• Sustainability is an integral part of how we conduct our daily business – not an add on
• Economic, social and environmental objectives are often interconnected and must be dealt with as such
• In a people business like ours, the active involvement of all employees is crucial to our sustainability performance
• We are open and honest about our challenges and achievements and we report on them