There’s more than just profit

Hotels in Italy which prepare their budget and balance sheet based on The Common Good principles are few and far between. This balance sheet means a company’s main targets aren’t profit and competitiveness, rather the common good and cooperation. Favouring a Common Good Balance Sheet over a P&L balance sheet means assessing a company’s performance based on social responsibility, environmental sustainability, democratic co-management and corporate solidarity. We’ve been opting for this type of balance sheet since 2012 and have focused on the good a company can do for society, and the impact its actions can have on society and nature. We analyse wage distribution and differences in the company, quantify how products and activities may harm the environment, assess the staff’s wellbeing and their overall involvement. Having said that, the Common Good Balance Sheet isn’t a replacement of the more traditional one – it complements it.

The current, troubling times highlight a global economic, financial crisis. But the crisis runs deeper: it’s also environmental, it involves finite resources, our democracy and values. The overall malaise and unease are, fortunately, sparking a new awareness. We hope we can leave these troubling times behind on the wave of the common good. At La Perla we believe this is possible. That’s why we don’t serve Coca Cola or Prosecco at the hotel. We have a fair share of delicious vegetarian meals. We don’t host vintage car or motorbike gatherings. We only serve Dolomite spring water. We run a paperless operation in our offices. And we endeavour to apply the principles of the Common Good to our everyday life.