Problem: Ethical Business Decision Making
On a particularly busy corner in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, the proprietors of a small café, Triniti of Silver, do a brisk breakfast, lunch, and coffee trade. Their menu declares their philosophy: "Only organic eggs of free-range chickens are used here; only paddock-reared pigs; only certified organic beef-we do not feel happy to encourage the inhumane treatment of animals." Just one example of grassroots, intentional, ethical business decision making. But what level of environmental concern can we expect from managers of publicly held corporations? Can we identify examples of environmental corporate social responsibility? The answer is a resounding yes-all one has to do is review a sampling of corporate websites.Why are corporate giants voluntarily doing now what they haven't done in the past? In part, the answer may be that the market has changed and market forces are operating to reward corporate responsibility. For example, managers may believe that being "green," or being seen as being green by consumers and investors, will improve the corporate bottom line. Or a manager may believe that a proactive approach may lessen the likelihood of future regulation on an issue that is becoming increasingly visible. 24 This is one example of a pay-now-or-pay-later analysis. Managers may take a more environmentally responsible approach now because they think the future cost of not doing so could be enormously larger-in negative publicity or in the cost of more stringent future regulation- than the present actual cost of the action. Does the market actually reward sound environmental practices? As a general proposition, that has not been shown, but successful green growth examples are multiplying-concrete illustrations that economic growth and environment protection are not mutually exclusive. By 1994, 60-year-old Ray Anderson had grown his 15-person carpet-tile company,
Interface Inc., into the world's largest carpet-tile maker, but customers were pushing for the company to develop an environmental strategy. Anderson did. His goal for his company? By 2020, to produce no GHG emissions and no waste and to consume no raw materials that could not be rapidly replenished. As of 2010, GHG emissions were down 35 percent, water usage by 82 percent, fossil fuel consumption by 60 percent. Interface carpet is increasingly made out of carbohydrate polymers, rather than petroleum, and old-carpet sludge is recycled into pellets that are then used for carpet backing. Seventy-four thousand tons of used carpet has been reclaimed from landfills. Company sales increased by 64 percent, and its earnings have more than doubled.25
Question
"The single most important and pervasive moral obligation facing mankind is to ensure survival of a healthy planet for our grandchildren and theirs." 26 Do you agree? Why or why not?