Comments on: Can a successful business be Ethical?

By: Jack Barker

Jack Barker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:17:55 +0000

Hi there, I am researching a fictional pub chain as part of my Business Management Degree and have got to assess the ethical position of this firm, commenting on its aims and policies, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, corporate social reporting and its trading position, simply by analysing its annual report and accounts. I would appreciate if anyone could give me any guidance towards this. My email is scrumpyjackflash@hotmail.com

Please help me!

Thankyou
Jack Barker

By: Lesley Cutts

Lesley Cutts — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:49:57 +0000

Yes, I guess if you rely on the fashionable thoughts of the day, that is what happens. With us the conviction that equality matters is a little deeper than that. We have run the business on these foundations for 30 years now. It has become very established, though not always easy. It’s good to know that others have had a go at working this way tho’.

By: Scott Hortop

Scott Hortop — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:53:17 +0000

Hi Lesley, Very interesting to read about your pay structure! Reminds me of City Limits magazine in London in the 80’s who had the same outlook – paying cleaner to editor the same. Their driving force was purely socialist idealism, something which has gone rather out of fashion!
Scott

By: Lesley Cutts

Lesley Cutts — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:20:25 +0000

Hi Neil, yes we are always on the lookout for new, truly ethical products. The best idea would be if you could complete the potential supplier survey found on our website: http://www.goodness.co.uk under the supplier section.

Thanks alot

Lesley

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:47:58 +0000

Lesley, it’s great to hear from you and your Principles before Profit business model is incredible. I’m about to go out for another demo, but I’d love to talk to you about maybe selling Aquapax. We have lots of people asking us for direct delivery and we’re simply not geared up for it. It would be great to have an ethical company like yours to direct customers towards & I think most of our customers will accept an occassional error considering the challenges you must be working with.
I’ll try calling you when I get back later today.
N

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:37:23 +0000

Hi Scott, thanks – yes I did see the article. The Observer article was idealistic because people are people first and being people we get thirsty when we’re not near taps. It’s a complex message we’re promoting (drink tap or buy pure & ecologically aware) and one best explained when someone has the time to digest it. I won’t knock tap water because there’s fundamentally nothing wrong with it that could harm a healthy adult.
I’ve been doing demo’s/tastings with retailers who stock Aquapax and did another one yesterday at Whole Foods Market. The reception is so incredibly energising. Just off to Brighton now for another demo at Infinity Foods.

By: Lesley Cutts

Lesley Cutts — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:21:17 +0000

Very interesting and very true. The conviction to work out being truly ethical is challenged many times in day to day running of a company where compromise constantly knocks at the door. This is even more so where, as in our case, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/2336635.stm we try to include the human ethics side. We maintain, successfully, the ethos of every employee having the same wage, from order picker, cleaner, to manager, all on the same wage. We also try to give opportunity to those with disabilities of some kind, both physical and emotional. This can really slow down production and give rise to an abnormal error rate. It, at times, is difficult to hold our ethics above economical good scence, but so far we have managed it. Will keep you posted.

By: Scott Hortop

Scott Hortop — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:54:34 +0000

Neil, I think it was the Observer a week or two ago that had a two page spread on the problems of bottled water. I did not take it all in but it’s interesting to find that there is an alternative product out there!

By: Neil

Neil — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:11:41 +0000

Scott, it’s an interesting point you raise and one which we all (consumers responsible for our individual pounds and pennies) have a vote on. Ultimately ethics cost money and many companies and individuals talk the talk without quite walking the walk as convincingly.

Body Shop is a classic example of a business seemingly started with great and noble intentions, where the shortage of cash ultimately led to a ‘watered down’ (excuse the pun) power of the real decision makers in the business. The real decision makers are always the shareholders, as they’re the ones who have risked their money investing it in the business.

Our own example has put us in an incredibly difficult position of trying to move a bottled water market away from plastic or glass towards paper cartons. My background in ‘water’ meant I was morally obliged to source truly pure water (even suitable for babies) which ultimately costs more. With regards to the paper used in our package, it was important for our suppliers (Tetra Pak) to use truly sustainable forest sourced paper for our cartons.

Buyers now love what we’re showing them and the efficacy of our water is unquestionable, but it’s only the genuinely independent retailers who distinguish value from cost and retail our product to their customers. There are many others who simply will not sacrifice any margin for an ethically and ecologically aware product and we’re talking about an industry that’s not short on margin.

To answer your question, I absolutely believe we can become completely successful, without sacrificing our ethics. That’s perhaps not the same as an already successful business becoming ethical, as it depends on their starting point.

Whenever a business sets out its stall as even trying to ‘be good’, human nature is such that it looks for any weakness rather than embracing the commitment that business is seeking to make. The inevitable weakness is then used as justification for knocking it and ‘business as usual’ with whoever has kept their head down.

I am a little sceptical about the whole brandindex thing, as brands are built with huge marketing spend, which can ultimately overcome most objections people have. My view is that if seen often enough, something becomes familiar and gradually, at a sub-conscious level it becomes trustworthy in consequence.

A more worrying trend is the green wash, which is now spreading to an ethical wash in return for a charity donation – you make a great point about Enron, lest people forget. You can read my blog at http://aquapax.wordpress.com