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Sustainability

Sustainability

Business Ethics

The identification, management and mitigation of risk of bribery, corruption and other reputational hazards in all tiers of our supply chain.

Understanding and Demonstrating Ethical Business Practices

Ethical corporate behaviour can bring significant benefits to a business.

Many different stakeholder groups have an interest in how organisations operate and behave. By understanding their concerns, businesses can optimise the transparency and robustness of their processes. Where helpful, third party benchmarks and schemes can demonstrate credentials.

All businesses should comply with all relevant legislation and regulation.

But ethical businesses go above and beyond this. They work to the spirit, not just the word, of law and regulation. They understand who their stakeholders are and the aspects of business behaviour that are of concern. Their leaders identify, manage and mitigate reputational risks associated with those behaviours and ‘walk the talk’ on ethics to promote and demonstrate responsible corporate behaviours.

Ethical business goes way beyond having appropriate policies. It is about ‘doing the right thing’ as part of business as usual, in relation to issues including:

  • Fair pay and labour conditions
  • Data protection
  • Fair and free competition for contracts
  • Payment of tax
  • Fair pricing
  • Combating fraud and corruption

The Benefits of Ethical Business - Cara Kennelly at Vinci Facilities

Cara Kennelly of School Partner, Vinci Facilities, outlines the main benefits of taking an ethical approach to business.

The Benefits of Ethical Business – Cara Kennelly at Vinci Facilities

Ethics in Supply Chains - Alice Hands at Sir Robert McAlpine

Alice Hands at Sir Robert McAlpine outlines the essentials of ethical supply chain management.

Ethics in Supply Chains – Alice Hands at Sir Robert McAlpine

Why is Ethical Business Important?

Business ethics are important because they define how a company is perceived. A company’s approach can, for example, make the difference between getting on a tender list, or not.

On the flip-side, a perceived ethical breach can result in negative press and social media coverage and also loss of customers and contracts.

The following stakeholders will have a particular interest in business ethics:

  • Investors
  • Shareholders
  • Workers & employees
  • Customers
  • Suppliers and contractors
  • Statutory bodies (e.g. HMRC)
  • Community groups
  • Non-governmental organisations

Business Ethics - Sustainability Short

Business ethics are central to how we run our organisations. But what do we mean by the term business ethics and what practical steps should we take to address ethics within our business?

Business Ethics – Sustainability Short

Latest Business Ethics Resources

Here are a selection of featured business ethics related resources. To view more, please visit our full resource library.

Business Ethics
Business Ethics
Business Ethics
Business Ethics

Construction Industry, SMEs and Ethics

A short video featuring Professor Laura J. Spence at Royal Holloway University, setting out the case for business ethics and how the Supply Chain Sustainability School can help.

Construction Industry, SMEs and Ethics

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