ethipedia Site Manual
Selection Criteria for Sustainable Business Practices
General Guidelines |
• Practices recognized by ethipedia are ones that go beyond legal compliance and that demonstrate an improvement upon standard procedures.
• The Practice must have a ‘net positive’ effect on the environment or social conditions when all surrounding and subsidiary effects are considered. That is, that a perceived benefit is not cancelled out by an accompanying drawback.
• The net positive effect of the Practice must correspond with one of the social or environmental areas of concern defined below.
1. Respect for the Environment |
The environmental impact of an organization’s activities can be reduced in the production stages as well as product and service design and delivery. Actions which accomplish this include:
• Improving energy efficiency in operations and products
• Using more energy efficient means of transport
• Reducing waste generation in production processes
• Reusing waste materials
• Reducing water use
• Maximizing the efficiency of land use
• Reducing toxicity of production processes
• Reducing toxicity in end use of products
• Replacing fossil fuel-based source materials with renewable materials
• Reducing emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
• Conceiving products a reduced impact life-cycle
• Communicating environmental awareness to new audiences
• Displaying transparency and openness to dialogue on environmental issues
2. Governance and Transparency |
Organizations, where power is well-distributed and where information on decisions and operations is clearly communicated to stakeholders, foster trust and confidence, and generally act more responsibly. Areas where good governance can be demonstrated include:
• Inclusive and participatory decision making structures
• Transparent reporting of key data to stakeholders
• Responsiveness to stakeholder concerns
• Accountability towards stakeholders
3. Respect for Social Justice |
Best practices in this area come from approaches that prioritize the human element when planning operations in regions where individual rights and liberties are not generally respected. The following comprise spheres of activity:
• Efforts made to ensure that dissent can be communicated freely by all stakeholders
• Giving a voice to otherwise marginalized and underpriviledged populations
• Ensuring that stakeholders have access to a living wage and basic services such as medicine
4. Respect for Workers |
An organization can demonstrate respect for its workforce in its terms of employment, social benefits and employee transfer policies. Fair dealing when conflict, layoffs or termination arise is another opportunity to display responsibility in this area. Concrete paths of action include;
• Channels for open dialogue with workers
• Recognition of labour groups and unions
• Terms of employment that meet or exceed NGO-led international norms
• Accountability for working conditions at all levels of operations
• Third party evaluations or certifications of working conditions
• Retraining or rehiring programs offered in conjunction with layoffs or plant closings
5. Giving Back to Communities / Community Economic Development |
Leadership in this area is demonstrated when an organization institutes a plan to redirect a significant portion of its wealth towards the betterment of social and or environmental conditions. Also included in this sector are initiatives conceived to catalyze economic growth in settings where poverty affects quality of life. Action in this sector may take the following forms;
• Corporate giving programs
• Community Economic Development projects
• Socially Responsible Investing, Community Investing and Microcredit Projects
6. Respect for Consumers |
An organization can distinguish itself through its dealings with the final consumers of its products and services, these being stakeholders as well. The following are paths of action:
• Clearly communicating information about proper use and disposal of one’s products
• Being accountable for end of life take-back and recycling of one’s products
• Clearly communicating data about the life cycle and environmental impact of one’s products
• Using third party certifications to back environmental and or social value claims
• Offering underpriviledged consumers access to one’s products or services
7. Fair Operating Practices |
The behaviour of the organization as a corporate player is an opportunity to display ethical leadership. This may be manifested in the following ways:
• Eradication of practices such as bribery and nepotism
• Refusal to cooperate with and abet tyrannical political structures
• Respect of fair competition practices
• Sourcing from suppliers that display good social and environmental practices
