Responsible, Ethical and Sustainable Businesses

At a global level, the ethical issues facing businesses include reducing poverty, fighting corruption and adopting sustainable business models while they go about their main role of making money. Institutions like the World Bank are encouraging and equipping the private sector in corporate social responsibility and care for environment and the community.

Why Bother with Responsible Business Practices?

Irresponsible business practices lead to social instability and even damages the prospects of business itself. Businesses prosper when they can sell increasing volumes of products and services. This can happen only if the buyers can afford to buy what is offered.

Irresponsible business practices that lead to reduction of employment opportunities tends to reduce the volume of demand by concentrating wealth in the hands of a few and reducing the purchasing power of the majority.

Unethical business practices such as using bribery to get orders or to get out of trouble lead to distortions. They reduce the competitiveness of industry, lead to lower quality products and services, and also to an environment where rule of law is the exception rather than the rule.

Irresponsible businesses also damage our environment by polluting it and exhausting non-renewable resources. These lead to lower quality life in the present with polluted air, waterways and new kinds of diseases. Indiscriminate exploitation of non-renewable energy and other resources is equivalent to robbing future generations.