Struggling to build a successful business in this economic landscape, no matter how lucrative the industry in which your company is operating, is a mammoth task. Profits depend on ever-increasing investments, new strategies, new products and new everything. Of course, this can take a toll not only on the internal operations of the business, but the external operations of the world.
Like it or not, we as people are always going to have an effect on our environment and other people around the world. We need to use resources to live and make a living. That’s why it can be so hard to act in an ethical way; especially for a business, whether it’s operating on a large or a small scale. How much “stuff” are we meant to be consuming? How should we be responsible and look after the planet? How should we look after our fellow man and woman?
There is no one answer, but there are things that you, as a business, could be doing to help make a change. Better still, there are ways to actively prevent global warming and poverty that will actually help your company save on costs and profit. So, being ethical doesn’t have to make your business run any less smoothly or successfully. Here are some reasons as to why that is and ethical tips for improving your business.
Ethically assess every business decision. This is the simplest way to build an ethical organization. Think about every choice presented to you. You’re making thousands of decisions every day concerning operations within the company building, which products you’re going to roll out, or any manner of seemingly-trivial events which actually have huge costs for both your business and the outside world.
First of all, ask yourself who will be affected by each decision you make. Ask yourself whether the employees working for you are being treated fairly, for instance. Are they being paid well for their services? Ethics can’t be something that’s switched on and off whenever it suits your business from a promotional standpoint. If you want to adopt principles, you’ve got to adopt them across the board.
Run charity events. Some types of business and industry might struggle to think of ways in which they can be more ethical. Perhaps you only run a web-related service, and you’re struggling to think of what impact you might have on the world. Of course, any and every business has an impact on the world. Or, at least, you have the potential to make an impact.
Running a charity event, or sponsoring a group which is running a charity event, is one such example of the way in which you might be able to support a good cause. Business has influence over people and events. Excess profits could help support worthy causes such as this, so if you think your business’ work doesn’t directly impact people in a worthy sense, then make it directly impact people. You could support a team with custom embroidered patches to make a statement that your company supports a moral cause.
This isn’t some money-making tactic, because you won’t be making money from a charitable event; it’s about your organization’s ethical standpoint. Through sponsoring a team, you’re showing people what your business stands for. After such an event, you might be able to work with other companies in the future to make a difference.
Save resources, and save the world. As a business owner, whether you’re operating a huge, global empire or a small startup, costs are most likely the thing which give you the biggest headache. It’s hard to consistently make good profits, when profits depend on consistently investing more and more money into the company. Of course, you want to save on costs, but you don’t want to compromise the business’ success by cutting corners.
Well, funnily enough, there are ways to not only save costs within your company without cutting corners, but to do so by actually improving the efficiency of your business operations. I’m talking, of course, about greener methods in the workplace. Your organization might already meet the odd quota here and there to keep up a good image, but this isn’t just about saving the world. Think about it: cutting down on resources used means your business is saving money. The electricity bills, the transport your employees take, and equipment in which you invest all costs the company time and money.
Cutting down on energy bills is a no-brainer. Switch off lights and you not only reduce your carbon footprint, but you save money. Most businesses know about basic practices like this, as these are all things we would do at home anyway. However, there’s so much more you could be doing to save your company money and to build an ethical organization at the same time. Recycling may cost your business money, but it’ll save you a huge amount of money that would otherwise go to landfill charges. Fines are increasing for landfills to reduce the urge for businesses to take this route, so it makes sense to get out now before your business starts noticing a knock in profits.
You can get a little creative with your green approach as well. Install solar panels and plant trees outside your office. Solar panels are a source of energy which are rapidly growing in popularity, as they more than return on their investment. Not only are you saving on unnecessary bills, but you’re, again, reducing your footprint. As for planting trees outside your office, this is a slightly more creative approach to protecting your office windows from sunlight, and, in turn, unbearable heat during summer. Of course, it all depends on your specific business, but the point is there are cost-saving techniques that any company can implement if they’re willing to think outside of the box.
You could consider remote working for some employees. This will save you money in terms of transport, so you might be able to change the wage level for remote workers to incorporate that idea. It will also save you money in terms of disabled access, if you choose to allow handicapped people to work off the premises. From an ethical standpoint, you’ll be making the lives of such people much easier as well, because traveling can often be painful and exhausting, as well as costly, for such employees.
Photo by Jonathan Simcoe
Mia Guerra
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