Executive Ethics Book Incorporates Environmental Ethics Discussion

May 1st, 2008

Last year, I was asked to write a manuscript for a new book on corporate ethics. My topic was how environmental issues had become part of corporate ethics and sustainability, an ethical imperative. The book, entitled Executive Ethics: Ethical Dilemmas and Challenges for the C-Suite, was published on April 10th and is now available on Amazon.com and in bookstores.

As recently as 2000, environmental stewardship was not a major priority among business and political thought leaders. In many cases standards for environmental practice were not much different from government-mandated emissions laws. Business leaders believed the primary environmental responsibility of the enterprise was to maintain compliance with standards adopted by federal and state governments, and to ensure that factory emissions did not threaten the health of workers and nearby residents, as an extension of their commitment to local corporate citizenship.

But since the dawn of the 21st century, there has been a rapid evolution among key business leaders who are moving critical benchmarks from regulatory compliance to real leadership, as they adjust to their customers’ increased consciousness of environmental sustainability, growing concern about greenhouse gas emissions and resultant effects on global warming and climate change.

These concerns are now being reflected both on the production floor and in the boardroom. Corporations are proving that they can successfully balance concerns for the environment with the traditional priorities of operating profitable enterprises.

Industry analysts are predicting that the next few years will be critical for manufacturers, retailers, financial services firms and others as they establish sustainability goals for their long term business roadmaps. This movement is driven by a commitment to corporate ethics as much as it is by pragmatism.

Companies that embrace sustainability are taking a long-term view of their effects on society. They are departing from traditional views of private property rights and ownership. Such firms don’t respond simply for regulatory purposes (such as mitigating the effects of air or water emissions on the surrounding community), but because of a desire to avoid the potential costs if the global environment is seriously threatened.

I was delighted and honored to be asked to write about this topic. I hope it sparks even more discussion about the importance of environmental ethics within the larger discussion of corporate ethics.

Tags: corporate ethics emissions environmental executive ethics global climate change global warming sustainability

Entry Filed under: Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance, ESS