We’re proud to be a community of ethical businesses. Businesses in the Blue Patch community behave ethically every day. They pave the way for others to follow. And they lead by example on ethical issues that impact on our world.
What is an ethical business?
For us at Blue Patch, being ethical is being mindful of the environment and our impact on it. This is foremost in the list of features of an ethical business. Other features include business values, leadership, legal compliance and accountability.
Environmental, social & governance (ESG) are core traits of our membership. Environmental savings like reducing energy usage, using clean energy, reducing water usage, eliminating waste, saving biodiversity and of course carbon emission calculation and reduction. Blue Patch offers free training on calculating a businesses’ carbon emissions to members.
An example is Denby Pottery who have set their own net zero targets that they are well on the way to achieving. They recently installed solar panels that will reduce their carbon emissions by 475 tonnes a year.
Social ethics include traits like paying a fair wage, treating employees fairly, equality & diversity, ensuring workplace health & safety, engaging with a local community, and transparency across the supply chain and trading partnerships. While features of governance include risk management, compliance with legislation, transparent and ethical accounting, avoiding conflicts of interest and behaving ethically (Tech Target).
An ethical business has strong brand values that are evident. They show across product development, company culture, and sales & marketing communications with customers. These can include a commitment to the environment. Or they could be value-led like honesty and integrity. An ethical business takes responsibility for the impact it has.
The business needs to consider all the stakeholders. Owners, shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, the local community and society at large are all stakeholders.
Ethical businesses model behaviour for others to follow. For example, businesses in the Blue Patch community lead the way in making changes to processes and investing in clean energy. This demonstrates to other businesses that it is possible to have an impact, even if the business is very small. If a small business can make changes, so can a larger business.
Transparency and accountability can cost a business. They disclose what ingredients they use, how they process and manufacture products, or who and where they buy their materials. This can increase competition. The business has to decide what is more important; transparency and ethics or competing and winning.
An ethical business goes beyond the basic legal requirements. They make choices that follow their moral standpoint. Their focus may be on saving the environment or fair employment. These choices can exceed what is currently required by legislation. And, again, can lead the way to show what is possible.
Businesses that are ethical
Visit our directory for a list of businesses that are ethical. We have manufacturers, retailers, craftspeople, artisan makers, artists and community benefit businesses in the directory. The one factor that links them all is their focus on reducing the environmental impact of their business.
Do you own an ethical business? We’d love to welcome you into our community. We offer free net zero training to help you calculate your carbon footprint and reduce it. And we all benefit from learning from each other new ways to make our businesses more sustainable every day.
