Ethical entrepreneurship seems to be the new challenge for businesses in 2019. According to the official CSR (Social Responsibility of Enterprises) website, the list of the 131 most ethical companies in the world included three French companies in 2016: L’Oréal, Capgemini and Schneider Electric. Entrepreneurs, learn how to meet the ethical challenge on your scale, and thanks to your suppliers!
Ethical Entrepreneurship, The Business Trend Of 2019
Business ethics generally affect two aspects :
- Wageethics, which focuses on human resources and the “treatment of men” within the company.
- Quality ethics for your products and/or services. According to Anne-Marie Fray in the journal Life and Enterprise Sciences, the list of ethical behaviours to adopt environmental protection in the production chain is included.
That is the last aspect that we are going to focus on. What for? The supply chain, or here production line, is nothing less than the starting point of your ethical approach : suppliers!
Evaluez et validez vos fournisseurs !
The Supply Chain And Suppliers, Heart Of Your Ethical Approach
Seuring and Muller (2008) have pointed out that the increase in the phenomenon of globalization and competitiveness, coupled with an increase inoutsourcing,requires increased evaluation of suppliers. Evaluation that is based in particular on social and environmental criteria.
Such a rating of your suppliers allows you to:
- Improve your risk management,
- to meet your quality commitments, such as ISO 26000 on sustainable development,
- detect your weaknesses and adapt by, for example, putting in place a “progress plan” or, as a last resort, a breach of contract,
- and more: spread your best practices!
The pinnacle of ethical entrepreneurship is what is called “messianic logic.” What is this barbaric name? It’s just about spreading your “responsible” values and behaviours to your suppliers. Who says better?
Okay, But How To Be Ethical And Responsible On A Daily Basis?
In summary, there are several options available to you to reconcile business and ethics with the help of your suppliers, here are two concrete and easy to set up:
- Establish a supplier charter that puts ecology and/or the ethical dimension at the centre of the supply chain. Beware, however, of excessive green washing,which is very frowned upon by customers…
- Regularly evaluate your suppliers and establish this culture of feedback in your company. With a tool like I Give My Opinion, you can quickly create vendor surveys, so that your contractors express their opinion. This is a testament to your commitment and helps you to improve continuously!
Ethics is now a privileged dimension for consumers, as demonstrated by this RFi article on the fashion sector and its evolutions.
More broadly, all sectors must adapt to the growing demands of consumers (millennials!), by rethinking their production methods. When do you start?
Contact us here to find out our supplier evaluation and feedback collection tool;-)
“Green washing, or eco-whitening, is for a company to direct its marketing actions and communication towards an ecological positioning. This is often the case of large multinationals that, through their activities, excessively pollute nature and the environment. So to restore their brand image, these companies spend in communication to “whitewash” their image, that’s why we talk about green washing. – Definition of ADEME Greenwashing (source: http://www.institutdesondage.com)