Week 2 MGF 5020 Business ethics and
sustainability and the UN
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs): Innovations &
integration of the United
Nations SDGs
Learning Objective
• Integration of the SDGS as the
responsible business practice
• Sustainable development and social
transformation- Moving towards a
rights-based approach and capability development
- - The SDGs and social choice
• Civil Society and partnerships for the SDGs-- The SDGs and social choice
• The Challenge of the SDG
and integrity of business and politics
Integration of the
SDGS as the
responsible
business practice
Concern for
Sustainability: a key
goal for business
ethics? The Concept of an
Ethical Economy And the SDGs as a
social choice & policy
4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggTrGMygFY According to Amartya Sen
(2009), reaching a reasoned
agreement on an ideal state is immensely difficult. But we
need to know - how to make the word less unjust [pp.95- 102].
[ Will discuss
from 2-11] Legitimacy -The argument that embedding sustainability can
create legitimacy for business firms Definitions:
Sustainability and sustainable development
❑ A sustainable corporation is one that aims at increasing long-term
shareholder value by integrating economic, environmental and social
growth opportunities into its corporate and business strategies (Dow
Jones Sustainability Group Index, 2010, cited in Banerjee, 2011 ). ❑
According to Haugh and Talwar (2010: 385), social sustainability covers
problems such as poverty, income inequality, disease, access to health
care and sanitation, education and "broader problems associated with the
impact of globalization on economic development." 5 How Do Corporations Embed Sustainability
Across the Organization?
Banerjee (2011). Economic sustainability has dominated research in the business disciplines. On
the other hand, social and environmental issues remain very much peripheral
research topics in management.[…] The dominant view is that businesses can profit
from sustainability while solving the social and environmental problems of the world.
Thus, business firms can "serve the world's poor profitably" (Prahalad & Hammond,
2002, Banerjee, 2011) . 6• The approach to sustainability and business ethics is based on a comprehensive theory of
responsibility, ethics, and legitimacy of corporations in the context of sustainability a globalized
society (De George, 1999; Rendtorff, 2009, 2018, 2020 p19).
An approach to understanding ethics and sustainable business ethics also implies a critical evaluation
of efficiency and utility discourse and activities [ analyses of empirical evidence]. And it leads to a
broader interdisciplinary, institutional, and historical perspective on the norms and values of
corporations. We understand what indeed implies sustainable
development for all; our considerations are economic,
political and cultural.
Cause and effect analyses and categorization : Population Growth Poverty Pollution Climate Change Depletion of resource
Loss of Biodiversity Energy Security Brundtland report 1987 for sustainable
Development and sustainability
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Zf-_Ls0L8
Sustainable development was defined in the World Commission on
Environment and Development's 1987 Brundtland report ´Our Common
Future` as 'development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs’. At the same time, the definition has been
countered by Nobel Laureate
Amartya Sen
[ will be discussed in detail in week 2, 4 & 9]
Sustainability is a complex
and contested concept, too.
8Situated concerns for
business’s responsibility: Sustainable
Development from the perspectives of rights and
responsibility
‘[…] because your business will see benefits on its bottom
line. You will see direct benefits, such as protecting
investment and reducing risk. And you will make less
tangible, but no less important, gains in assets such as
reputation and customer loyalty. In fact, there is a happy
convergence between what your shareholders pay you for, and
what is best for millions of people the world over’. - Kofi Annan
2001 •To whom is the
corporation
responsible?
•What is the
relationship between
business,
government and
society?
John Elkington wrote the book Cannibals with Forks where
he defined the triple bottom line focusing on people, the
planet, and profit as an essential development of the UN sustainability framework (Elkington, 1999). CSR/CSV
N The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
otion of globalisation becomes evident
Notions of
globalisation
Relocation of
industrialisation
Value extraction from the
natural resources
Value extraction cheap
source of labour
Value creation: economic
equality
Contextual conditions of emergence
discussion on CSR
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower
Women Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for
Development The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Millennium Summit in September 2000 the largest
gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN
Millennium Declaration 9 Translated as sustainable development goals
(SDGs)
Packaged as social responsibility of business
SDGs + GOAL 1: NO POVERTY + GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGER + GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL- BEING + GOAL 4: QUALITY EDUCATION + GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITY + GOAL 6: CLEAN WATER AND
SANITATION + GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN
ENERGY + GOAL 8: DECENT WORK AND
ECONOMIC GROWTH GOAL 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE GOAL 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND
PRODUCTION GOAL 13: CLIMATE ACTION GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW WATER GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND GOAL 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS Stakeholders and value creation 13 Freeman (2017)
Profits Are not the Purpose of Business Freeman’sBusiness Ethics: How
responsible capitalism works ❖ Value creation ❖ Sustainable value creation ❖ Ethical value creation The New Story of Business: Towards a More Responsible
Capitalism. Business & Society
Freeman suggests to take broader view of
responsibility of business towards multiple
stakeholders. The New Story of Business: Towards a More Responsible Capitalism Freeman, 2017 Conscious Capitalism -Michael Porter and a colleague have
suggested that companies focus on “shared value” CSV- where
economic value and social value are entangled . Example:
Nestle
Creative Capitalism, whereby companies
focus is on
public welfare. Gates Foundation
How companies can simultaneously create value for all of its
key stakeholders? To say broadly that business and society need
each other might seem like a cliché, but it is also the basic truth that will pull companies out of the
muddle that their current corporate-responsibility
thinking has created.’ Porter and Kramer argued for CSV CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP: TOWARD AN EXTENDED
THEORETICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION ( Matten
& Crane ,2005) + Corporate citizenship (CC) – the notion
emerged
because
business has to display social role
+ This is a new concept in 2005, because …. +Corporate citizenship has
become an
integral part of every
decision
and action we take. We believe corporate citizenship is
demonstrated
in who we are as a company, how we conduct our
business and how
we take care of our employees, as
well as
in how
we interact
with
the world at large.“- Ford +Our vision is to be an innovative and inspirational global citizen in a
world where our company participates. Every day we drive
responsible business practices that contribute to profitable and
sustainable
growth. Nike
Global constituency
+ Liberal Citizenship. the State. and
Globalization + The central characteristic of globalization -is
the progressive deterritorialization of social,
political, and economic interaction
+
Seems "corporations" and "citizen ship"
come together in modern society at the
point where the state ceases to be the only
guarantor
of citizenship. +
Deregulations –
economic globalization
The Concept of Global
Constituency The term global constituency refers
to the political and ethical
recognition that individuals,
regardless of nationality, are part of
a larger decision-making process
that affects them. It extends the
idea of citizenship beyond national
borders, acknowledging that people
have both the right and
responsibility to participate in
shaping ethical business practices Weekly Learning Objective 2 Civil
Society and Partnerships for the
SDGs The SDGs & social choice
Responses to Market Failure Global civil regulation— Business and NGOs: why collaborate?
Globalization and civil society
organisations + Globalization reshaping relations between corporations and CSOs: Engagement with overseas CSOs Global issues and causes Globalization of CSOs Fostering participation and democracy Civil society organizations &diversity in CSO characteristics Activities Academic research Market research Policy research Information provision Campaigning Protests & demos Boycott co-ordination Scope Individual Grass-roots Local Regional National Transnational Global Focus Natural environment Social issues Development Poverty alleviation Human rights Animal welfare Structure Informal Formal Co-operative Professional Entrepreneurial Network Type Community group Campaign group Research organization Business association Religious group Trade union Technical body CSOs Source: adapted from McIntosh and Thomas (2002: 31) Civil society: wide variety of disparate actors promoting different issues Business
may take account of these different issues simultaneously.: social partnerships Limitations of business-CSO collaboration hostility and/or power imbalances between the ‘partners’ CSO independence Rights-based approach and the SDGS SocialSDG as a Social choice policy
responsibility of business and transformative changes 27 The right-based approach talks about the development of
individuals and all as they aspire for ; Hence develop and flourish according to their own norms and
desires. International Development, 37 (2): 54-60. Rights based approach of theory of
rights of Amartya Sen.
This perspective focuses on
-Capability
-Identity
because of recognition, to be
entitled, and to represent
- Identity
is linked with
political, social,
and economic entitlements Enactment of rights
Right to access
opportunities
, 20 Rights-based approach is linked with the issues of
equity- recognition and thereby, Justice Amartya Sen suggests these
are all connected to
encountering inequality in
terms of capability. Amartya Sen- Development as Freedom -1999 Argued that the notion of rights is not clear; is it something that must be provided or
something that cannot be taken away? Rather than focus on rights, governments should be concerned with the concrete
capabilities of their citizens Development of capability of an individual
are matters of his/her basic human rights. The right to fully function and flourish, to develop the capacity of individuals and
communities - built on explicit ethical principles that promote dignity (deontology) and
equality (justice) Sen’s capabilities approach focuses on positive freedom, a person's actual ability to be or
do something, rather than on negative freedom approaches Rights are materialised through (i) recognition and (ii) representation (discourse ethics) 25 + The right to fully function and flourish, to develop the capacity of
individuals and
communities - built on explicit ethical principles
that promote dignity (deontology) and
equality (justice) + Sen’s capabilities approach focuses on positive freedom, a
person's actual ability to be or
do something, rather than on
negative freedom approaches + Rights are materialised through (i) recognition and (ii)
representation (discourse ethics 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunGwSCuksE .49-4.00 Sustainable development goals and social choice for
social transformation by
moving towards a rights-based approach and capability development According to Sen, the subject of social justice was discussed by
Aristotle in the fourth century BC
with great reach and clarity, particularly in Nicomachean Ethics.
During the European Enlightenment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The focus was on
“transcendental institutionalism- perfection; transcendental institutionalism concentrates primarily on
getting the institutions right.
Sen suggests that the social choice theory is deeply concerned with the following:
-Relational
since
the rational basis of social judgments based on of public decisions in
choosing between social alternative 1. Social states and societal realizations- Realization of justice in the sense
not as a matter of
rules and norms, or based on what societies/ communities place its value
2. Focus is the
practical reason behind what is to be done
3. Surviving plurality of competing principles Social choice theory has given considerable
recognition to the plurality of reasons 4. The Challenge of the SDG
and integrity
of business and politics
+ The notion of sustainability interacts and is entangled with the idea of integrity. + Integrity characterizes the development of the concept beyond + individuals, going further. + Into society and nature. + Environmental integrity refers to the coherence and wholeness + of living beings and ecosystems. Integrity in business and politics. The discursive mechanism in relation to politics of
rights has often obscured the need to specify who
bears the counterpart obligations to deliver on those
rights consistent and systematic way, the question: “Who must
do what for whom?”3
This task must be understood in historical context Value thinking competencies System-thinking
competencies The rights-based approach provides clarity in
formulating the distributional questions According to Amartya Sen (1999, 2000), the ethos of sustainable development is
embedded in the democratic process to ensure equity of all globally produced
resources. The vision of sustainable business exemplifies
“integrative business ethics”
that mediates between
ethical, political, and economic rationality (Ulrich,
2008, cited in Rendortff, 2019) as a new strategy for
the social responsibility of business and moral
management. The concept of integrity places virtue at the core.
Unpacking reveals: This concept of sustainable business
ethics undertakes/considers that
“critical analyses: - must be combined with an
interdisciplinary institutionalist
approach to economics and social
sciences as the approach to
understanding business ethics.
(Rendtorff, 2019). • -considers a broader
interdisciplinary, institutional, and
historical perspective on the norms
that include issues of justice and
equity, which must be entangled with
the values of corporations.
Sustainable business ethics
combine- Freeman, Amartya Sen
and Fraser .
Freeman: Discussions of business and
capitalism become meaningful and work
when we combine
business, ethics, and
society based on the idea of the stakeholder
Amartya
Sen thinks ethics is the foundation
of economic action (Sen, 1987) based on the
vision of what individuals aspire for:
recognition, capability and development as
freedom [living a meaningful life]. Rawls’ concept of political justice
[ will be
discussed elaborately from 4-10] Accountability
+ Accountability of actors in the global social and ethical
economy
Predominant ideas look for three aspects of accountability—legal, social, and moral to
understand their respective roles in holding corporations to account.
Legal accountability has clarity, force, and effectiveness on
corporate functioning and on
the states Responsibility—the Bridge between materialization of
rights and accountability
The need and demand for such accountability grows greater by the day,
Paradigms of accountability were basically constructed for a world of state-based
multilateralism, but now, they are a multilevel complex of institutions, networks, coalitions, and
informal arrangements.
We need new principled frameworks to secure human rights and accountability —principles
that recognize the complexity of agency and the claim of rights.
The SDGs as responsible business actions evidenced
(a) how human rights can be plausibly linked to accounts of corresponding obligations,
(b) (b) how such obligations can be allocated to diverse potential agents of justice, and (c) how
those agents might be held accountable for fulfilling those obligations.
The
responsibilities approach to human rights and— more broadly—the effort to understand accountability
anew and achieve global justice. Cont…
To do so, we must focus on
1. capabilities of multilateral economic institutions where
SDGs play a ley role as the social choice policy by
linking their newly assumed responsibilities. 2.
To establish clearer lines of responsibility for both
performance and oversight The Concept of an
Ethical Economy
And the SDGs as a
social choice & policy
30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggTrGMygFY Sustainability refers to the long-term maintenance of systems
focussing on environmental, economic and social considerations.
Maintenance implies
• Compliance first
• Also, it integrates accountability and responsibility
[ Will discuss from 3] Legitimacy -The argument that embedding sustainability can
create legitimacy for business firms Reference list ❑ Rendretoff D J Philosophy of Management and Sustainability: Rethinking
Business Ethics and Social Responsibility in Sustainable Development,
Chapter # 2 & 5 ❑
Sen A (The reach of social choice theory. Soc Choice Welf (2012) 39:259– 272 DOI 10.1007/s00355-011-0613-7 ❑ Evans. P(2002). Symposium on Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen
Collective Capabilities, Culture, and Amartya Sen's Development as
Freedom. Studies in Comparative 51作业君版权所有
