In recent years the manner in which companies and corporations conduct their activities has been increasingly subject to ethical protocol that aims to safe-guard the environment, as well as guaranteeing the health and safety of the work-force. These ethical practices have started to transform corporate culture, and stricter guidelines are likely to follow.
As the world becomes an increasingly greener place – many organizations are implementing policies and regulations based on how to make their practices more eco-friendly. Most people now accept that issues such as global warming, carbon emissions, ozone-layer depletion and the erosion of the polar ice-caps are having a damaging impact upon the world’s biosphere and that action has to be taken in order to prevent an ecological meltdown. In recent years, following the Kyoto treaty, numerous laws have been put in place, and if businesses and organizations fail to adhere to them – they are subject to fines and imprisonment.
This has happened in tandem with a new range of compensation claims and litigation regulations being drafted for employees – stipulating in unambiguous terms, what an employer can and can’t do. If employers fail to address, and put these regulations into practice, they can similarly be subjected to prosecution, which can sometimes also result in hefty financial compensations for disgruntled workers.
As the work-place is becoming increasingly ethical and eco-friendly, many companies face the risk of their reputations becoming seriously blemished, if they do not behave accordingly. A good example of this are petroleum companies who face boycotts encouraged by activists dismayed at the environmental damage caused by oil spillages. These sorts of accidents do not have happen for a company’s reputation to be soured – as workers who express unsafe working conditions are often subject to tremendous public sympathy – resulting in negative consequences for organizations that do not treat their staff properly.