Much is made of the business’s role in solving societal issues that used to be left to governments, religious institutions, charities, and individuals themselves. This isn’t just some touchy-feely impulse nurtured by communications agencies and Corporate Social Responsibility teams, however. As studies like Edelman’s Trust Barometer show, consumers expect businesses to rise to the challenge of addressing things like climate change, pandemics, and social justice. That’s a tall order for businesses that are oriented historically towards profits, not purpose.
A strict definition of an “ethical business” varies widely across sectors and the relevant issues they can address. An ethical business able to address aspects of climate change, for example, is expected to do as much as possible operationally to protect our climate. An ethical business able to address public health issues is expected to do everything in its power to keep employees and customers safe. An ethical business able to address aspects of social justice is expected to have equitable internal policies (e.g., hiring, career advancement, leadership composition). However, beyond those nuances of “ethical business,” a baseline definition emerges. Businesses expected to have the capacity to address societal issues are expected to do whatever they can operationally to address them, and perhaps most important, to live up to what they say they’re doing.
Consequences are high when businesses get this wrong. Greenwashing, Pandemic Pandering, and Wokewashing don’t go down well with today’s conscious consumers. VW’s disastrous operational decision to cheat emissions standards. Amazon’s “Thank You Amazon Heroes” campaign when health and safety standards for its workers are seriously questioned. And of course, our own industry-- the communications sector-- with numerous programmes to champion Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, yet ashamedly faced with statistics that rarely change in terms of representation.
If being ethical is fundamentally about walking the walk, how do you get organisations—particularly large ones—to live up to consumer expectations and their own public commitments? The answer is easy for those of us in the reputation business, but is particularly overlooked in the C-Suite. Communications teams need to be in the room when significant operational decisions are made. Communications teams need to understand product development, walk factory floors, and grasp an organisation’s internal dynamics so that we, as professional communicators, know what we shouldn’t ever be saying.
In VW’s case, would the decision to cheat emissions standards have been made if the PR team and ad agencies been in the room when that operational decision was made? Would Amazon have launched a campaign thanking key workers had its creative communications team been able to visit actual factory floors? Would communications agencies continue to have landing pages on their corporate websites that champion diversity when their offices look the same as 10 years ago if the agency’s marketing manager really had a say in things?
My hunch is no.
That’s because communications professionals-- especially those specialising in Public Relations-- are guardians of a company’s reputation. That’s not a spiritual commitment, but a very practical one. We know exactly how long it takes to claw back consumer trust. We know exactly how much marketing budget is wasted on reactive crisis management efforts. We know exactly how long it takes to repair a relationship with a valued media contact when they feel we have lied to them. We know exactly how long it takes to help employees not feel bad about where they work. And in many cases, we know exactly that broken trust can never be repaired. Which means you’re building your brand from scratch—a very costly pursuit.
And that’s a bottom-line concern. So, if you’re a business that can’t do the right thing, don’t say you’re doing anything close to whatever’s “right” in your sector. However, if you want to reap the rewards of being an ethical business (and there are many), get your guardians of reputation involved in your strategic decision-making and give them a glimpse of your real day-to-day operations. Ask them what they truly think. Chances are, you’ll achieve both purpose and profit.