Marketing and Profiting From An Ethics Edge

Presented by

Calgary June 5, 2015

David NitkinPresident, EthicScan Canada

Questions1. What do we mean by upmanship?2. Is it moral or ethical to market an ethics

edge?3. What does superior or responsible CSR

performance look like?4. How can we embed and enhance ethical

choices, decisions and outcomes?

The Meaning of Upmanship (1)

1. Do one better2. The art or practice of outdoing or keeping

one jump ahead of a friend or competitor3. Continuous improvement4. Aim your decisions higher on the minimize

harm, do no harm, do good triangle

The Meaning of Upmanship (2)

• Striving to do better• Realizing more stakeholder expectations• Building upon experience of others• Addressing social needs• Transformative nature of “we are wrong”• Decisions higher up the goals hierarchy

HIERARCHY OF GOALS

DO GOOD

DO NO HARM

MINIMIZE HARM

Thesis• Canadian business people have not realized

their potential as an agent of change– Community investment– Role model employment equity– Redefine socially acceptable forms of “trust-

based” economic globalization– Intellectual capital– Lack responsible Canadian governance model

The Ethicality of Marketing Ethics Yes – its right to market

an ethics edge No it’s not

Values Everyone does it Not all organizations are ethical or equal

Morality (Public reaction)

You will be rewarded by the public

You can be harshly judged by the public or certain stakeholders

Share price 30-60% of valuation is reputation: Apple, Coca Cola

Share prices typically increase with layoffs

Sustainability footprint

Measure and market an ethics edge

Scientific knowledge-based certainty is questioned

Quantifying Superior CSR Performance (1)

• Return on investment• Shared values• Stakeholder engagement• A respected employer of choice• Corporate reputation• Cultivation of “gold collar” workers

Quantifying Superior CSR Performance (2)

• There are some who find answers in a particular framework (GC, Future Fit, GRI)

• Others look for support and standards without assessment or benchmarking

• CSR standards change over time (society, science, politics, footprint, expectations)

• One size cannot fit all circumstances

Assessing and Quantifying Superior Performance (1)

Green Blue Grey Brown

Organizational Ethic

Sustainable Empowerment Profitable short and long term

Short term

Partnering Engagement Community investment

Philanthropy Isolation; charity of owner

Standard setting

Eco-conscious Results based management

Management Dominant family or shareholder

Management style

Outside in Top down and bottom up

Inside in isolation

Top down hierarchical

Assessing and Quantifying Superior Performance (2)

Green Blue Grey Brown

Performance approach

GRI G4 Global compact Accounting standard

Audit standard

Ethics regimen Whistle blower protection

Ombudsman Harassment policies

Code of ethics

Progressive practices

Sabbatical Same sex benefits

Emergency family days

Compassionate leave

Audit Internal and external

Disclose executive compensation

GAAP Internal audit

Higher Thinking To Up Your Performance

• Don’t strive to keep all stakeholders happy• Sharing values isn’t the same as shared values• Transparency, honesty and accountability can

find expression in all organizations• Be wary of one size (reporting standard,

performance metric) fitting all companies• Do the right thing even if it’s for the wrong

reasons

Conclusion

• Clarify and realize the full potential of your corporate responsibility competency

• Upmanship is acceptable in all circumstances or rainbow colours

• Upmanship is its own reward