Towards A Better Understanding of The Ethics of Sustainability

Abstract

Recent challenges and crises have amplified concerns for ethical and sustainable practices, bearing in mind that human is the catalyst of change and implementation of sustainability, scrutiny of ethical values would be crucial for acknowledging the necessity of rapid action-taking. The concept of sustainability arises as a fundamental concept that directs human behaviour in all spheres and from which it is possible to question human choices and decisions in the context of ethical sustainability, and businesses are no exception.

In light of the rival competition in markets, the possibility that businesses adopt unethical practices and degrade their sustainability values emerges with the motive of higher profits, this might result in harming societal and environmental values and their brand image once the communicated false pieces of information and wrong actions are revealed. From this point of view, formulating ethical business policies will benefit corporations to ensure their continuity and achieve smoothly the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This paper aims to emphasize the importance of ethical business policies and highlight the correlation between ethics in corporate framework and sustainability through a literature review that suggests a deep understanding of the key concepts: Ethics and sustainability, combined with the capacity of allying both concepts would be a pathway to success when it comes to tackling ethical crises, both in the present and near future.

This research contributes to clarifying the renewed emphasis on the concepts of ethics and business ethics, and in identifying the correlation between ethics and sustainability within a corporate work frame.

Keywords: Ethics, business ethics, sustainability

JEL Classification: M1

Paper type: Theoretical Research