Ethical codes are adopted by
organizations to support members in understanding the difference between
'right' and 'wrong' and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An
ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business
ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice. The ethical codes of multi-national U.S. based
company Kimberly-Clark (K-C) have
been chosen for this critical essay to analyze some aspects of company’s
approach towards its employees, society and abiding rules and understanding
with an example the term “Green washing”.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is 141 years old company.
K-C brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175
countries.K-C ethical codes provides clear
guidance of company’s code of business ethics for stakeholders and customers
and codes of conduct to its employees. Moreover, K-C ethical way of life is
originated in core values that require accountability, authenticity,
innovation, and caring as the driving influence in all its business decisions,
transactions and initiatives. Conducting business in accordance with these core
values starts at the top and go down to each of the 58,000 Kimberly-Clark
employees whether those employees are based in the U.S., Australia, China,
South Africa, Brazil or any other of the 36 corporate locations the company
maintains worldwide. Kimberly-Clark received multiple honors and awards for its
governance, citizenship and sustainability practices over the past years.
Recently, Ethisphere (The research-based
leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and
sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility,
anti-corruption and sustainability) ranks K-C in “World's Most Ethical
Companies” in 2013 which further
confirms its good business ethics.
Social
responsibility is another term relative to ethical code. It is a duty every
individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between
the economy and the ecosystem. OnceK-C was caught red-handed in
2004 by Greenpeace, an environmental organization, to fool the people by Greenwashing---When significantly more
money or time has been spent advertising being "green" (that is,
operating with consideration for the environment), than is actually spent on
environmentally sound practices. In fact, the company for one of its tissue brand
‘Kleenex’ was found to be involved in logging of thousands of acres of ancient boreal
forest in Canada. Greenpeace launched
its international “Kleercut” campaign on November 18, 2004 to convince
Kimberly-Clark to reduce its impact on ancient forest and increase its use of
fiber harvested through environmentally responsible practices.
When Greenpeace launched a global campaign against
Kimberly‑Clark in 2004 highlighting the issues
of deforestation and the supply chain, the company significantly opened a face
to face dialogue with their adversary, not only to understand the issues and
the ways they could address them better but also to explore ways they could
even work together. This led to the joint creation of fibre‑sourcing standards, issued in
2009, which have influenced sourcing practices in the wider market. Eventually,
Kimberly-Clark also started to rely on bamboo trees for the pulp to manufacture
the tissues. Moreover, in 2010, K-C started a venture “Sustainability 2015”.
“Sustainability
2015” is an integral component of K-C Global Business Plan. Built around the
People, Planet and Products, it encompasses social, environmental and economic
elements into company’s agenda, as they take action to sustain healthy working
environments and communities. “Sustainability 2015” weaves a
sustainable-business mindset and practice into its operations, and it allows
global opportunities for its employees, businesses and brands to take an active
role in achieving Kimberly-Clark’s vision of leading the world in essentials
for a better life. The corporation progress towards them as it is summarized in
the table given. At this point, don’t you think by just making ethical
codes/code of conduct one can assure success for a company?
No,
absolutely not. As I mentioned earlier, the case of
Kimberly-Clark corporation in 2004 filed against them by Greenpeace. K-C has
compiled very decent code of conduct. No doubt, formulating the code according
to the laws is very important part for a company to stand on it but actually practicing
these ethical codes in reality lead towards success. For instance, at a
national level, Yuhan‑Kimberly, a joint venture in South
Korea, is behind ‘Keep Korea Green’, one of the most well-known
and successful domestic environmental campaigns. Running since 1984, 39 million
trees have already been planted. The company recently launched a product with a
higher percentage of bio‑degradable materials and although
more expensive it has been very successful in the market – underlining the
important relation between trust in a brand and customer loyalty based on
values and business ethics.
By Hafiz Umair Masood Awan
University of Padova, Italy
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