Tag Archives: ethics

Envisioning Wellbeing Economies through the Australian Fashion Industry Context

September 9, 2022UncategorizedAustralia, civil society, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, fashion, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, supply chains, Sustainability, Wellbeingmartijn

Sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific came together to share their knowledge on sustainability challenges and opportunities in the Oceania region as part of a major international sustainability event.

Coordinated by Future Earth Australia, Australian Academia and government partners hosted the sustainability-focused event in Brisbane from 29 June – 1 July 2022.

Sessions were held over three days and covered any aspects of sustainability: climate change, Indigenous knowledges, coastal resilience, urban sustainability, synthetic biology and more. It will focus on sustainability issues and challenges unique to Oceania.

The Oceania Satellite Event built on the outcomes of the inaugural SRI2021 Congress last year in Brisbane, that featured more than 2000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Wellbeing Economies through Fashion

0:04 Welcome from Moderator : Assoc. Prof. Samantha Sharpe
2:12 Wellbeing Economy – Sufficiency – UTS/ISF – Dr.Monique Retamal
10:04 Reuse / Repair – Monash – Aleasha McCallion
18:05 Policy & Stewardship – QUT – Assoc.Prof. Alice Payne
26:30 Inclusive fashion Practices and Intersectionality – USC – Deborah Fisher
34:36 Circularity – Monash – Julie Boulton.
47:04 Modern Slavery – UNDA – Assoc.Prof. Martijn Boersma
55:33 Regenerative Business models – UTS ISF – Karina Kallio
1:04:40 Discussion

Why a degree in modern slavery is a valuable addition to your CV

June 15, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, civil society, companies, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, CSR, ethics, exploitation, Fair Work Ombudsman, forced labour, global supply chains, governance, government, human rights, human rights abuses, labour, labour standards, legislation, Martijn Boersma, migrant workers, modern slavery, modern slavery act, regulation, stakeholders, Supply Chain, supply chains, trade unions, trafficking, transparency, vulnerable workers, work, worker exploitation, working conditionsmartijn

Modern slavery may seem a distant issue in Australia, but a new course will teach graduates why an understanding of it is increasingly important in every business

It might be easy to imagine, especially in Australia, that slavery is a thing of the past. But an estimated 15,000 people were living in conditions of modern slavery here in 2016, through forced marriage and labour, sexual exploitation, debt bondage and human trafficking – exploitation that disproportionately affects women, children, asylum seekers and migrants. Globally, in that same year, 40.3 million victims were being abused.

Martijn Boersma is an associate professor of human trafficking and modern slavery at the University of Notre Dame Australia, where a new course aims to provide the skills and knowledge that will enable people to work proactively to put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable people.

Continue reading Why a degree in modern slavery is a valuable addition to your CV →

The Myth of the Social License to Operate

June 14, 2022Uncategorizedconsumers, Corporate Governance, corporate purpose, corporate social responsibility, CSR, environment, ethics, governance, governments, legitimacy theory, legitimizing myth, Martijn Boersma, myth, regulation, Reporting, social, social dominance theory, social license to operate, stakeholders, Sustainability, transparencymartijn

Over the last two decades many of the world’s largest companies have been involved in scandals, misconduct and dubious ethics. Rather than relying on interventions by public authorities, the dominant governing rationality is informed by the belief that the market is able to balance social, environmental, and financial interests. However, the vast majority of companies that have been involved in ethical transgressions have survived – and have even thrived. Potential damage to the reputation of companies, or threats to their ‘social license to operate’, seems to have had a limited effect. There is therefore reason to believe that market forces are not adequate by themselves to correct corporate misbehaviour.

This chapter from the upcoming ‘Research Handbook on the Sociology of Organizations’ explores the reliance on market forces to correct corporate actions that are not aligned with the common good. It examines to what extent legitimacy theory adequately explains the dynamics around organizational legitimacy, and it proposes an expansion of legitimacy theory to increase its explanatory power: the use of social dominance theory and legitimizing myths expands (organizational) legitimacy as a theoretical construct. In explaining why antagonistic stakeholders continue to rely on market-based approaches, this research suggests that they have either bought into the hierarchy-enhancing myths, or they have not yet developed compelling hierarchy-attenuating myths to challenge the status quo. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that the ‘social license to operate’ and ‘corporate purpose’ are legitimizing myths that uphold the idea that the market can balance social, environmental, and financial interests.

Political investorism: Conceptualising the political participation of shareholders and investors

June 14, 2022Uncategorizedconsumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, disclosures, environment, ethics, governance, investors, regulation, shareholder activism, shareholders, stakeholders, transparencymartijn

This article establishes a new basis for examining the participation, mobilisation and impact of investors at a time when market-based activism for social change is rising in prominence. Existing terminology describing the expression of political values through investment decisions lacks conceptual clarity. Political participation by shareholders and other investors is variously described as shareholder activism or socially responsible investment, and currently conceptualised under the banner of political consumerism. However, this term fails to capture the unique political role and diverse actions of investors. We put forward ‘political investorism’ as a cohering term for investment-based political participation to remedy existing conceptual confusion, to distinguish between investors and consumers as political actors and to set an agenda for the future study of market-based activism. This article defines and develops the concept of political investorism, drawing upon illustrative cases from Australia to identify hallmarks, actors and tactics of this form of political participation.

The reasoning behind conscious consumption

August 9, 2020Uncategorizedcompanies, consumers, consumption, environment, ethics, morality, retailers, values, working conditionsmartijn

The Twitterverse was recently asked “Morally, is it worse to get something from Amazon, or Harvey Norman?”

The question solicited many responses: some described the character of the CEOs, others mentioned the wages and taxes paid (or not paid) by each company, while yet other Twitter users cited the labour conditions experienced by workers at these companies.

These factors may or may not influence whether you buy from Harvey Norman or Amazon, but they aren’t issues that help to answer the moral question. As a matter of fact, the question whether to buy from Harvey Norman or Amazon arguably isn’t a moral one at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is important that people ask themselves questions such as these, but this specific question is a not a moral one: rather, it is an ethical question, the answer to which is informed by your values.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, let me explain.

Continue reading The reasoning behind conscious consumption →

‘Bullying’ clothing companies are asking struggling suppliers for discounts

May 14, 2020UncategorizedAustralia, Bangladesh, brands, business ethicss, companies, corona, covid19, ethics, fashion, retailers, Supply Chainmartijn

Prominent Australian retailers been caught out again for “unsavoury” behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic – including asking for discounts and pushing back orders from struggling suppliers overseas.

Kmart has backflipped on its request for a 30 per cent discount it forced on its Bangladeshi suppliers, but is still enforcing tight turnarounds.

Mosaic Brands, which owns Crossroads, Millers, Noni B and more, has told its suppliers, also in Bangladesh, that it won’t be meeting some of its payments for eight months, according to the ABC.

Mosaic was called out early in the pandemic for its pushy sales techniques, peddling hand sanitiser and face masks to shoppers to capitalise on the panic-buying surge.

The behaviour is nothing short of bullying, business ethics expert Martijn Boersma said.

Continue reading ‘Bullying’ clothing companies are asking struggling suppliers for discounts →

Forced Organ Transplants: A Business and Human Rights Issue

December 19, 2019Uncategorizeddue diligence, ethics, forced organ transplants, human rights, modern slavery, organ harvestingmartijn

In November I was part of a panel of experts that discussed forced organ transplants in the context of medical ethics, business and human rights implications, modern slavery obligations for Australian businesses, the United Nations’ human rights treaties and mechanisms, and Australia’s responsibility to protect and promote human rights.

Footage of this event held at New South Wales Parliament House can be found below. The section on Business and Human Rights starts at 55:00.

Radio Interview: Are You Supporting Slavery Without Knowing It?

September 27, 2019UncategorizedABC, consumers, ethics, forced labour, human rights, modern slaverymartijn

An estimated 40 million people across the globe are modern slaves. This means they’re coerced into work, earn low wages or are being exploited. What do you know about the conditions that the coffee you drink or the clothes you wear were produced in? Two experts explain how we all need to up the ante to consider ourselves ethical consumers.

Associate Professor Justine Nolan, Human rights law at University of New South Wales

Dr Martijn Boersma, Lecturer in Industrial Relations & Business Ethics, University of Technology Sydney

This interview was aired on ABC Radio National, Life Matters with Hilary Harper.

How can a Bank Win a Sustainability Award While Funding a Coalmine?

May 1, 2018UncategorizedAustralia, banking, banks, business in Australia, Commonwealth Bank, Corporate Governance, disclosures, environment, ethics, governance, Parliamentary Joint Committee, Reporting, royal commission, self-regulation, Sustainability, sustainability reports, sustainable company, Westpacmartijn

Westpac was named the most sustainable company in the world in 2014, and the most sustainable bank in the world for the 10^th time in 2017, an honour previously bestowed on ANZ six times in seven years.

Commonwealth Bank and NAB have likewise been recognised as the most sustainable business in Australia and a global industry leader in sustainability respectively.

Glossy sustainability reports with images of hands cradlings sprouting plants illustrate this carefully cultivated image of responsible corporate citizenship.

Continue reading How can a Bank Win a Sustainability Award While Funding a Coalmine? →

Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Supply Chains

August 9, 2015UncategorizedCorporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, governance, labour, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, Supply Chain, supply chains, Sustainability, transparency, UTS, UTS Business School, Value Chainmartijn

Modern supply chains are long, complex and global, making it harder for businesses to know who they’re really dealing with, and for consumers to feel confident they’re buying ethically. The negative consequences of that complexity can be as devastating as the deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which galvanised public opinion about the conditions under which our clothing is produced. Revelations about Australia’s food industry in a recent ABC Four Corners report show there are issues to be addressed at home too. So, the conversation has turned to the need to build responsible supply networks and the challenges in doing that. That’s the focus of the Sustainable Supply Network Initiative at UTS Business School and this #think public lecture.