BEING ETHICAL

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Make the change: Your comprehensive guide to be being responsible in 2010.MMMaakkee ttthhhee cchhannggee::YYourr ccoommpprreehhheennssiivee gguuiiidddee ttoo bbbee bbeeiinngg rressppoonssiiibbbllle iiinn 22001100.

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Taking a stand Find how your every-day decisions can make an impact

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Ethical attitudes for a better planet

If the world is to tackle inequality, poverty and issues surrounding sustainability and the environment, consumers and businesses will have to change. A switch to ethical living is the only way forward

Recent surveys show that consumers across Eu-rope are increasingly in-terested in ethical and environmentally friend-ly products and services.

For example, the global market for Fairtrade certified products grew sig-nificantly in 2008, despite the onset of the global recession.

Studies show that British consum-ers are more likely to buy goods on environmental, animal welfare or fair trade claims than their counter-parts in many other European coun-tries.

However, changing green attitudes to green behaviour remains a major challenge. Recently, a European sur-vey found that while three in four consumers said they were ready to buy environmentally friendly prod-ucts even if they were more expen-sive, only 17 percent had actually done so in the past month.

In addition to the price factor, pur-chasing decisions are influenced by consumer trust in companies’ claims about the ethical and environmental performance of their products.

Many consumers feel that they do not have enough information – or,

conversely, that they struggle with too much confusing information – about the products they buy and use every day. In this respect, retailers play a key role in promoting environ-mentally friendly products.

What is being done?The issue of sustainable con-sumption is already being addressed by a number of

mainstream companies who aim to support consumers in making more ethical choices.

Nestlé, for example, has decided to make their popular KitKat chocolate bar from Fairtrade certified choco-late, helping thousands of African farmers receive a decent price for their cocoa and guaranteeing, among other things, that no child labour is used in the production.

Unilever, the world’s largest pur-chaser of black tea, has committed to source the tea for all its Lipton tea bags from farms certified by Rain-forest Alliance, an international en-vironmental organisation. The cer-tification entails a comprehensive approach towards sustainable farm management.

Don’t underestimate your power as a consumer

Companies are also increas-ingly looking into the envi-ronmental impacts of their

products during their entire lifecy-cle.

For example, in 2006, Procter & Gamble launched its “Turn To 30” campaign to encourage consumers wash their clothes at lower tempera-tures to help reduce the carbon emis-sions associated with washing.

To make ethical business main-stream, consumers play a key role as they have the leverage to encourage companies to be more sustainable in the production, transportation, and overall impact of products they pro-vide.

The power of consumers should not be underestimated. If any doubt, remember the plastic bag revolution in the UK.

As a result of improved consum-er awareness, a nationwide rejec-tion of plastic bags in supermarkets halved the use of bags to 450 million between 2007 and 2009, proving that people can and will change their be-haviour for the benefit of our planet.

“Making these changes aren’t revolutionary, but they do save you money.”

Save yourself moneyHow to slash bills and look after the planet too.

WE RECOMMEND

PAGE 8

A question of ethics p. 121. Is corporate responsibility just a market-ing tool or the future of modern business?

Personal insight p. 142. Rainforest Alliance President Tensie Whelan on the fight for equality.

BEING ETHICAL, 1ST EDITION, MARCH 2010

Country Manager: Willem De GeerEditorial Manager: Danielle StaggBusiness Developer: Darren Clarke

Responsible for this issueProject Manager: Dominic Webber Phone: 0207 665 4406E-mail: dominic.webber@mediaplanet.com

Distributed with: The Daily Telegraph, March 2010Print: Telegraph Media Group

Mediaplanet contact information: Phone: 0207 665 4400Fax: 0207 665 4419E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com

We make our readers succeed!

Laura MaanaviljaCommunications Manager, CSR Europe

Save energy and money

1Turning down your thermo-stat and choosing energy-effi-

cient home appliances lowers car-bon dioxide emissions and saves on your energy bills.

Think before you buy

2Buy high-quality things that last, avoid excess packaging —

and think before you throw away, too. Recycle everything you can.

Travel smart

2Try walking or cycling – it’s good for the planet, and for

your health! When you can, go by train instead of by plane.

MY BEST TIPS

1

2

CHALLENGES

3

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Question: With fuel bills on the rise, can anything be done to increase energy efficiency and decrease heating costs?Answer: Insulating your home properly can make a big difference to the warmth of your house, lower your fuel bills — and help the environment.

You can shut doors and close windows; you can put an extra layer on and ocas-sionally turn up the heating. But if you want to keep warm and save money, then there really is only one guaranteed way to do it: get your house properly insulated. Otherwise, your property could be leak-ing cash.

Good insulation, say the experts, should be the first thing you consider when win-terising your home if you want to make big impact on large fuel bills.

Find the root of the problemAccording to figures from the Department of Ener-gy and Climate Change’s Renewable Energy Strat-egy, as much as a third of the money spent on gas and electricity is lost through poor insulation.

The National Insulation Association — which rep-resents manufacturers and installers of cavity wall and loft insulation and draught proofing – has some sobering

statistics of its own. It says 45 per cent of a home’s heat can escape through unin-sulated solid walls; 33 per cent through other uninsulated walls; 25 per cent through lofts and roof spaces, and 12 per cent through unwanted ventilation and draughts.

A double-edged sword While poor insulation may put you out of pocket, the other loser is the environ-ment. You’ll be forever turning up the thermostat — and more energy use in-creases carbon dioxide, one the biggest contributors to global warming.

A common problem, says Neil Marshall, Chief Executive of the Na-

tional Insulation Associa-tion, is that householders

think their home is well insulated when it

isn’t. More than half the homes in the UK are thought to

have insufficient insulation. For ex-

ample, loft insula-tion should be a min-

imum depth of 270mm and should be cross laid

when installed. So check out what you do have, make sure it’s doing the job properly and top it up with extra insulation if nec-essary.

The other misconception is that insula-tion installation is a messy, lengthy proc-ess. “Both cavity wall and loft insulation can be installed in a couple of hours,” says Neil. “Solid wall insulation can take long-er but the benefits are even greater.”

Loft insulation — usually made from mineral wool quilt, blown mineral wool and blown cellulose fibre — works by pre-venting heated air from moving through the material. The higher the R-value, the more effective the product.

Then there’s cavity wall insulation. “This is only suitable for properties that have inner and outer brick work,” says Neil. “The chosen material is then in-jected into this gap. There are a variety of different products available but they all work in the same way – the insulation, combined with the trapped air, acts as a barrier to stop heat from escaping.”

You can also choose from a number of solid wall insulation solutions.Plus, there are several types of draught proofing ma-terials, from brushes, foams and sealants to strips and shaped rubber or plastic.

These should be professionally installed, says Neil, in order to ensure that vital ven-tilation requirements for fuel burning ap-pliances are not blocked. An NIA installercan help you make the right choice.

What you need to knowInsulation grant schemes are — not sur-prisingly — very popular. “The most wellknown ones are CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Target) and Warm Front, forthose on qualifying benefits,” says Neil.

“CERT provides free insulation for those on qualifying benefits and around a 50 per cent reduction for those in the able-to-pay sector.”

The take up of the schemes is high; so much so that funding has been exhaustedin some cases, resulting in around 30 per cent of the industry currently runningunder capacity.

When temperatures drop and fuel costsrise, proper insulation can make a real dif-ference. “Savings of up to £265 a year canbe made on heating bills by installing loft and cavity wall insulation,” says Neil, “and up to £400 a year with solid wall in-sulation.”

Keep heat in and costs down

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

CHANGE

“Savings of up to £265 a year can be made on heating bills”Niel Marshall Chief Executive, National Insulation Association

INSPIRATION

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ROLL ON THE SAVINGSHome insulation is a quick process but the benefits are far from short-lived.

OUR BEST TIPS FOR LIMITING

HEAT LOSS AROUND THE

HOME

4

Watch for heat leaks

It sounds obvious: but close windows and doors in winter. Make sure they

‘fit’ properly and apply a sealant where they don’t.

Be pro-active and think ahead

2Investigate where the heat is escaping from in yourhome and then plug that

gap. Draft excluders along the bot-tom of internal doors can help. Cracks and splits in wooden front doors should also be filled. Apply a draught excluder to your letter box and check your skirting boards too.

Appreciate the benefits of small modifications

3Curtains made from heavy fabric can work as draft ex-luders — keep curtains

and blinds closed to help lessen the impact of heat escape. Fit a curtain over your front door which can be tied back in summer.

The trade secret

4“There are a huge amount of heat and energy savingtips,” says Neil Marshall,

Chief Executive of the National Insulation Association, “but there are none more effective than insu-lation.”

1

MAKE THOSE SMALL CHANGES

MAKAKAKAKKKMA E TTE TE TE TE TE THHOHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSEEE E SMALLL CHACHANNGES

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Fairtrade works — I’ve seen it with my own eyes

If you were Harriet Lamb, there’s a good chance that you would spend a great deal of your time being upset and angry. As Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation — the in-dependent non-profit organisation championing farmers in developing countries — Harriet regularly wit-nesses terrible poverty and heart-breaking injustice at first-hand.

“I still get angry,” she says. “I met a woman in Malawi recently who grows tea. She has five children of her own and she’s adopted five or-phans and the thing she wants most is for her children to learn to read and write. She earned so little for her crop, though, that sometimes she has to take them out of school to save mon-ey so she can feed them. Other times, she skips her main meal to save the money to keep them in school. Now that, in 2010, is unacceptable — and I think most people would agree with me.”

When she was five, Harriet’s fam-ily moved to India, so she was aware

of devastating poverty from a young age. She also nurtured a belief “that it’s within our grasp to change it.”

On one level, she admits — in a world of corporate profit-making — that sounds naive. “On the other hand, I think it’s very important to retain that clarity of vision and ask: ‘Actually, why can’t we fix it?’”

For the past 16 years, the Fairtrade Foundation has stood up for farmers in the developing world who are vul-nerable to bad deals from big corpo-rations. When licensed by Fairtrade, companies must pay the guaranteed Fairtrade price which always covers the cost of production.

Harriet cites the example of Justi-

no Peck, now Chairman of the Toledo Cacao Growers’ Association in Be-lize, whose cacao is used by a leading chocolate company.

In 1991, however, when the price of their crop fell to less than half its former value, Justino and his fellow farmers had to find work elsewhere. Now, sales of cacao on Fairtrade terms have taken them beyond the subsist-ence level.

“Justino had mud floor to his house – now it’s concrete,” says Har-riet. “He has a proper roof on his house and his children have gone to university.”

So as consumers, says Harriet, there is one thing we can do immedi-ately to make a difference to lives in developing countries, whether we’re buying chocolate, bananas or (in the UK) one of the 3000 other products with the Fairtrade mark: stop and think.

“Fairtrade is about reminding peo-ple that someone grew their choco-late, coffee, tea, rice and the cotton that went into their T-shirt,” says Harriet. “If we paid a fair price for those products it would be one step down the road to tackling poverty.

“It comes down to this: Are we ready to pay a bit more so that those people can put a meal on their table every night?”.

“It comes down to this: Are we ready to pay a bit more so that those people can put a meal on their table?”Harriet Lamb Executive Director, Fairtrade Foundation

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

Question: Will it really make a difference if I buy Fairtrade goods?

Answer: Yes, because farmers in the developing world don’t want hand-outs — they want dignity and a fair price for their crop.

AN EVERY-DAY BATTLEOur small actions make a big difference to farmers and producers in develop-ing countries PHOTO: ISTOCK PHOTO

INSPIRATION

FACTS

Three out of five people in the UK now

recognise the Fairtrade Mark.

Companies which have a license to

use the Fairtrade Mark on one or more

of their products include Ben & Jerry’s,

Starbucks and the Whitbread Group.

Items with the Fairtrade Mark include

everything from avocados to apples,

chutney to confectionary, and rum to yo-

ghurt. One in every four bananas sold in

UK supermarkets is now Fairtrade.

Fairtrade has gone mainstream.

In 2008, Fairtrade sales grew by at

least 50% in seven countries, including

Australia and New Zealand (72%), Cana-

da (67%), Finland (57%), Germany (50%),

Norway (73%), and Sweden (75%). Sales

of Fairtrade certified products increased

by 43% in the United Kingdom and 10%

in the United States. Recent independent

research discovered that 25% of those

surveyed would pay more for Fairtrade

products.

HOW WE MADE IT

1. Why is Fairtrade so impor-tant?2. What does Fairtrade still have left to do?

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. World trade is dominated by global companies. Farmers who supply them rarely have negoti-ating power. Fairtrade puts them in a better negotiating position, where the farmers actually co-own the company, enabling farm-ers to exert even more influence in securing a share of the market. 2. Fairtrade must not lose sight of its objective – to change the terms of world trade. It is important mul-tinationals entering the Fairtrade market do not knock out trailblaz-ers – it is these innovators who work with farmers on the ground, testing new ways to ensure them an even fairer deal.

Sophi Tranchell, MBE Managing Director, Divine Chocolate

1.Fairtrade is a way for people to work their way out of poverty. It’s ac-tive and empowering, rather than the traditional aid model. The great thing it’s done is highlight the im-pact that corporate and individual purchasing decisions have on farm-ers at the end of the supply chain.2. Fairtrade isn’t just about choco-late, bananas and coffee. We deal in Fairtrade nuts — but only three per cent of the population are aware of Fairtrade nuts, despite Harry Hill putting his name and face to our brand. So the next stage is to extend the impact on farmers of other com-modities.

Kate GaskellManaging Director, Liberation Nuts

1.I look at this from a smallholder-grower’s point of view, where Fair-trade guarantees a fair and stable price for their crop and gives farm-ers more control over their lives. The most important aspect is that there is a minimum price guaran-tee to reflect production costs. 2. We need to ensure that large or-ganisations don’t place downward pressure on what the Fairtrade price is. Fairtrade systems should reflect producers’ views and per-spectives – and it would be very wrong if the multinationals end up influencing those systems.

Anne MacCaigCEO, Café Direct

APPRECIATE THE STORY BEHIND THE PRODUCT

AAPPPPPPPPP REREERERERERECCCCCCCIIIIIIAAAAAATTETETEEAAAAAAATHEE SSTTOORRY

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MARCH 2010 · 9AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE DAILY TELEGRAPHAN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH8 · MARCH 2010

Question: Energy efficient technology may help the environ-ment – but will it reward me financially?

Answer: It can do, as the recent boiler scrappage scheme has proved; and because smart-meters will do away with over-es-timated energy billing.

It’s not just concerns about environ-mental issues which are making peo-ple turn off their lights and save wa-ter, says Dr Paula Owen, Head of Knowledge Services at the Energy Saving Trust. Rising energy prices have a habit of focussing minds, too.

Modern living“Over the last couple of years, peo-ple have become more aware of their energy bills because of huge price hikes,” says Paula.

“Gas prices have risen 60 per cent and electricity has risen 40 per cent.” The average fuel bill — 60 per cent of which is due to heating and hot wa-ter — is now well north of £1000.

The Energy Saving Trust is the independent, UK-based organisa-tion promoting schemes which re-duce carbon emissions; and it’s had an increased volume of traffic to its website recently, especially since January, when the Government an-nounced its boiler scrappage scheme

in England. This offers a £400 cash-back voucher when you scrap your inefficient G-rated boiler and replace it with an A-rated boiler, or renewa-ble heat technology.

“People have switched on to saving money by improving their homes,” says Paula. “Plus, media reporting on climate change and environmen-tal matters has increased efficiency awareness.”

Boiler scrappage, championed by the Energy Saving Trust, has been a success; but it’s all down to Govern-ment finances in the end, and it’s costing £50million to instigate.

The Scottish government is im-plementing a similar scheme and the Welsh Assembly announced in February that it was targeting boiler scrappage at the over 60s.

The aim“We want to focus on getting rid of G-rated boilers from homes,” says Paula. “These boilers are likely to be 15 years old or more and only between 60 and 70 per cent efficient. A brand new con-

densing boiler, on the other hand, is 90 per cent-plus efficient. That corre-sponds to a 25 per cent saving on your heating bill.”

The government estimates that re-placing 125,000 of the least efficient boilers could cut around 140,000 tonnes of CO2 a year — the equivalent of taking 45,000 cars off the road.

A bright futureKeeping track of your energy use should get easier because, under an £8billion scheme to be completed by 2020, every home in the UK will re-ceive a smart meter.

“The meters communicate in re-al-time with the energy supplier, tracking exactly how much energy the household is using,” says Paula. “There will be no more over-esti-mated bills and no more guesswork. You’ll only pay for what you use.”

Ultimately, though, is it important why people switch off their lights or turn off the tap while they clean their teeth? Does it matter if it’s down to concerns about the planet – or their pocket?

“No,” says Paula. “It doesn’t matter what their motivations are.

“As long as they do it.”

Dr Paula OwenHead of Knowledge and Services,Enery Savings Trust

SAVE THE PLANET AND YOUR MONEY

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

NEWS

EXAMPLE

Andrew Mear is an energy efficien-cy convert. In 2006, he renovated a re-dundant Victorian church in a village near Halifax, turning it into a family home for himself, his wife, Charlotte, and their two children Benjamin, 6, and Hermione, 4.

“I’d been interested in eco-prod-ucts before I began work on the house,” says Andrew, who owns a small Yorkshire-based property rede-velopment company. “But I saw the conversion process as an opportuni-ty to put energy efficiency into prac-tice.”

Andrew has gone the whole hi-tech hog and installed solar ther-mal panels on the roof of his house to heat his hot water, plus solar pho-to voltaics to generate electricity. Yet he also employs some low-level effi-ciency ideas.

For instance, a portable eco-mon-itor measures how much electric-ity the house is using at any giv-en time. “We leave it by the front door,” says Andrew, “and it’ll often show me that I’ve left something on

somewhere.” Electrical appliances in the Mear household – such as the washing machine - are A-rated.

A water meter measures how many cubic metres the Mears are us-ing. “That gives you a real social con-science,” says Andrew, “because, ide-ally, you want to have as little water running through that meter as pos-sible.”

The children use a glass of water to brush their teeth rather than leave the tap running; and the Mears re-cycle water from butts in the garden to water their plants. Andrew has al-so installed energy-saving low-flush toilets.

The house is lit by eco-bulbs - plus Andrew has changed his 50Watt downlighter fittings to 11Watt and is currently investigating LED technol-ogy.

Then there’s his gas boiler, used for central heating in the winter, which is 95 per cent energy efficient; al-though, says Andrew, the next step is to buy a wood-burning stove – “one that will combine with the central heating system to take us off the grid as much as possible - and get the bills down.”

Energy efficiency is now an accept-ed part of the Mears’ day-to-day life.

“Making these changes aren’t rev-olutionary,” says Andrew, “but they do save you money in the long run.”

Andrew MearFather of two, Andrew has taken energy-efficiency ideas to the max with his church conversion family home.

A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Small changes at home can have a big impact on more than just your bank balance.PHOTO: ISTOCK PHOTO

‘Energy efficiency is now part of my family’s lifestyle’

TOP TIPS

3Watch your water use

1According to Energy Sav-ing Trust figures, every

person in the UK uses an astounding amount of water every day: approximately 150 litres.

Much of this, however, is wast-ed. The EST estimates that if eve-ryone in a four person family re-placed one bath a week with a five minute shower, it would shave be-tween £5 and £15 per year off your energy bill.

Use energy-saving light bulbs

2UK households shell out £2.3 billion every year onpower for lighting. Energy

saving light bulbs use up to 80 per cent less electricity than the old standard bulbs and last around 10 times as long. It’s estimated that use of all new bulbs could save around £37 a year from your energy bill — plus 135kg of CO2.

Use only what you need

3Turning down your heat-ing thermostat by 1°Cwhen you are too warm is

thought to cut up to 10% off your heating costs.

The EST say that, for a gas-heat-ed, three-bed semi-detached prop-erty, this could work out at a saving of around £55 a year.

Hot water tank thermostats should be set to 60° C — setting them higher than this in unnec-essary.

UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL

UUNNDDDERERERERE STSTSTSTSTAAAAANNNDDTHE POWEROO OF

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Fairtrade is at a crucial stage in its history. Big companies such as Cad-bury and Starbucks now have Fair-trade accreditation, so it’s tempting to think that the organisation’s work has turned the corner and that the pressure is off.

Tempting, but wrong, says Fair-trade Executive Director Harriet Lamb. If anything, she warns, this where the Fairtrade organisation — with the public behind them — needs to start piling the pressure on.

“It’s taken us 16 years to get where we are today,” she says (a reference to 1994, when the first-ev-er Fairtrade cer-tified product — chocolate made from Belize co-coa – hit the shops).

“We’re beginning to break through into the mainstream where more and more big compa-nies are beginning to engage with us. There are 400 companies in the UK which have Fairtrade accreditation, and many of them include small, dedicated pioneer companies.

“However, the big companies are

also vital in terms of the volume they buy. They can really transform the possibilities for a farmer.”

A farmers’ group in Ghana for ex-ample, was previously selling around 13 per cent of its cacao on Fairtrade

terms. With a big chocolate man-ufacturer on board, however,

the group is now selling 40 per cent on Fair-

trade terms.Proving that the public really did

care was a ma-jor hurdle for Fairtrade to

overcome. “In the early days, it was

easy for some of the bigger compa-nies to dismiss Fairtrade as a niche for nutters and yoghurt-weaving vic-ars,” says Harriet. “I think they un-derestimated the public’s basic de-cency.”

Globally, consumers spent £1.6bn

on Fairtrade certified products in 2007: a 47 per cent increase on the previous year which, say Fairtrade, directly benefited over 7 million peo-ple – farmers, workers and their fam-ilies. Results of a survey from Sep-tember 2009 confirmed that 72 per

cent of the UK population recognise the Fairtrade Mark.

Even so, says Harriet, now is not the time to be complacent. “We have the momentum behind us, so we can go back to big companies and say: ‘You can no longer say Fairtrade is small and unproven. You can no long-er say it doesn’t work and the pub-lic won’t buy it.’ The jury is no long-er out.

“Now more than ever the public needs to feel that the possibilities to make a difference are there — and that we can push these companies the final step of the way.

“We need to press home our ad-vantage, if you like. And if we do, it’s within our grasp to tip the balance in favour of the farmers and workers.”

No let-up for Fairtrade brand

COMMITTED TO FAIRNESS. Things are changing for good, but there is still a long way to go, says Fairtrade Foundation’s Executive Director, Harriet Lamb.

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

Question: More big compa-nies are signing up to Fairtrade principles – so does that mean its job is done?

Answer: No: complacency is the enemy says Fairtrade’s Harri-et Lamb – so this is where the real work begins

NEWS

FACTS

The UK is one of the world’s biggest

tea-drinking nations, but only one in 10

cups of tea bought by the public currently

have the Fairtrade mark. This is an area

that needs consumer support.

Cotton farming is another area that

needs public help, although this is a rela-

tively new market for Fairtrade (it’s been

just five years since the launch of Fair-

trade cotton). Harriet Lamb talks about

encouraging the High Street to offer

Fairtrade fashion – but also widening its

reach to include Fairtrade linen products

in, for example, hotels and within organi-

sations such as the NHS. Lobbying for

Fairtrade products is key.

The public can also make a difference

by supporting activities in Fairtrade Fort-

night (22 February – 7 March), the organi-

sation’s annual awareness campaign,

which this year takes ‘The Big Swap’ as

its theme. People in the UK and Ireland

are being encouraged to swap every-

day shopping basket items for Fairtrade

ones.

!Read more on the web:

www.fairtrade.org.uk

AFRICA

How fairtrade is making waves in Rwanda

The Abahuzamugambi Coffee Farners’ Co-operative was founded by 300 smallholders after the 1994 war and genocide. This was one of the poorest parts of Rwanda, with many households run by widows or children orphaned by AIDS or the genocide.

“People were dying of hunger,” remembers Harriet Lamb. “Com-ing out of the genocide, the farm-ers were getting poor prices for poor coffee.”

Now, having secured sales to the UK Fairtrade market (in 2002) and US speciality coffee market, the co-operative is optimistic that it can achieve sustainable incomes from coffee sales and expand its commercial activities. The co-op-erative now has 450 members, of which 280 are women, half of them widows.

“Go there now and it’s one of the wealthiest towns in Rwanda,” says Harriet.

“There’s a bustling market, a bank open with people queuing up to take out loans. There’s a nursery, built with the Fairtrade premium.

“The coffee farmers are roast-ing their coffee, testing their coffee and investing money to improve the way they are growing their cof-fee.

“They’ve won prizes for their quality and they are some of the most dynamic farmers I’ve ever met.”

ken us 16 years to get whereoday,” she says nce to 1994, first-ev-vvde cer-ductatemo-he

beginning to breakkkkk into the mainstream

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GOOD FOR PEOPLEGOOD FOR THE PLANETwww.rainforest-alliance.org

© 2010 Rainforest Alliance

As a consumer

you demand companies

take sustainability

seriously.

The Rainforest Alliance can help

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Why ethical values make good business sense

The human race is facing a series of major global issues that are too great for businesses — and consumers — to ignore. The planet cannot sustain our current levels of consumption which are also leading to problems such as long-term ill-health and obesity.

Joanna Daniels is Marketplace Di-rector at Business in the Community (BITC), the largest national business-led movement of member compa-nies dedicated to corporate respon-sibility.

“Ethical business — more com-monly known as ‘corporate respon-sibility’ — is about achieving a posi-tive impact on society and the envi-ronment and minimising negative impacts,” she says. “Businesses can do this in many ways, from emis-sions reduction to responsible sup-ply chain management; from pro-moting inclusive workplace cultures to supporting local communities.”

In the past five years, the thinking around corporate responsibility has moved away from being solely about managing social impacts, or giving

money to charity. Now it is focussed on action which firmly integrates re-sponsible business practice into all areas of commercial operations.

“At the same time,” says Joanna, “ethical consumerism and consum-er recognition of brands that uphold responsible business values has been accelerating. The values attached to a business, its brands, products

and services, are an effective way to communicate with consumers and help them to connect with responsi-ble business issues. Building sustain-ability into — not onto — brands is the order of the day.”

This is not just PR puff, says Joan-na, but if done correctly can have real benefits for the business, people and planet.

Indeed, progressive businesses be-lieve corporate responsibility can create greater loyalty with employ-ees, customers, stakeholders and their supply chain. These same busi-nesses are also finding that they need to influence consumer behaviour to create a positive change in society and are using their marketing skill to get consumers on board.

BITC has developed tools for com-panies to use to evaluate their busi-ness impact, such as questions for marketers on how they can build sustainable success; Marketplace Principles, which serve as a check list for companies when creating re-sponsible business strategies; the Corporate Responsibility Index, the only benchmark that provides spe-cific peer or sector comparison; and the Mayday Journey, providing direc-tion and guidance to help business-es move into a low carbon future, bringing, employees, suppliers and customers with them.

“Responsible business values need to be embedded into the culture of an organisation,” says Joanna Dan-iels. “On achieving this, a compa-ny can begin to have a positive im-pact on how consumers view their brands, and how they themselves act responsibly in society and the envi-ronment.”

“Ethical business is about achieving a positive impact on society and the environment and minimising negative impacts.”

Joanna Daniels Marketplace Director, Business in the Community (BITC)

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

Question: Is ‘corporate re-sponsibility’ (CR) just a market-ing tool for businesses who want to appear to be doing ‘the right thing?’

Answer: If a company is integrating responsible business through all of its operations, it is not just a marketing tool.

NEWS

WORK TOWARDS A

BETTER FUTURE

HE DADD ILY TELEGRAPH

WOWOWOOWOWORKRRKRKRKRK TOWAW RDS A

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FACTS

Survey giant Gallup identifies that “the

world’s top-performing organisations un-

derstand that employee engagement is

a force that drives business outcomes.

In the best organisations, engagement is

more than a human resources initiative

— it is a strategic foundation for the way

they do business.”

The 2006 Leitch Review of Skills high-

lighted that maintaining and improving

the UK’s economic position will depend

on how well we shape a culture that en-

courages talent, skills and creativity.

If companies and organisations are to

create a low carbon economy, their work-

forces must learn and develop new en-

vironmentally friendly skills and behav-

iours. It is thought that some sectors –

such as agriculture and food – will have to

undergo substantial change to sync with

the demands of a low carbon future.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Starting this April, employees of some firms will be able to request time off for training

“Pressing need” for low carbon

The Prince’s Mayday network is concerned that the switch to a low carbon business economy isn’t happening fast enough. The net-work — founded by The Prince of Wales — is the UK’s largest move-ment of businesses committed to taking action on climate change. In February, it called for business leaders to take action to improve energy efficiency and reduce car-bon emissions to deal with cli-mate change and energy securi-ty. “Whilst taking action is the re-sponsible thing to do, the busi-ness case is also robust and makes good commercial sense,” said Ka-tie Webber, Mayday’s campaign di-rector. “New markets are already opening up creating new commer-cial opportunities and providing new jobs. Resource efficiency cre-ates cost reductions and the mobi-lisation of supply chains will pro-vide further savings and efficiency gains.”

A Fairer Future?The Government’s controversial

Equality Bill – covering disability, sex, race and other grounds of dis-crimination — is the most wide-ranging discrimination legislation for years. If passed, it will encour-age all employers to review their personnel policies. It will also en-courage employers to review gen-der pay differences within their organisations and publish the re-sults. The Bill is currently in the House of Lords.

Employee RightsFrom April this year, workers in

firms with more than 250 employ-ees will have the right to request time off for training — extended to all employees in April 2011. Also from April 2011, fathers will have a right of up to six months’ paterni-ty leave, which can be taken once the mother has returned to work. The leave may be paid if taken dur-ing the mother’s maternity pay pe-riod.

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MOVING FORWARD1. Ethical issues stem further than our consumer habits.2. Damage to the environ-ment is a significant issue for many companies.3. Raw materials and sus-tainabilty is shaping mod-ern business practice.PHOTOS: ROGER MILLEY, DON

BAYLEY, ISTOCK PHOTO

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AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH14 · MARCH 2010

Pushing the Boulder

Tensie Whelan, Director of the Rainforest Alliance, explains that, in order to change the world, we first have to change our lifestyle, mindset and buying habits. And that means ditching our obsession with ‘the cheapest price’.

It’s not, says Tensie Whelan, an easy fix. To help the planet and the poorest people living on it, we need to have a fundamental

re-think about the way we live, the choices we make and how we spend our money. “Essentially,” she says, “we need to change our relationship to ‘stuff’.”

And by ‘stuff’ she means every-thing we consume.

It’s not like we have a choice, she insists, if the planet is to survive — much less thrive. “We have to ed-ucate people to get the message through. We did it with recycling, which shows the kind of difference that can be made.”

A change in habitsTensie points out that when our an-cestors bought a product 100 years ago, they generally knew where it came from, who made it and how. “These days,” she says, “we are di-vorced from the products we buy, which has led, globally, to appalling sustainability problems and inequal-ity issues.”

Tensie, 49 — a New York-born former journalist — is President of the Rainforest Alliance, the US-head-quartered non-governmental envi-ronmental organisation. Through its

own certification process, the Rain-forest Alliance “promotes and guar-antees improvements in agriculture and forestry” and ensures that the production of goods and services ad-heres to strict guidelines that protect the environment, wildlife, workers and local communities.

“We know global deforestation re-sults in carbon emissions, water-loss, loss of biodiversity and increased poverty,” she says. “So consumers can make a difference by supporting efforts to protect forests. One way is by buying Forest Stewardship Coun-cil certified products which can be found everywhere from Marks & Spencer and IKEA to B&Q. They can also specify Rainforest Alliance certi-fied food products.”

On the positive side, people are questioning old values in every sec-tor. “We’re seeing it in construction, electronics, entertainment, finance, forestry and food… in every indus-try,” she says. “My worry is that it’s not happening fast enough.

“Yet some areas are more encour-aging than others. At the Rainfor-est Alliance, for example, we are very excited that, currently, of the 160mil-lion cups of tea drunk in the UK eve-ry day, approximately 60million are now made with certified Rainforest

Alliance products. At some point we hope to see the whole of the UK popu-lation drinking sustainable tea.”

She also believes that big corpora-tions which have received Rainfor-est Alliance accreditation aren’t sim-ply paying lip-service to the green agenda. “If they’ve been around for 100 years and they want to be around for another 100, they know they can’t allow the continued degradation and destruction of the environment. It’s within their self-interest to comply.”

It can’t be easy, carrying the world on her shoulders. “I get angry and I get depressed,” admits Tensie. “It’s exhausting to always be pushing the boulder up the hill.

“But take last year. I was in Colum-bia working with a number of coffee farmers who want to gain Rainforest Alliance accreditation. This young farmer told me: ‘All of my friends have left farming. But I’ve come to see what I do differently and now think of myself as a protector of the world’s biodiversity, as a protector of jobs and as a social entrepreneur. And I think, with that mindset, I can bring some of my friends back into the industry.’

“Meeting someone like that is so rewarding. So you know what? I’m going to continue pushing.”

“Essentially, we need to change our relationship to ‘stuff’.”

Tensie WhelanPresident, Rainforest Alliance

PERSEVERANCE

PROFESSIONAL INSIGHT

Support responsible forrestry

1Timber companies cause rainforest destruction when

they cut down hardwoods in an ir-responsible way, destroying vege-tation and wildlife in the process.

Rainforest Alliance believes in logging – but only when carried out in a sustainable fashion. Pur-chase Rainforest Alliance certified food and FSC certified wood prod-ucts. If they are not available, ask your retailer to stock them.

Go eco when abroad

2Apart from the environmen-tal damage caused by air trav-

el, tourism can have a negative im-pact, from sewage on the beaches to the outsourcing of jobs that could be done by local workers.

When travelling, find hotels that have a strong environmental pol-icy. If travelling to the developing world, choose eco-tourism desti-nations. Find out if your hotel has an eco-rating, eco-label or is the re-cipient of any eco-awards.

Look for more than price

3 Our ever-increasing focus on ‘the cheapest price’ has a neg-

ative impact on sustainability is-sues. Fifty years ago, people valued durability and artisanship. Con-sumers should think about that – and how they can rearrange their purchasing habits in order to pay a more reasonable amount for a product.

TENSIE’S BEST TIPS

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