Can we make businesses more ethical? | Elena Lopez | TEDxWarwickSalon

Summary

Elena Lopez, a business ethics consultant, shares her journey and insights on preventing corruption, human rights abuses, and promoting ethical business practices. Drawing from real-world scandals like Rana Plaza, Boohoo, and Volkswagen, she emphasizes the importance of business ethics, not only to avoid legal and reputational damage but to create ethical workplaces. Lopez urges individuals to make a difference by speaking up, researching their employers, and making responsible purchasing decisions. She stresses that ethical behavior in business impacts everyone, regardless of their career path, and encourages active involvement in fostering a culture of integrity.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Elena Lopez is a business ethics consultant who works in human rights and anti-corruption.
• 📚 She developed her interest in these topics while growing up in Spain and pursued studies in PPE at Warwick and a Master's in Development Studies at Cambridge.
• 🏛️ Initially, she believed she would work on these issues from the public sector, but her Master's opened her eyes to the role of business ethics in the private sector.
• 🏢 Business ethics involves compliance officers and human rights officers within companies, as well as external consultants like herself, who advise companies on meeting regulations and ethical standards.
• 🔍 Major scandals like the Rana Plaza disaster, Volkswagen's Dieselgate, and the Boohoo factory wage scandal are only the tip of the iceberg compared to daily injustices that occur within companies.
• ⚖️ Lopez's work involves investigating how companies treat workers, interact with governments, and impact the environment to prevent corruption and human rights abuses.
• 🗣️ The role of a business ethics consultant includes providing solutions and recommendations for companies to improve practices and comply with legislation.
• 💼 Companies seek help due to increasing pressure from legislation, such as the UK Modern Slavery Act and EU Whistleblowing Directive, as well as from consumers and investors pushing for ethical business practices.
• 🙋‍♂️ Employees in all fields, even outside business ethics, can contribute by speaking up about unethical practices, giving feedback on company policies, and promoting a culture of care.
• 🛒 Consumers can also make a difference by being mindful of their purchases, researching company practices, and advocating for more transparency through social media.

Q & A

Who is the speaker, and what is her professional background?

The speaker is Elena Lopez, a business ethics consultant who works in human rights and anti-corruption. She has a background in PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) from Warwick University and a Masters in Development Studies from Cambridge University.

What inspired Elena Lopez to pursue a career in anti-corruption and human rights?

Elena Lopez was inspired to work in anti-corruption and human rights due to the frequent news coverage of bribery and corruption while she was growing up in Spain. Her academic background furthered her interest in these areas.

What are some notable scandals Elena Lopez mentions in her talk?

Elena mentions several notable scandals: the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh (2013), the Boohoo supplier scandal in Leicester (2020), the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal (2015), and the Goldman Sachs bribery scandal in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

How does Elena Lopez describe her work as a business ethics consultant?

Elena investigates how companies treat their workers, communities, and the environment. She advises companies on how to meet legal standards and best practices, ensuring that they avoid human rights abuses and minimize corruption risks.

What role does legislation play in business ethics according to Elena Lopez?

Legislation plays a significant role in pushing companies to act ethically. Elena references various laws such as the UK Bribery Act, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and European human rights due diligence laws, which require companies to adopt ethical practices.

Why do companies seek the help of business ethics consultants like Elena Lopez?

Companies seek help from business ethics consultants either after scandals, to avoid future issues, to comply with legislation, or to meet the increasing expectations from consumers and investors regarding ethical business practices.

What are some of the less-publicized injustices Elena Lopez has witnessed in her work?

Elena has witnessed injustices like employers requiring women to take pregnancy tests monthly, surveillance of employees to prevent them from resting, water scarcity issues in factories, and the dismissal of trade union representatives.

What advice does Elena give to individuals entering the workforce regarding ethics?

Elena advises individuals to give feedback on internal policies, speak up when they see something unethical, use whistleblowing systems, and ensure that they create a culture of care and respect if they manage teams.

How can individuals make ethical choices in their private lives, according to Elena?

Individuals can make ethical choices by learning more about business ethics, critically consuming social media, using their purchasing power wisely, researching employers, and holding companies accountable for unethical practices.

What is the significance of consumer and investor pressure in ethical business practices?

Consumer and investor pressure is increasingly pushing companies to adopt ethical practices. Scandals and greater awareness mean that companies risk losing revenue and investment if they fail to meet ethical standards.

Outlines

00:00

👩‍💼 Introduction to Business Ethics and Corruption

Elena Lopez introduces herself as a business ethics consultant specializing in human rights and anti-corruption. She reflects on her early exposure to issues of bribery and corruption in Spain, which sparked her interest in combating such injustices. Initially, she believed she would need to work in the public sector to address these issues but later discovered the private sector's role in promoting ethical business practices. She explains how companies employ compliance officers to prevent negative societal impacts and how business ethics consultants like herself advise companies on legislation and best practices.

05:01

🏢 Real-world Corporate Scandals and Their Impact

Elena discusses various corporate scandals that highlight the consequences of unethical business practices. She recounts significant incidents such as the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, where workers were forced to work in unsafe conditions, and the 2020 scandal involving Boohoo, where workers were underpaid. She also touches on Volkswagen’s 2015 Dieselgate scandal and Goldman Sachs' corruption case. These examples serve to illustrate the gravity of business ethics violations and emphasize the importance of preventing such occurrences. Elena notes that many other injustices happen daily that do not make headlines, including discriminatory practices and human rights abuses in workplaces.

10:01

🔍 Addressing Ethical Issues and Creating Solutions

Elena explains her role as a business ethics consultant, where she works with large companies and public institutions to investigate and mitigate ethical issues. Companies approach her after scandals or to prevent future incidents, seeking help in meeting legal requirements and adopting best practices. She conducts thorough investigations, reviewing documents and interviewing employees, from CEOs to workers in various sectors. Her work involves developing action plans and recommendations to help companies address human rights concerns and reduce bribery and corruption risks.

15:04

📜 The Evolution of Business Ethics Legislation

Elena discusses the growing importance of business ethics over time, noting that companies increasingly care about these issues due to both legislation and consumer pressure. She outlines key legislation, such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, and the Modern Slavery Act, as well as recent laws in Germany and Norway. Consumer awareness and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing have also driven companies to adopt more ethical practices, as failing to do so could hurt their reputation, finances, and ability to recruit talent.

🎓 Advice for Students Entering the Workforce

Elena offers advice to students entering the workforce, stressing that business ethics will impact their careers, even if they do not directly work in the field. She encourages students to engage with internal company policies and provide feedback on ethical concerns. Elena also emphasizes the importance of speaking up against mistreatment or suspicious behavior, noting that companies are increasingly required to have whistleblowing systems. As future managers, students are urged to create a culture of care and ensure ethical behavior in their teams.

🌱 Making a Difference in Personal and Professional Life

Elena concludes by discussing how students can make a positive impact in their personal and professional lives. She encourages them to stay informed about business ethics through podcasts and articles, be critical of social media content, and research the ethical practices of potential employers. By making conscious consumer choices and supporting transparent and ethical companies, individuals can contribute to a more just and responsible business environment. She stresses that holding employers accountable and integrating ethics into daily decisions will shape a better working world.

Keywords

💡Business Ethics

Business ethics refers to the moral principles that guide the way businesses behave, ensuring that their practices are fair, responsible, and do not harm people or the environment. In the video, Elena Lopez emphasizes the importance of business ethics, showing how ethical issues like human rights violations, corruption, and environmental impact are central to her work as a consultant advising companies on how to avoid scandals and legal issues.

💡Bribery and Corruption

Bribery and corruption are illegal practices involving offering or receiving something of value in exchange for influence or action that benefits one party. Elena talks about her interest in these issues from her time in Spain and highlights real-world cases, like the Goldman Sachs scandal, where bribery led to legal and reputational consequences. This concept underscores the risks companies face and the importance of ethical oversight.

💡Human Rights

Human rights refer to the basic rights and freedoms to which all people are entitled. Elena discusses how businesses can impact human rights through their operations, such as worker exploitation and unsafe labor conditions. Her work involves advising companies on how to minimize their negative impact on human rights, and she mentions examples like pregnancy tests for workers and unsafe factory conditions, such as the Rana Plaza disaster.

💡Rana Plaza Disaster

The Rana Plaza disaster was an industrial accident in Bangladesh in 2013, where over 1,100 garment factory workers died due to a building collapse. Elena uses this event as a prominent example of how unethical business practices can lead to massive human rights violations. It illustrates the severe consequences of companies neglecting worker safety and the importance of ethical business oversight.

💡Volkswagen Dieselgate

Volkswagen Dieselgate refers to the 2015 scandal where Volkswagen was caught fitting its diesel cars with software that falsely lowered emissions during tests. Elena highlights this as an example of environmental corruption, showing how businesses may manipulate systems for profit, risking huge fines and reputational damage. This ties into her theme of corporate responsibility and the consequences of unethical behavior.

💡Compliance

Compliance refers to the process of ensuring that a company’s operations and policies adhere to legal and ethical standards. Elena’s role as a business ethics consultant involves helping companies ensure they meet compliance standards to avoid issues like corruption or human rights violations. She stresses that compliance officers within companies are crucial for overseeing ethical practices.

💡ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)

ESG refers to the set of standards measuring a company’s ethical impact on environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and governance practices. Elena points out the growing importance of ESG investing, where investors consider these factors before funding companies. This trend highlights the increasing pressure on companies to operate ethically or face financial consequences.

💡Legislation

Legislation refers to laws and regulations that govern business practices. Elena explains how various laws, like the UK Bribery Act and the EU Whistleblowing Directive, have been implemented to curb unethical practices such as bribery, corruption, and human rights abuses. She emphasizes how companies are motivated to improve their ethical standards to comply with these legal requirements.

💡Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is the act of reporting unethical or illegal activities within an organization. Elena stresses the importance of employees speaking up when they witness wrongdoings and how modern companies are required by law to have whistleblowing mechanisms in place. This is crucial for identifying and addressing systemic issues within a company’s operations.

💡Investor Pressure

Investor pressure refers to the influence that investors exert on companies to adopt ethical business practices to reduce risks and ensure long-term profitability. Elena mentions that many of her clients are investors who want to ensure the companies they invest in are not involved in scandals or unethical practices, such as labor exploitation or environmental degradation, reflecting the growing importance of ESG in investment decisions.

Highlights

Elena Lopez discusses the importance of business ethics and human rights in the workplace.

Lopez's interest in bribery and corruption was sparked by daily news in Spain.

She studied PPE at Oxford and pursued development studies at Cambridge University.

Lopez initially thought preventing corruption required working in government.

Her master's studies revealed the significant role of private sector in business ethics.

Business ethics consultants advise companies on meeting legislation and best practices.

Lopez shares examples of scandals like Rana Plaza collapse and buho wage scandal.

Volkswagen's dieselgate scandal is highlighted as an example of environmental rights violation.

The Goldman Sachs scandal is mentioned as a major case in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Lopez emphasizes that media-reported scandals are only a small part of the injustices in companies.

She describes unseen issues like pregnancy tests for women and worker surveillance in factories.

Companies are increasingly seeking help to prevent scandals and improve ethical practices.

Lopez's work involves investigating companies' treatment of workers, communities, and the environment.

She spends most of her time speaking to workers to gather information confidentially.

The goal is to ensure companies do not negatively impact human rights and reduce corruption risks.

Companies are motivated to improve due to legislation, consumer pressure, and ESG investing.

Lopez advises graduates to consider the ethical impact of their work, even outside business ethics.

She encourages speaking up against mistreatment and using whistleblowing systems.

As managers, it's crucial to set a culture of care and不允许不当行为.

Lopez suggests being critical of social media consumption and making informed purchasing decisions.

She advises researching potential employers' ethical standards and policies.

Lopez concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating ethical considerations into daily life.

Transcripts

[Applause]

hi I am Elena Lopez and I'm here today

to talk to you about some of the issues

I want you to consider as you enter the

world the world of

work I'm a business ethics

consultant I work in human rights and I

work in anti-b and anti-corruption

when I was growing up in Spain I was

very interested in issues of bribery and

Corruption perhaps because I was seeing

it on the news every day and as I

studied PPE at War and then went on to

do my development studies Masters at

Cambridge University I was increasingly

interested in what people could do to

prevent bravery and Corruption from

happening and prevent human rights

abuses from

happening and I thought that in order to

work in the field I would need to do so

from the private from the public side

sorry so I thought I would have to be

drafting laws drafting policies working

in government to stop bravery and

Corruption from happening and from um

stopping human rights abuses from

happening but what I learned in my

masters was that actually there is a

whole private side to it a field of

business ethics that I didn't know about

and this is both within companies like

compliance officers or human rights

officers that are working within

companies to look at the programs that

they have to ensure they're not

impacting negatively on

society and The Wider business ethics

field with consultants and experts that

advise these companies on how to meet

legislation and that is what I do today

I'm a business ethics

consultant and the work I do is so

important because we all know what

happens when things go wrong

you might have seen some of these

headlines or scandals you might have

seen many others because we hear about

scandals every day every week every

month you might have heard of the Rana

Plaza uh building collapse in Bangladesh

in

2013 where more than 1,100 people died

in one of the biggest industrial

disasters in

history and this was a building that

hosted five garment factories and

workers were going to work forced to

work even though it was clearer than the

building wasn't

safe you might have heard in 2020 of the

scandal from buho um where it was found

out that they were supplying for

suppliers in leester where workers were

being paid as little as 3.5 pounds an

hour when the minimum wage in the UK at

the time was 8.7 72 PBS an hour so much

higher this was also in the middle of

the pandemic and it was um also found

that workers didn't have the sort of

safety space between each other they

didn't have

PPE you might have heard in looking at

sort of environmental rights you might

have heard about the

Volkswagen um dieselgate Scandal this

was when in

2015 it was found that Volkswagen cars

or some of those cars were fitted with

with technology that meant that even

though they looked compliant with EU uh

laws about emissions in fact they were

emitting up to 40 times the permitted

amount of nitrogen

dioxide looking at sort of bribery and

Corruption issues you might have heard

of the Goldman Sachs Scandal one of the

biggest findes in the Foreign Corrupt

Practices Act legislation in the US they

be fined with a $2.9 billion fine in

connection with the bribes that they

were paying to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi

officials to get lucrative business and

they made hundreds of millions out of

this so you might have seen these sort

of headlines and many others but as a

business ethics consultant I can tell

you that what you see on the news is

only a small proportion of the

injustices that occur every day in

companies around the world

you don't really see headlines or whole

articles about some of the things I've

seen you don't see articles about the

pregnancy tests that women are being

asked to take every month by their

employer to make sure they're not

pregnant so that they can't so that if

they are they're

fired you haven't seen the cameras that

I've seen in factories that make sure

that employees are monitored so they

don't sit down and stop working at any

point in the

day you won't have heard necessarily all

the issues with water scarcity in

factories and plantations and Farms the

scorching heat the bullying harassment

and discrimination of minority groups

and companies around the

world the and as well for example Trade

union Representatives being dismissed

when they're trying to speak up about

some of these

issues but I can tell you these things

happen because I've seen them in my

work but I can also assure you that

companies are working hard every day to

try to reduce both the big impacts that

we've seen in the news as well as the

small impacts and I can assure that

because otherwise I would be out of a

job so nowadays the clients that I have

and the consultantcy I work for have are

generally big companies that have

subsidiaries around the world and they

want to know what's really going on in

their

operations it is public institutions it

is global firms it is um sort of big

investors that want us to look into the

companies they're invested in to make

sure they're not having a negative

impact whether it's on labor rights on

or on bribery and

Corruption

and what I do within my work is find

Solutions find recommendations for all

these clients on what they need to do so

they come to us after a big scandal

because something has gone wrong and

they want to make sure it doesn't happen

again or when there's been a scandal in

their industry so they've seen X company

has had this issue they want to make

sure they don't have it it is also to

make sure that we help them meet

legislation so the law says that that I

need to have this how do I make sure I

do and also to go beyond the law to do

what we consider as best

practice in order order to do this I

investigate how companies treat

workers I investigate how they treat

their communities and the

environment and when I look at briy and

Corruption I'm doing similarly because

I'm seeing at how the impact on the

public uh system the government how they

interact with government officials with

police with

judges so in order to do my work I do a

lot of desktop research I don't I do a

lot of document review but most

importantly I spend my time talking to

people I speak to CEO CEOs SE Suite

Executives managing directors to

governments I speak to NOS I speak to

suppliers and communities and I speak to

workers the majority of my time I spend

it speaking to workers there might be in

standard offices or in doing manual

labor in farms plantations

in factories in oil rigs all over the

world and I speak to them as an

independent third-party um Outsider of

the company or the

institution gathering information in a

confidential way so then I can go back

to the

companies and give them sort of

aggregate Trends I never say this person

told me this but we talk about issues

that I find and then importantly we talk

about the recommend ations that we give

them and the action

plan what we're trying ultimately is to

make sure they don't impact on human

rights and they reduce the sort of

bribery and Corruption risks that they

face and why do companies come to us of

course we've spoken about scandals and

this is something they want to

avoid but another important point is

that companies are made up of people

like you and I and it's people that went

to University and studied something that

they loved and they want to then go into

the world of work and do it ethically

they don't want to be ashamed about the

work they do and the companies they work

for and so it is people that want to do

the right thing and that's what I find

very often with my

clients other companies come to us

because of the increasing legislation in

both bribery and Corruption and human

rights when the company I work for

started in 2000 there was very little

work in business ethics companies didn't

really care about these topics but over

time we've seen that increasingly comp

companies are coming to us and they care

and part of it is because of

legislation because we had uh

legislation in the US the Foreign

Corrupt Practices Act that was

strengthened in 1998 then we had the UK

bribery act 2010 UK modern slavery act

2015 French laws on briy and Corruption

and human rights 2019 17 sorry

whistleblowing directive in the EU

2019 and now this year we have more

human rights due diligence laws in

Europe Germany and and uh Norwegian and

Norway sorry the transparency

act and more pressure for the EU to

bring legislation that will apply to all

EU members which also gives more

pressure to the UK to have similar

legislation

other companies um come to us because of

the consumer pressure because those

scandals and just greater awareness by

consumers means that actually if they

don't change their practices they will

have less um less Revenue because people

won't uh buy their products or their

services and as I mentioned some of our

clients are investors so we really see

the increase of ESG investing of our

environmental social and government

governance investing which means that

companies also care about these issues

because they have to in order to bring

in the investment that they need to grow

and in the end it makes sense for

companies to do the right thing and to

work

ethically because the the costs of not

doing so are too high as we said there

are reputational costs there are costs

together in relation to the legislation

like legal fines and and legal fees and

prison time there is the loss of

management time having to deal with the

scandals um it's also harder to recruit

people and so in general it also makes

sense for companies increasingly as

people are more aware of these issues to

work

ethically so most of you sitting here

are either finishing University or

starting this very exciting Journey

some of you might work in the business

ethics field like me as a business

ethics consultant as a human rights

officer or compliance officer within a

company but most likely most of you will

work in something completely different

whether it's Tech Finance marketing

Human Resources social media medicine

research whatever it is that is not

necessarily business

ethics and what I want you to to take

away from this talk is that even if your

career is outside of business ethics

strictly these issues will still impact

your life and there is also something

that you can do to make sure that

businesses are more

ethical the internal policies that

govern your work will influence the

culture the safety the quality that you

have in your future

jobs and there are certain things that

you can do in your job no matter where

it is whether it's in a private company

or a public institution because all

companies and all public institutions

anyway still have policies and

procedures will you can do is give

feedback is to tell people like me that

are drafting those policies and that are

setting sort of programs and strategies

about culture and the way we treat

others and the way we treat our

suppliers and our supply chains

Etc what works and what doesn't so you

really need to tell us so that we can

build that in into those policies

it's also very important that you speak

up when you see something that is not

right when you see someone being

mistreated bullied harassed when you

think something suspicious is going on

when you're worried about an impact that

you have in your com that your company

has in general it's really important

that you speak up and most companies now

need to have a whistleblowing or

speaking up system align because this is

increasingly being asked of companies

with legislation and the more people

that use those lines the more more

people that say that something is an

issue the stronger a sign it sends to

companies so that they know that there

is a systemic issue that they need to

address and they do look at these um

speak up lines very carefully to address

them moreover as you progress in your

career you might manage a team supervise

a

team and managers make all the

difference

it's really important that as you have

that role of power you set a culture of

care where people can speak up they can

tell you their concerns where certain

behaviors are not allowed and not

tolerated

and it's always important how you treat

people but particularly when you're in a

position of power it's really important

and this is something that I see all the

time in my work it makes a big

difference

besides and beyond your working life

your private life now as a student or

even after while you are working it's

really important and you can make a

difference in the things that you do in

your private life so you can learn more

about the risks and about business

ethics you can learn more about what

companies are and aren't doing you can

listen to bribery and Corruption

podcasts like the global anti-corruption

podcast you you can listen and read

different blogs on the issues there is

for example uh a very useful page called

um business and human res uh human

rights Resource Center and they have

fantastic articles every day on scandals

on legislation and what's going

on you can be critical in your social

media consumption when you see ads of

companies when you see people talking

about companies that you should buy

things from to really investigate and

learn what's behind that what are the

labor rights consequences of fast

fashion what are sort of the bullying

and harassment scandals in video gaming

companies

Etc and you can use social media to

demand companies to be more transparent

to tell your friends and family about

what you found and why they shouldn't be

spending money

somewhere and that follows to my next

point you can spend wisely you can think

about where your buying everything that

you're buying from to make sure that

you're not contributing to the revenue

of companies that are damaging the Earth

and hurting um both their employees and

the communities around their

operations and another thing that you

can do as you finish University is to

research your employer you have the

luxury of being in a market where

employers employers want you and so you

can look at the policies that they

have their the reports that they have

what they're disclosing to see if their

culture matches your expectations and

what you want in your working life and

this is also something that you can

bring up in the

interviews the more you think about

these issues and make them a part of

your daily thinking the more you will

think about them when you're in the

Working World and the more you will be

able to hold your employer accountable

[Applause]

you