Code Red for Humanity: The Role of Business Ethics as We Transgress Planetary Thresholds

Abstract

The urgency of the ecological crisis, described as a ‘code red for humanity’, is also a call to the business ethics community to work even harder for a safe space for humanity. This commentary suggests two specific domains of engagement, with the aim of having more impact in mitigating the ecological crisis: (1) the empirical fact of non-negotiable biophysical thresholds to convey the status and severity of the crisis, and (2) the need for strong laws and regulations—and compliance with these—to guide the aggregated economic activity away from further transgressing biophysical thresholds. Traditionally, business ethics focusses on why and how business can contribute beyond compliance with laws and regulations. By engaging more explicitly with the other two domains, our business ethics community can contribute to distinguish between which are value discussions and which are not, and to the necessity and legitimacy of laws and regulations. This text is a proposal on how we can use business ethics, hence the form of a commentary.

Conceptualising Sustainability as the Pursuit of Life

“…Imperatives such as doing no harm based on the precautionary principle may support behaviours and actions that avoid the worst transgressions but may also lack inspiration for significant and necessary practical action (DesJardins, 1998;Hoffman, 1991). The question therefore remains whether ethical ideas alone are indeed sufficient to guide managerial and organisational practices in the absence of widespread legal enforcement and potentially other incentives (Nilsen, 2023)? Calls for the pursuit of life are unlikely going to change behaviours without a wider cultural and socio-economic transformation, but they may begin to influence legal practice and be taken up more widely and voluntarily if their logic seems attractive, valuable, and effective more broadly.…”

Ethics, Morals and Morals and Factors Affecting Ethics

“…To a large extent, countries are involved in the business process. Each country has its own resource characteristics so it is impossible for all countries to feel fulfilled by all the resources they have (Coldwell dkk., 2020;Jonny dkk., 2022;Nilsen, 2023). From European expeditions looking for spices in Asia to the international oil trade is proof that from the past until now a country cannot survive without the existence of business with other countries, Today, the influence of globalization is also a driving factor in the creation of broader international trade.…”