Ethical Business Advice for Low Carbon Build

This assignment tasks students to act as ethical consultants advising a construction company on promoting low-carbon building practices. Students must select two relevant ethical theories, analyze their application to the issue, and provide specific recommendations for the company to minimize its environmental impact while adhering to ethical principles.

Running head: Corporate Social responsibility
Corporate Social responsibility
Name of Student-
Name of University-
Student ID-
Author note-

1Corporate Social responsibility
Executive Summary
In this report provisions relating to responsible management and CSR have been included
in relation to the organization. The report then provides a discussion in relation to values which
are underpinned by ethics in the light of ethical theories on the organization. The report than
continues to carry out an in- depth analysis of the issue of Environmental
sustainability particularly the responsibilities which builders have to lead low carbon build. In
this section the report identifies the stakeholders which may be affected due to the actions of the
company. The report then provides an advice to the company in relation to the actions which
needs to be taken by them to meet the standards off a responsible and ethical company.

2Corporate Social responsibility
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Responsible Management and CSR.................................................................................................4
Values Underpinned by Ethics........................................................................................................6
The issue..........................................................................................................................................8
Advice to the clients......................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14
Reflection.......................................................................................................................................16

3Corporate Social responsibility
Introduction
Bloor Homes Limited is a construction company in the UK. It was founded by John
Bloor in 1969. This company also provides assistance in buying and selling of homes. In the
year 2002, the sales reached 1870 and it became the then largest house-building company by one
person. In 2016, it became one of the largest privately owned house-building groups in the UK.
Thus as a large organization which indulges in construction it requires moral view in relation to
environmental sustainability and specifically in relation to low carbon building in the light of
pollution and global warming (Bloorhomes.com 2018).
A business organization, in order to survive, needs to focus on certain things other than
those that only focus on the production, sales and profit making. I work for an ethical and CSR
consultancy and I have been provided an opportunity by Bloor Homes Limited, to explore the
activities, functions and responses of the organization in relation to the responsibilities which
builders have to lead low carbon build. In this report provisions relating to responsible
management and CSR have been included in relation to the organization. The report then
provides a discussion in relation to values which are underpinned by ethics in the light of
ethical theories on the organization. The report than continues to carry out an in- depth analysis
of the issue of Environmental sustainability particularly the responsibilities which builders have
to lead low carbon build. In this section the report identifies the stakeholders which may be
affected due to the actions of the company. The report then provides an advice to the company in
relation to the actions which needs to be taken by them to meet the standards off a responsible
and ethical company.

4Corporate Social responsibility
The organization has made references to energy preservation in its sustainability report
where it signifies its intent to ensure environmental sustainability (Bloorhomes.com 2018)
Responsible Management and CSR
According to Smith (2012) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an approach by
business organizations that aim for the sustainable development by economic, social and
environmental benefits to the society that is affected by its functions and all its stakeholders. Tai
and Chuang (2014) have stated that CSR is a wide concept and it differs for each country and
company. CSR is a broad concept and it addresses various topics like human rights, corporate
governance, environmental effects, health and safety, economic contribution and working
conditions. Abels and Martelli (2012) provides that Corporate Social Responsibility is necessary
for the management of all business organizations, as an organization cannot survive by adversely
affecting the society and environment, around which it carries on its functions. Hence, in order to
run a business successfully, the management needs to design and undertake proper CSR policies
and look into its proper implementation. CSR has been stated to be as an integral part of a
business organization and thus the management has to undertake it in order to ensure smooth
functioning.
As mentioned earlier, CSR is a wide terminology and it includes human rights, corporate
governance, environmental effects, health and safety, economic contribution and working
conditions. The implementation of CSR in the business policies is a must by all business
organizations. With time, the importance of CSR is increasing, as business companies were and
are still extremely concerned about their public image and reputation. For running a successful
business, it is very much important to hold a good brand reputation and public image. According

5Corporate Social responsibility
to Asif et al. (2013) if the brand reputation and the public image of company deteriorate, then it
will inevitably harm the marketing performance and position of the company. CSR is a part of
the business ethics and it requires a business to take responsibility of the society around it, the
environment around it, employees work conditions and all that is related to its functioning, so
that all these are not affected negatively due to the business operations. The need for CSR in the
present day scenario is increasing, because the globalization of economy has resulted in
consistent competition between companies. The better a company can take up CSR, the better it
will perform. Advantages of CSR
Calabrese et al. (2013) has stated that there are certain benefits that a company and the
society may get if CSR polices are implemented in the desired manner. CSR implementation has
certain advantages like enhancing reputation, control over potential risks, Employee satisfaction,
Social development and Environmental protection and preservation. On the other had the
principles of CSR have been critiqued by Lim and Tsutsui (2012) by stating that CSR may
require the organizations to make significant disclosures which may have a negative impact upon
the reputation of the organization. In addition it has been argued by Torugsa, O’Donohue and
Hecker (2013) that the cost of implementing CSR is not in favor of shareholders interest as the
money comes directly from the pockets of the shareholders and the process does not guarantee
financial gains which is the primary purpose for which a company is incorporated.
The shareholders must be prioritized when sharing the benefits of the company, however
through the CSR approach priority is provided to others stakeholders rather than the
shareholders. In support of arguments against CSR a shareholders approach has been taken by
Milton Friedman. According to the Friedman approach an organization should not incorporate
the approach of CSR at all within its activities as it does not have any form of social

6Corporate Social responsibility
responsibility to the society or the public. This is because the primary concern which an
organization has is to increase its profits and as a result the profit to its shareholders. However it
is the shareholders who actually have a social responsibility in private capacity. It has been
further argued by Friedman in his book “Capitalism and Freedom” that if organization rather
than own profit focus on the community it would lead to Totalitarianism. According to
Friedman’s view "There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its
resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the
rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or
fraud." (Friedman, M., 2009).
Values Underpinned by Ethics
Ethical decision making is a significant part of good practices in management. When a
business organization indulges in the process of ethical decision making it not only ensures
ethical compliance but also legal compliance as well as compliance with its obligations towards
the society (Bishop and Lee 2017). This section of the paper highlights the importance of ethical
decision making to the organization and the management may base their decisions on ethical
theories in order to ensure responsible management.
Deontology or Kantianism is an ethical theory which has been provided by Immanuel
Kant. According to the theory whether a decision is right or wrong is not dependent upon their
consequences rather on the fact that they fulfill or duty on not (Kant 2017). It is provided through
the theory that a few specific actions can never be ethically correct even if they result in more
happiness as compared to their alternatives. In relation to the theory there are two actions which
needs to be considered whenever a decision is to be taken (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). These

7Corporate Social responsibility
include whether it would be ethical for every person to act in a way which a person wants to act
and does the actions of the person are in relation to the goals of humans as a whole rather than
personal interest.
According to the theory there is an apex principle which is that of morality which
determines the moral duties of a person. It has been provided by Kant that consequences in
relation to a decision are not relevant. This has been illustrated by the following example from
Kant. Assume that two people got drunk and now both of them wants to drive the car home. One
of them gets away with reckless driving as encounters no one on the road. However the other
kills a pedestrian. It would be argued by the theory that actions of both these persons are equally
wrong irrespective of its consequences (Broad 2014). Thus according to Kant when the managers
are taken a decision in relation to the organization they must ask themselves two questions.
Firstly would it be ok for them if the decision taken by them would be taken by the mangers of
all organizations or all persons in the society. Secondly, are the actions only towards personal
interest or the interest of human goals. This will ensure that the managers of Bloor Homes would
not indulge in an act which they would not want any other manager to carry put. For instance
based on Kant’s theory it would be incorrect on the part of the management to carry out work in
an unsustainable manner which would cause degrading effect to the environment as it would not
be right at all if managers carry out work in an unsustainable manner.
On the other hand the theory of Utilitarianism provides that whether an act is ethically
correct or not depends upon the consequences of the Act which is against the view provided by
the Kant (Baron 2017). This means that if an act generates happiness for maximum number of
people it would be regarded as morally correct. A decision through which utility is maximized is
considered as an ethically correct decision. According to the supporters of this theory the

8Corporate Social responsibility
purpose of the morality is to ensure a better life from humans by increasing the number of good
things such as happiness and pleasure and reducing bad things such as pain and sufferings
(Newman and Clarke 2016). Thus based on this theory also if the managers have to take a
decision they have to ensure the happiness of all humans. For instance where a decision is to be
taken in relation to carbon emission an ethically correct decision would be the one which
maximizes the happiness of all the stakeholders involved in the decision. Thus both the theories
for and against consequentialism provide for a decision by the management which is in favor of
ensuring environmental sustainability and low carbon emissions.
The issue
According to Oldfield (2018) the government has been condemned by planners, Green
groups and house builders for scrapping out plans in relation to making all new homes in UK
carbon neutral. In 2006 ex chancellor Gordon Brown had announced the Zero Carbon Policy
through which it would have been ensured that most of the new building was able to generate
energy on the site itself through the use of renewable resources such as solar or wind power for
the purpose of ventilation, lighting and heating. The program has been scrapped as it was
considered as an unnecessary burden on the house building industry. It has been provided
through the purpose of the Climate Change Act that at least 80% reduction in relation to carbon
emission from homes have to be achieved by the year 2050. The issue of global warming no
longer a issue which is of great concern but has become a issue of grave concern. The rise in the
average global temperature is posing a significant risk to the overall environment of the earth. In
addition to the environmental issues there are also financial issues which result out of using non
renewable energy in the construction industry such as higher bills, more dependence on fossil
fuels and high quantity of imports from countries like Russia.

9Corporate Social responsibility
The issue is therefore of utmost importance and needs to be addressed with urgency. It
can be argued that incorporating these obligations may enhance the cost involved in the
construction industry and place an unnecessary burden on the organization. However addressing
issues such as global warming and climate change is also the need of the hour. As analyzed by
Brown and Forster (2013) consumers now days prefer to be associated with those organization
which have active indulgence in the matters relating to environmental protection. The housing
industry contributes to more than one third of the total green house emission contributed by the
UK to the atmosphere. The functions of the construction business involves the manufacturing of
materials and the construction process, including the end use of buildings lead to the emission of
harmful green house gases like water vapor, CO2, nitrous oxide, methane and other harmful
pollutants from the synthetic chemicals used in the construction process. These cause air
pollution and affect the environmental sustainability. There may be many challenges which the
organization may face in relation to the issue. In one had it has the duty of providing appropriate
return to its shareholders and on the other hand it also have the responsibility of protecting the
environment and the society who are also its stakeholders from pollution and sufferings. The
organization must be able to develop a balance between both sides of its obligations in order to
be able to function both efficiently and ethically. There are several other organizations in the UK
who have faced the same issue in relation to the environment and shareholders. The strategies
adopted by few of these organizations are illustrated in the following paragraph.
According to Infrastructure Intelligence (2018) 30 leading infrastructure companies in
UK have contributed towards saving significant amount of carbon emission. Twenty Nine large
companies across the sectors of manufacturing, utilities, rail and construction have in total saved
8 million ton of carbon dioxide equivalent over the last 6 years. A range of techniques has been

10Corporate Social responsibility
displayed by companies like United Utilities and Anglian Water which includes implementation
of smart Technology, modernizing feet, encouraging the whole supply chain for the reduction of
emission and using renewable energies. These results have been independently verified through
the Carbon & Energy Management and Reduction Scheme. It has been noted that although these
companies face significant problem in relation to the cost of implementing the latest technology
for the reduction of carbon emission they have been able to come to a breakeven point in relation
to such cost in a very short period of time as the reputation of these companies have significantly
been enhanced which has a considerable positive impact on its customer base. According to
reports from Infrastructure Intelligence (2018) these companies have gain significant number of
new investors which have increased the financial capability of these companies. The situation
clearly signifies that where the companies have intention of ensuring protection of the
environment and the benefit of the society as a whole they are also being provided with
additional financial support and reputation which is very beneficial for the companies in the long
run.
There are other construction companies in UK that focus on environmental sustainability
for the CSR implementation. Many companies use policies based on the Ambient Air quality
Directive, which came into force from 2008. This directive sets legally binding limits for
concentration in outdoor air of major air pollutants and affects the public health and can also lead
to the ozone layer depletion, leading to environmental pollution.
Various stakeholders of the organization are affected this issue. The information in
relation to such stakeholders is provided below.

11Corporate Social responsibility
STAKEHOLDERS
CUSTOMERS
ENVIRONMENT
INVESTORS
SOCIETY
Stakeholders Map
Source: Created by Author
Stakeholders Effect
Investors Increased cost may reduce profit
Environment Emission likely to degrade the environment
Society Likely to be harmed by issues like global
warming
Customers Have to pay high Bills and undergo inflation
due to increased imports.
Stakeholders and effects of the issue

12Corporate Social responsibility
Source: Created by Author
Advice to the clients
The report has notified the clients about the value of ethical decision making towards
good management practices. The report has also indentified to the management of Bloorhomes
the advantages and disadvantages of CSR as well as the Friedman view in relation to the
concept. The issue which the organization faces in relation to ensuring profit making and
indulging in low carbon build at the same time has to be addressed in the light of CSR and
Ethical approaches so that a balance is established between the goals of the organization. It has
been seen that companies who face similar issues have been able to address the situation and
gain out of it in the long run. My advice to the organization in the light of the issue would be as
follows.
The organization has to take into consideration the problem which is present in relation to
the carbon emission from the constriction process. The issue is affecting various stakeholders of
the organization. The problem is not only harmful to the society but also to the future of the
organization as where the bills become higher the demand for sustainable housing would
increase and those companies which have an already established framework in relation to
environmental sustainability and low carbon emission would be able to benefit out of it. The
organization must ensure that their future decisions are based on ethical theories. The decision
making process is not required to be done based on any one theory but a few theories have to be
considered and compared to derive the best possible outcome. The organization should indulge
in long term planning. As one of the largest business organization in construction business the

13Corporate Social responsibility
company can afford to invest in a long term plan where taking into consideration sustainability
would enhance the reputation and profits off the organization.
Conclusion
This report, therefore analyzing both the views where it has been stated that a company
cannot solely survive on profits and profit earning should not be the ultimate aim of the business
organizations (CSR approach) and the only motive of the company is making profit and the
social responsibility is of the shareholders (Friedman’s View). However the primary finding of
this report is that a company may ensure good practices in relation to management by the
consideration of values which have been underpinned by ethics. Ethical decision making by the
management not only ensures that the organization is able to act on moral principles but also that
they are able to achieve their objective of making profit and providing returns to the
shareholders. It is the duty of the organization to ensure the well-being of all its stakeholders and
thus it is required to create a balance between their needs. The organization where their act on
ethical values ensures that is an act as a responsible corporate citizen and its reputation in the
society is enhanced which subsequently ensures profit generation.

14Corporate Social responsibility
References
Abels, P.B. and Martelli, J.T., 2012, July. WHAT IS CSR ALL ABOUT?. In Global Conference
On Business & Finance Proceedings (Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 86). Institute for Business & Finance
Research.
Asif, M., Searcy, C., Zutshi, A. and Fisscher, O.A., 2013. An integrated management systems
approach to corporate social responsibility. Journal of cleaner production, 56, pp.7-17.
Baron, J., 2017. Uncertainty and Probability within Utilitarian Theory. Diametros, (53), pp.6-25.
Bishop, D.L. and Lee, D.S., 2017. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (Asia
Edition).
Bloorhomes.com. (2018). Why Choose Bloor Homes?. [online] Available at:
https://bloorhomes.com/why-bloor [Accessed 21 Mar. 2018].
Broad, C.D., 2014. Five types of ethical theory (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Brown, J.A. and Forster, W.R., 2013. CSR and stakeholder theory: A tale of Adam
Smith. Journal of business ethics, 112(2), pp.301-312.
Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Menichini, T., Rosati, F. and Sanfelice, G., 2013. Turning Corporate
Social Responsibility‐driven Opportunities in Competitive Advantages: a Two‐dimensional
Model. Knowledge and Process Management, 20(1), pp.50-58.
Ferrell, O.C. and Fraedrich, J., 2015. Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson
Education.
Friedman, M., 2009. Capitalism and freedom. University of Chicago press.

15Corporate Social responsibility
Infrastructure Intelligence. (2018). UK infrastructure firms reduce carbon emissions by 30%.
[online] Available at: http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/oct-2016/uk-
infrastructure-firms-reduce-carbon-emissions-30 [Accessed 21 Mar. 2018].
Kant, I., 2017. Kant: The metaphysics of morals. Cambridge University Press.
Lim, A. and Tsutsui, K., 2012. Globalization and commitment in corporate social responsibility:
Cross-national analyses of institutional and political-economy effects. American Sociological
Review, 77(1), pp.69-98
Newman, G. and Clarke, R.V., 2016. Rational choice and situational crime prevention:
Theoretical foundations. Routledge.
Oldfield, P. (2018). UK scraps zero carbon homes plan. [online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/10/uk-scraps-zero-carbon-home-target
[Accessed 21 Mar. 2018].
Robinson, S. and Dowson, P., 2017. Business ethics in practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Smith, R., 2012. THE SITE. Development, 22.
Tai, F.M. and Chuang, S.H., 2014. Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6(03), p.117.
Zhao, Z.Y., Zhao, X.J., Davidson, K. and Zuo, J., 2012. A corporate social responsibility
indicator system for construction enterprises. Journal of cleaner production, 29, pp.277-289.

16Corporate Social responsibility
Reflection
Through the resubmission I have been able to learn a new lesion in relation to how to go
about by assignments in the future. In the previous assignment which had been done by me I had
not been able to meet the expectations of the professor. I realized why I had not been provided a
satisfactory grade in the assignment. This is because I did not understand the assignment brief
totally before I started the assignment, it is very important to understand the assignment before
initiating research in relation to it because if the assignment is not understood properly in the first
place the research in relation to the assignment would not be of an appropriate quality and would
also not be carried out in the correct direction.
The blunder I made in relation to the previous assignment was that I did not understand
what I need to work on. I had to act as a consultant working for an ethical company and my role
was to advice a selected organization in the light of CSR, Friedman’s view and ethical theories in
relation to a issue which is faced by it. There were three broad issues of human rights in
employment, environment sustainability and ethical management of supply chain out of which I
needs to selected one and make it more specific. In my previous assignment I was not able to do
so and as a result I have provided a brief discussion in relation to all the issues. However after
pointed out by the professor I had understood the mistake which I had done in relation to the
assignment and pursuant to rectification in the present assignment I have selected the issue of
environmental sustainability and specifically the responsibility the organization to promote a low
carbon build.
Another Mistake I did I the assignment was that I did not follow the structure which I
was supposed to follow. However I corrected such mistake in the present assignment where I

17Corporate Social responsibility
have initially discussed provisions relating to responsible management and CSR in relation to the
organization. I have then provided a discussion in relation to values which are underpinned by
ethics in the light of ethical theories on the organization. This area was a major failure in relation
to my previous assignment as I and not selected two theories covered in the lectures and
critiqued them to analyze the importance of ethical decision making for management.
Subsequently I have carried out an in- depth analysis of the issue of Environmental
sustainability particularly the responsibilities which builders have to lead low carbon build which
I had not done in the previous assignment. In this section I have identified the stakeholders
which may be affected due to the actions of the company which I missed to do in the previous
assignment. I have then provided advice to the company in relation to the actions which needs to
be taken by them to meet the standards off a responsible and ethical company. I will ensure that
I understand the requirements properly before starting any assignments in the future.