Sustainability and COVID-19 Pandemic: Ethical Challenges Faced by Global Businesses

This report discusses the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability and ethical challenges faced by global businesses. It highlights the importance of code of conduct in addressing sustainability issues and provides examples of businesses who have been able to tackle these challenges effectively. The report also emphasizes the role of professional bodies like United Nations in supporting businesses to achieve sustainable development goals.

CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC
1

Contents
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC...........................................................................................1
PART A...........................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
PART B............................................................................................................................................6
CPD Plan..........................................................................................................................................6
Area of learning......................................................................................................................6
Reflection of learning.............................................................................................................6
Future Implication..................................................................................................................6
Action.....................................................................................................................................6
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8
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PART A
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated various issues in the contemporary business
environment. The focus of this report is sustainability and the cover 19 pandemic in context of
ethical challenges faced by global business environment (Burgis-Kasthala, 2020). This report
introduces the sustainability challenges faced by the companies after the COVID-19 pandemic
and explains code of conduct that can assist the businesses in resolving the issues. This report
provides information about relevant code of conduct which has helped businesses resolve the
issues along with example of businesses who have not been able to make positive improvement
on the specific ethical challenges identified in this report. After this the report also focuses on
discussing the support and guidance provided by professional bodies relevant to the issue of
COVID-19 and sustainability. Finally a concluding paragraph is included to evaluate effective
implementation of code of conduct and professional body guidance by an organization.
MAIN BODY
The specific topic which is selected for this report is sustainability and the covid 19 pandemic.
The concept of sustainability refers to business processes an actions which support
Environmental Protection along with adding positive contributions towards the fight against
global warming and climate change (Canzaniello Hartmann and Fifka, 2017). Rising consumer
demand and government intervention through laws and regulations in context of sustainability
has increased awareness of businesses towards sustainability challenges and harm caused by
companies towards the environment. Many businesses in the current age are adopting
sustainable practices in order to ensure that any kind of harm towards the environment is
minimized. The covid 19 pandemic changed the economic landscape of the global trade which
impacted on sustainability of companies (Goworek and et. al., 2020). The negative economic
impact caused by Covid 19 pandemic has encourage many businesses to priorities economic
growth over sustainability which is a key ethical challenge when it comes to the current business
environment. This is because avoiding sustainability in order to attain higher profits is an ethical
as it contributes towards global environmental damage and affect save feature for the society.
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Code of conduct is defined as a common policy within an organization which provides
description of its principle standards along with moral and ethical expectations that employees
and third parties need to comply with in order to interact with the company (Gutterman, 2020).
One of the multinational businesses in United Kingdom who has been able to address the issue of
sustainability effectively is Tesco. Tesco is one of the largest retail companies of United
Kingdom with a sucky send code of business conduct an ethics which helps the company ensure
that any environmental or ethical challenges faced by the company are resolved effectively. The
code of conduct in case of Tesco includes focus on cultural values of service discipline
teamwork which help the company introduce values in actions behaviors of employees and any
third parties. In addition to this the code of conduct asked Tesco also values safety and quality
standards along with ensuring that the products are sourced responsibility and are traced fully to
the supply chain (Our Code of Business Conduc, 2022).
The detailed code of conduct at Tesco has helped the company tackle challenges related
to sustainability while attaining profitability during the COVID-19 pandemic. An example
showcasing the ways in which Tesco has integrated sustainability in its purpose and strategic
goals is that the form works with farmers and food suppliers to ensure that its food production
practices are better for people and planet. In addition to this the company also works with
communities to ensure that its food products are never wasted and provided to communities in
need to support reduction in wastage of necessary resources (Planet, 2022). Sustainable business
initiatives are adopted by enterprises to develop good brand image as contributors in tackling
sustainability issues such as climate change (Schaltegger and Wagner, 2017). On the other hand
Zara is a fashion retailer who has not been able to ensure that its products and services are
manufactured ethically which lower environmental impact. There is no evidence that Zara
minimizes its textile waste when manufacturing products The company also utilizes materials
such as wool leather an exotic animal here in its products which are highly damaging two climate
change efforts (How Ethical Is Zara?, 2022). The disregard towards Environmental Protection
and ethically completing product manufacturing can be attributed to Zara not being able to
follow its code of conduct and responsible practices.
The code of conduct in context of Zara includes allowing gaining awareness and
enforcing a business culture deeply rooted in respecting human and labor rights. In addition to
this the code of conduct also focuses on including principle of due diligence regarding
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prevention detection and removal of irregular products regardless of their nature including risk
reviews and definition of liabilities (INDITEX CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EXTERNAL
MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS, 2022). This showcases that Zara does not have a
specific point in its code of conduct dedicated towards improving sustainability and
Environmental Protection. Zara has not been able to achieve high sustainability and tackle
challenges related to sustainability during COVID-19 pandemic because of its code of conduct
which does not specifically focus on this major ethical issue affecting businesses in the current
age. Sustainability requires full dedication from business enterprises as it needs to be climate
damaging business practices need to be eliminated from the entire supply chain (Higgins, Tang
and Stubbs, 2020).
The United nations is one of the key professional bodies supporting fight against climate
change and helping governments as well as private organizations tackle the battle towards
eliminating global warming. The United nations General Assembly agreed on 17 interlinked
global goals focused on creating a blueprint to achieve sustainable future for all (Take Action for
the Sustainable Development Goals, 2022). These goals are defined as the sustainable
development goals or global goals which have been adopted by many organizations across
industries and countries to ensure that they are following a sustainable strategy towards
development (Lahtinen and Yrjölä, 2019) (Ma, 2017). It is important that businesses review
these goals provided by United Nations such as gender equality and affordable and clean energy
to ensure that they are able to face and remove ethical challenges related to sustainability
specifically because COVID-19 has increased ethical issues associated with sustainability as
businesses face more economic pressure.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that sustainability is a key business issue in the
contemporary environment which has been heightened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. the
COVID-19 pandemic resulted in economic downturn which affected businesses priority towards
sustainability as many enterprises and off focusing solely on attaining profit and avoiding
supporting sustainability issues. this ethical challenge need to be handled by creating detailed
code of conduct which specifically focuses on the issue of sustainability and aims to address this
issue through policies and corporate social responsibility initiatives. In addition to this taking
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guidance from professional bodies such as United Nations is also helpful in tackling the issue of
sustainability.
PART B
CPD Plan
Area of learning
The purpose of code of conduct is to ensure that businesses operate ethically and responsibly. It
is understood from the above discussion that code of contact Leanne important role on business
ethics as they help the company ensure that various ethical challenges in the current environment
are handled effectively. Code of conduct related to sustainability has positive impact that it
makes the company prioritize sustainability issues even during the time of crisis while the
negative impact is that it is not able to ensure that motivation towards making sustainable future
is integrated in organizational culture. It is important for businesses to follow their code of
conduct to ensure that business activities are being done ethically and within the law (Nath,
Eweje and Bathurst, 2021).
Reflection of learning
Prior to attending the module I had awareness of the basic definition of code of conduct but was
not fully aware of the ways in which code of conduct shapes business practices and supports the
company in eliminating ethical challenges. Now I have realized that code of conduct plays an
important role in facing ethical challenges as it helps create a more ethical strategy of the
company.
Future Implication
I will use this knowledge to ensure that I also work in an ethical manner during my academic
journey and future employment. I will ensure that I base my actions and decision making fan
ethical duties towards society and environment so that I become a better employee and am able
to serve interests of various stakeholders effectively.
Action
Objective Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely
 To
improve
 This is a
specific
 This
objective
 This is an
easily
 This is a
relevant
3 months
6

knowledg
e of
sustainab
le daily
practices
which
can be
employed
for
enhancin
g
personal
sustainab
ility.
objective
as it
provides
informati
on about
taking
action to
enhance
own
sustainab
ility.
can be
measured
easily by
calculatin
g carbon
emissions
on a
monthly
basis to
determin
e if
sustainab
ility
practices
have
provided
positive
outcome
in
improvin
g own
sustainab
ility.
attainable
object as
there are
various
online
guides
which
can be
used for
improvin
g own
sustainab
ility.
objective
because
it will
help
tackle
ethical
challenge
of
sustainab
ility by
ensuring
that I am
able to
improve
daily
sustainab
ility
during
my
working
hours.
7

REFRENCES
Books and Journals
Burgis-Kasthala, M., 2020. Researching secret spaces: A reflexive account on negotiating risk
and academic integrity. Leiden Journal of International Law, 33(2). pp.269-287.
Canzaniello, A., Hartmann, E. and Fifka, M. S., 2017. Intra-industry strategic alliances for
managing sustainability-related supplier risks: Motivation and outcome. International
Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
Goworek and et. al., 2020. Managing sustainability in the fashion business: Challenges in
product development for clothing longevity in the UK. Journal of Business
Research, 117. pp.629-641.
Gutterman, A. S., 2020. Managing sustainability. Routledge.
Higgins, C., Tang, S. and Stubbs, W., 2020. On managing hypocrisy: The transparency of
sustainability reports. Journal of Business Research, 114. pp.395-407.
Lahtinen, S. and Yrjölä, M., 2019. Managing sustainability transformations: A managerial
framing approach. Journal of cleaner production, 223. pp.815-825.
Ma, U., 2017. No waste: managing sustainability in construction. Routledge.
Nath, S. D., Eweje, G. and Bathurst, R., 2021. The invisible side of managing sustainability in
global supply chains: evidence from multitier apparel suppliers. Journal of Business
Logistics, 42(2). pp.207-232.
Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M. eds., 2017. Managing the business case for sustainability: The
integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge.
Online
Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/>
Planet, 2022. [Online] Available through <https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/planet/>
INDITEX CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EXTERNAL MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS,
2022. [Online] Available through <https://www.torcituradolzago.it/images/inditex-
code-conduct.pdf>
How Ethical Is Zara?, 2022. [Online] Available through <https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-
zara/>
Our Code of Business Conduc, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://www.tescoplc.com/media/264347/tesco-cobc-october-18.pdf>
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