Ethics Explorer: Sustainability Focus
Welcome to Ethics Explorer, your monthly guide to navigating ethical challenges in social performance practice. Each month, we explore one of the core ethical principles that guide our profession, illustrated with real examples and practical guidance. This month’s Ethics Explorer focuses on Sustainability Focus.
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This Month’s Ethical Principle: Sustainability Focus
Practitioners should advocate for sustainable practices that consider long-term impacts on communities and the environment, aligning with the vision of fair and respectful development.
Example of this principle in social performance practice
Sofia works on a lithium mining project where rapid extraction methods could deplete local water resources. By presenting long-term impact data and advocating for sustainable water management practices, she helps the project team develop alternative approaches that protect both the community’s water security and the company’s social license to operate.
Example of how a practitioner can face a difficult decision because they see this principle as being conflicted at work
Miguel faces a challenging dilemma at a critical phase of a renewable energy project. The company plans to fast-track the construction of a solar farm to meet urgent energy transition targets, but this would mean bypassing traditional seasonal farming cycles of local communities.
Miguel faces multiple pressures:
- Project managers emphasize that delays could jeopardize government renewable energy incentives
- The sustainability team argues that the greater good of climate action justifies short-term disruptions
- Local farmers depend on their traditional agricultural calendar for food security
- His role requires him to balance both environmental and social sustainability
This situation highlights several key tensions:
- Temporal conflicts: Short-term project goals versus long-term community sustainability
- Scale dilemmas: Local community needs versus global climate imperatives
- Resource trade-offs: Economic viability versus social sustainability
- Professional integrity: Balancing corporate objectives with community well-being
