ethical business
Morally sound enterprise
Ethical business refers to commerce conducted with attention to moral principles—fair treatment of workers, honest dealings with customers, environmental responsibility, and transparency in operations.
The phrase often distinguishes companies that prioritize such values from those focused solely on profit: She only invests in ethical businesses.
What counts as ethical varies by context and evolves over time.
- social enterpriseBusiness prioritizing impact over profit
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
- transparencyState of being see-through
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- stakeholdersThose with investment in outcome
social responsibility · do the right thing · philanthropy · moral reasoning · integrity · honesty · walk the talk · whistleblower · trust-building · social impact · compliance · community development · give back · living wage · anti-corruption · stakeholder engagement · fair trade practices · fair trade
- business ethicscode of conduct, codes of conduct, corporate responsibility, corporate governance, whistleblowing
- business philosophiescapitalism, free market, lean, kaizen, agile
- Social Enterprisesocial enterprise, social innovation, triple bottom line, impact investing, microfinance
- Do-goodersdo-gooder, volunteer, activist, humanitarian, philanthropist
- Jainismahimsa, moksha, right conduct, non-violence, non-attachment
- Catholic social teachingCST, encyclicals, human dignity, subsidiarity, common good
ethical businesssweatshop
Exploitative manufacturing workplace
loan shark · plantation economy · price gouger · union buster · company town
ethical businessPonzi scheme
Fraudulent returns from newcomers
criminal enterprise · scam · pyramid scheme · racket · organized crime