and friend" Anita Roddick agreed to
sell her ethical beauty chain, The Body
Shop, to L'Oreal in 2006.
"Anita was a great believer in business
karma. And I am too. When you build
these principles into your business then
you are rewarded many, many times
over. And that's why there is no reason
not to embed a sustainable, ethical
model into your business these days".
Like Roddick's the Body Shop, Fairley
says social and environmental awareness
was never a bolt-on to Green & Black's
strategy; it was the "foundations of
what the business was built on". "When
we launched Green & Black's we didn't
need to sit down and work out what our
ethics were going to be and what our
CSR policy should include. Concerns
like Fairtrade, organic and sustainability
were just embedded in the brands DNA
from the word go," she says.
"For us, it was right there from the
start and so from an ethical point of
view it meant that we never had to do a
lot of soul searching about decisions on
ethical aspects of our business, it all felt
very natural."
"I think it's much easier to start from
that point than to try and bolt it on.
However, every company should have
a CSR policy and I applaud the attempt
of anyone doing it because it actually
helps change the company even if they
go into it cynically."
Fairley says that it doesn't matter
how companies get involved, as long as
they do. "I'm not the least bit cynical
about why big brands take on a CSR
sustainability programme because my
observation is that they might start out
disparagingly, thinking that they have
to put something in the annual company
report, but actually doing it changes the
fabric of the organisation".
Fairley's optimistic about the future
of corporate behaviour, and explains
that by those incorporating this type of
business model, not only will they
change the mind-set of their workforce,
it will become "strongly woven into the
fabric of the company and gives people
the feel good factor".
Jo Fairley will be taking to the keynote
stage at this year's Sustainability Live at
the NEC, Birmingham, April 1-3. For
more information and to register free,
visit www.sustainabilitylive.com
Interview Jo Fairley, Green & Black's 5/5
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