Just how fraught it can be for companies not only to do the right thing but to be seen to be doing the right has been highlighted by The Times newspaper's attack on Anglo American's mining operations in Zimbabwe. 'Outrage over £200 million investment in Zimbabwe' shouted the front page lead headline in The Times, 25 June. The article implied that Anglo American was somehow giving succour to the Mugabe regime by investing in a new platinum mine.

 

'Bringing together a new engagement based on trust'; 'Ego will have to be parked at the door'; 'Purposeful partnership between civil society organizations and business'; 'need for partnerships based on respect and humility'; 'a gentle, collaborative approach'. These were some of the phrases expressed by Tony Manwaring which I picked up when he addressed the UK-India Business Leaders Conference on Climate Change in parliament, 26 June.

Underlying the financial crisis is a crisis of value and of values,’ asserted Tony Manwaring, Chief Executive of the London-based ‘think-and-do-tank’ Tomorrow’s Company. He was chairing a ‘Tomorrow’s Values’ reception held in the House of Lords on 17 November, organised by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Tomorrow’s Company.

I’ve been struck by the number of senior executives who have called for an emphasis on ethical and even moral values in the light of the global economic crisis.

How to stay ethical during a downturn: this was the theme of a talk given by Roger Steare, author of Ethicability, at Cass Business School in London on 26 November.