In order to get a good reputation, companies have been very concerned about social responsibility issues. Social reports are coming up increasingly, bringing information on how companies are trying to reduce their carbon emission and also taking actions by resorting to sustainable practices. So, measures such as “raw material certification” and “decrease of unnecessary packing” are often mentioned.
However, although companies and the sustainability debate are deeply focused on ambient matters, it seems that Human Health is not a priority as the topic is rarely examined. The common-sense speech is that goods and services must be “environmentally” friendly because the planet is struggling for help. But proportionally, few people ask if goods and services are “human health” friendly.
Reports from comparative tests on products done by consumers associations around the globe in 2009 make it clear that human health is not taken in serious consideration by companies while developing products. For example, a company that makes an annual huge fund raising campaign to fight children cancer sells a children meal that contains more trans-fat than a chicken meal for adults (McCase). Does this company really care about children health? In a conscious consumer society, what would be the reputation impact this company could suffer if such information was unveiled?
Or what about companies that combine two preservatives in a soda drink that when together release benzene, called by World Heath Organization as a potential cancerous substance? These companies could replace one of the preservatives by another to obtain the same preservation result, but without being a potential harm for human health (BenzeneCase). This is just a couple of examples from several others that can be pointed out.
The sustainability debate has to pay more attention to the well-being of consumers. What’s the reason to have a healthy Planet if we don’t have healthy beings to enjoy it? Also, if a consumer lives longer, he/she can spin more the economy than if he/she dies prematurely due to diseases caused by unsafe goods or services. So, it’s time to companies rethink their practices and their sustainability values, adding the Human Health to the debate. If not as a “business philosophy”, at least, as a tool to mitigate reputation risks. Consumers are getting more conscious and exchanging information with others like never before thanks to the power of social networking websites. Then, damages to reputation are dangerous like never before.
However, although companies and the sustainability debate are deeply focused on ambient matters, it seems that Human Health is not a priority as the topic is rarely examined. The common-sense speech is that goods and services must be “environmentally” friendly because the planet is struggling for help. But proportionally, few people ask if goods and services are “human health” friendly.
Reports from comparative tests on products done by consumers associations around the globe in 2009 make it clear that human health is not taken in serious consideration by companies while developing products. For example, a company that makes an annual huge fund raising campaign to fight children cancer sells a children meal that contains more trans-fat than a chicken meal for adults (McCase). Does this company really care about children health? In a conscious consumer society, what would be the reputation impact this company could suffer if such information was unveiled?
Or what about companies that combine two preservatives in a soda drink that when together release benzene, called by World Heath Organization as a potential cancerous substance? These companies could replace one of the preservatives by another to obtain the same preservation result, but without being a potential harm for human health (BenzeneCase). This is just a couple of examples from several others that can be pointed out.
The sustainability debate has to pay more attention to the well-being of consumers. What’s the reason to have a healthy Planet if we don’t have healthy beings to enjoy it? Also, if a consumer lives longer, he/she can spin more the economy than if he/she dies prematurely due to diseases caused by unsafe goods or services. So, it’s time to companies rethink their practices and their sustainability values, adding the Human Health to the debate. If not as a “business philosophy”, at least, as a tool to mitigate reputation risks. Consumers are getting more conscious and exchanging information with others like never before thanks to the power of social networking websites. Then, damages to reputation are dangerous like never before.
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