For profit businesses can work well with ethical decision-making

Clarity of values it meant to help, not to hinder. Ethical, environmental, and social considerations can be legitimately factored into business decisions, not treated as a departure from legal obligation.

It is an urban legend that for-profit businesses have a legal obligation to make decisions based strictly on profits. Unlike the popular myth, Canadian corporate law doesn't require directors to maximise shareholder returns. A longer view that looks at the health of the business, over quarterly returns, must be considered.

Based on decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada, directors have a fiduciary duty to the corporation itself, not only to shareholders. They must weigh shareholder benefits alongside employees, creditors, and other stakeholders. With the legal focus on the overall health of the business, not simply quarterly returns, ethical decision-making adds clarity and consistency, and can assist in efficient and justifiable resource allocation.

Other countries may frame this differently. In the United States, other considerations, such as those mentioned above, can be present in most states, but not all. For country specific frameworks please contact Kimberley for a further discussion.