Thanks very much to Chris Barrow for the email which sparked the thought process into the discussion about ethical versus sustainable.
We discuss ethics in our practice quite often and also in The Campbell Academy in the way we provide education. We try to have an ethical approach to patients, staff, suppliers and everyone.
Recently Chris emailed me to tell me that he had been speaking to one of the Trustees for Bridge2Aid who had explained that big companies no longer talk about ethical and instead talk about sustainable. There is a subtle difference in this. It is perhaps companies appreciating that it's no longer possible to just be ethical and the importance is to be sustainable. To continue development, to continue making profit, to continue growing businesses while at the same time trying to balance all the effects. I completely appreciate that and I myself have tried to introduce this to our business through the context of prethics but there is perhaps another test for this that you must consider and maybe the best way to do that is the anecdote below.
Imagine that you or your family member have been diagnosed with a serious condition which required the help of a surgeon. You consulted with the surgeon on the basis of having the serious condition chopped out of one of your close relatives and asked the surgeon if he was an ethical practitioner. The surgeon explained to you that, due to the current system and the constraints within his working pattern, it was no longer possible for him to be ethical but he was sustainable. Would that on increase or decrease your confidence in the surgeon? Would it increase or decrease your acceptance of the treatment suggested?
Just food for thought.
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