Money and ethics: Can they co-exist?

When money gets involved, frequently any semblance of ethical behavior goes out the window in favor of making a quick buck. Here in the States, we have seen this many times especially in the past few years. Enron, Worldcom, and a slew of other corporate fraud cases (not to mention the pre-9/11 corporate “put” options on airlines and insurance companies) have come into the public spotlight. Money corrupts, and corporate entities get corrupted.

Co-Operative Insurance has put together an official Ethical Insurance Policy for their company. It states that their company will manage their investments with the ethical values of the customer in mind, whether it be human rights, animal welfare, the environment, or any other ethical concern. Although this may decrease their potential investment vehicles, I applaud them for breaking through and having the guts to do something different in today’s world of corporate greed.

Co-Operative Bank has also set out an Ethical Banking Policy that emcompasses their heritage and their customer’s concerns to build a policy that is moral and admirable. They have also put into place an implementation plan with compliancce systems that are built into their everyday banking procedures.

I think it is huge that a bank is willing to come out and create a policy like this that will not necessarily make their business easier, but will turn their bank into an example for other corporations to follow.