Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Business – Essay Assignment

Company of choice: Elis Ireland

Maximum 3000 words
Each part 30%, no more than 1000 words approx. for each section
PART 1:
Talk about CSR of Elis Ireland

PART 2:
2 perspectives
(A) Sustainability
(B) Business and Inequality
PART 1 – DESCRIBE THE CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY APPROACH OF AN ORGANISATION OF
YOUR CHOICE

By definition, Corporate Responsibility (CR) refers to a business’ impact on society, the

economy and the environment, and helps to ensure that they are functioning in an
economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner (Corporate Responsibility: An
Introduction 2023). For my assignment, I have decided to analyse Elis, who are global
providers of industrial and healthcare services, also supplying textiles, hygiene and facility
services. The reason why I decided to delve into Elis is because they have an excellent CSR
approach in place, who are fully committed to ensuring that the corporations that they are
in business with achieve to the best of their abilities by supplying and maintaining linen,
washroom facilities and workwear sustainably and environmentally friendly. This
simultaneously allows businesses to achieve optimal hygiene and protection for their
employees and customers, enriching their wellbeing in a sustainable way as a result. They
state that their range of services available to the consumer emulates their commitment to a
more ecological future: connecting them to their clients as well as their planet (Our CSR

policy 2023).

Elis Ireland thrive on having a good Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, and have
integrated it immensely into their business, as sustainability is the heart and soul of their
business model. They are committed to delivering a quality service and, at the same time,
minimizing their impact on the environment. Their business model and their success has
been based on the circular economy aspect, which is also the foundation of their CSR
strategy. They believe strongly that circularity is one of the key solutions to face the current

environmental challenges (Our CSR policy 2023).

The circular economy approach is defined as a systemic method to economic development,

which was designed in order to benefit all businesses, society and the environment. This
approach is poles apart from the ‘take-make-waste’ linear model implemented by various
businesses, as a circular economy model is regenerative by design. Its primary aim is to
gradually decouple expansion from the consumption of finite resources and instead favours

activities that preserve value in the form of energy, labour and materials. This approach in
aid of CSR is based on three key principles: eliminate waste and pollution, regenerate nature,
and circulate products and pollution (The circular economy in detail). This enhances Elis’
utilization of products, concurrently encouraging their recycling and, as a result, reconciles
economic growth and reduces their environmental impact.

Elis Ireland’s main objectives when it comes to fully implementing CSR in their business are
to:

- Reduce their consumption of water, laundry products and energy by 25%, and
- Work towards zero waste

So far they have been successful with these two goals

(Our CSR policy 2023)

Along with these objectives they have set for themselves, Elis Ireland also have
commitments that they are determined to complete in order to align with their excellent
CSR reputation, comprising of:

 Circularity and exemplarity in order to decrease their impact on the planet

 (a) Master circularity in everything they do
(b) Determined to develop their circular approach even further on their range of
products, services and operations.
 (c) Bring their lower carbon and resources solutions to businesses their involved
with and their customers.
 Eco-design their products and services in order to assist their customers along
their sustainability journey.
 Strive to be the best in their class in their day-to-day operations in order to limit
their impact and carbon footprint.

 Empower their employees and support their advancement.

 Charm talents and support employee development.
 Ensure well-being at work and drive for zero casualties.
 Guarantee equal opportunities.

 Create a positive impact for society.

 Propose products and services that promote hygiene/reduce resources
consumption.
 Give back to local communities and support causes that have true meaning.
 Work responsibly along their value chain and engage on CSR to seek solutions to
today’s CSR challenges (Our CSR policy, 2023) e.g. demand for transparency and
disclosure, corporate culture and differing priorities etc. (Murphy, 2023).

In terms of their CSR approach, they have a range of targets set for themselves, which are to
be achieved by 2025 and comprise of the following:

 80% of textiles reused/recycled at the end of the Group’s life.

 20% reduction in their carbon footprint in Europe (compared to 2010).
 50% less water consumption in Europe (compared to 2010).
 95% of our preferred suppliers covered by a CSR assistant.

These objectives were put in place to align with the objectives set out by the Paris Climate
Agreements of 2015 in order to contribute to restrict global warming to less than 1.5
Degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels on Scope 1 and 2 (-47.5%, by 2030 from a
base year of 2019), and well below 2 Degrees Celsius on Scope 3 (-28%, by 2030 from a base
year of 2019) (Our CSR policy 2023).

Elis Ireland are also enthusiastic in terms of sustainability, which is embedded deeply into
their business model and also a key factor in their CSR approach. They strive in developing
durable, innovative, repairable and recyclable items. Their aim by 2025 is to have at least
one workwear collection made up of 100% environmentally friendly materials for each of

their product groups.

It's all well and good saying how much Elis Ireland have planned to achieve by 2025, but are
they actually implementing these results? It is safe to say that they are definitely on the right
track according to these real time conclusions:

 There has been a 40% reduction of water consumption since 2010 per kg of linen
treated in Europe.
 34% of new managers are women.
 16% of new managers are promoted within the company.
 72% of textiles are reused/recycled by 2021.

Elis have received a range of prizes due to their superb CSR approach, receiving a Gold
Medal in the EcoVadis questionnaire for the 6th year in a row, along with achieving an A- due
to its participation in the climate questionnaire conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Sustainanalytics also substantially expanded Elis’s ESG rating by nearly 10 points up to 14.8
which is classified as “low risk” in 2022.

All in all, it is safe to say that Elis Ireland have an outstanding CR approach implemented into
their business, as it is evident that they are mindful with the materials they utilise and are
wary of retaining their carbon footprint to a low level, reducing their environmental impact
also as a result.
PART 2 – ANALYSE THIS APPROACH USING TWO PERSPECTIVES WE STUDIED IN CLASS
(A)BUSINESS AND INEQUALITY
Considering Ireland probably provides a very fair wage compared to other countries, Ireland
has the highest wage inequality in Europe, which results in a stigma forming about the
shame some people have in having to request social welfare as they cannot obtain jobs,
instead of being able to earn a fair wage, resulting in the possibility of them not being able
to pay the extortionate rental prices and thousands having to resort to emergency
accommodation, or as far as having to immigrate out of the country completely.

In Elis, they make a conscious effort to ensure equality within the workplace and that their
employees are content within their working environment. The company comprises of nearly
45,000 employees, and according to recent statistics in 2018, 8597 out of 9881 employees
surveyed were satisfied in their workplace. They promote internal competitions for new job
opportunities within the workplace, with 32% of new managers promoted internally, which
ensures consistent upskilling and progressive learning. They also ensure women play a
dominant role within the company, with 31% of new managers in 2018 being women. Elis
have a big global platform, as they are present in 28 countries around the world.

Within Elis, their employees are heard rather than ignored and pushed aside. An internal
survey is carried out every 2 years, the most recent being in November 2021, so another is
due to arise again soon. This gives employees a voice in order to express potential concerns
they may have about a variety of issues, which can range from career development, training,
working conditions and safety. This aids Elis in being able to further grow and enhance their
business model.