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Ethics and CSR
June 17, 2022
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Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3
Company's Profile/Scope of operations ..................................................................................... 4
Ethical Issues/Challenges ........................................................................................................... 5
Stakeholders/Interests .............................................................................................................. 7
Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy.................................................................................... 9
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 12
References .............................................................................................................................. 13
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Introduction
IGBO is a company that came to market in 2019; its base office and operations center
are located in Alberta, Canada, but they ship products nationwide.
IGBO (meaning forest in Yoruba) began as an inspiration to design natural and
economic spaces within houses and apartments. The company's consolidation was after the
motivation of various Canadian companies such as Alberta Pacific, Canadian Kraft Paper,
Eacom, Weyerhaeuser and others, which are dedicated to the sustainable collection of raw
materials from forests. Another inspiration was product companies such as IKEA, which offer
products at low cost, of good quality and ready to be assembled by the user, all with easy
transportation and cheaper packaging.
Canada offers the opportunity for the construction market to continue growing; this is a
way to take advantage of the country's natural resources to provide itself and its future
inhabitants with a suitable place to live. IGBO, being a small and growing company, has 50
workers in the base office, including managers, project leaders, designers, marketing areas,
human resources and trainees; At the same time, in the operations center, there are 150
workers dedicated to collecting materials, classification, construction, finishes, deliveries and
installation. The base office has a small showroom so that customers can see in person the
products available in addition to those shown on the website.
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Company's Profile/Scope of operations
IGBO surge from the dream of generating natural products, of experimenting with raw
materials such as dry leaves, Kraft paper, chipboard and wood pulp; experiment and create
with the least possible environmental impact from the use of machinery. Having stakeholders
such as EACOM (Timber Corporation) can test various materials used from the collection of
trees, as they offer by-products such as Bark, Chips, Shavings and Sawdust, leftover materials
after treating the wood to sell. (AFA Forest, 2022)
IGBO's main products are furniture for houses, apartments, offices, and outdoors
(tables, desks, beds, chairs, bases, supports), all based on the collection of wood and natural
resin for the more significant duration and support. Secondary products are decorations or
accessories for the places (dishes, frames, cutlery, electronic supports, railings).
The company's production process is to contact suppliers to collect or receive the
material, constantly aware of new products depending on the time of year; subsequently give
them a cleaning treatment for better handling. The base office will have the designs and
proposals in the process while orders are sent to the factory, where the necessary assemblies
and unions will be made, and the finishes and packaging to be sent to the client or stock. The
designers are in charge of providing the client with an easy way of assembly by showing
simple steps in the plans and good renderings, while the marketing team looks for new image
opportunities and produces videos of certain products so that the customer always finds a way
to solve. The company also offers a shipping and assembly service for products if the client
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requires it and a help service in the design of their space so that they have a better vision of
their requirements.
Having in IGBO a network of providers in provinces with forest communities to have a
more friendly and constant expansion. There are branches in Burnaby, Winnipeg, Burns Lake,
and Vaughan.
IGBO's mission and vision are focused on production through materials mainly used to
bring the essence of the forest to the city. There is no waste, and there are no extra pieces; if
something is missing, it is built; if something breaks, it is reused in another product; If a client
no longer wants their furniture, the company will always receive it to transform it into
something new; The less we take away from nature, the better life in balance we will have.
Ethical Issues/Challenges
Furniture companies have currently been affected by ethical problems of worker abuse.
Many companies buy products from other countries because it is cheaper since labour in Asia
and Africa is more affordable than in the land of origin. If it is cheaper, it is because there is
labour exploitation, many hours of work for unfair pay. That is why IGBO has as a priority to
buy national materials such as wood, but what as textiles and metal elements, it is necessary to
make an import. (Kober, A. 2020)
At first, the company had problems as it was associated with a supplier who bought its
products directly from a factory in Malaysia, where the workers suffered labour exploitation;
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they did not have rights and benefits, and their pay was meagre. The company's CEO knew it,
but his egoism for self-interest won out. "Considered easy way out because person relies on
own beliefs without more complicated analysis" (Sexty R. 2020, ch 05); this easy way out
made the board not care as long as it generated profits. The change of supplier was necessary
once this information was released. It was difficult because it was necessary to investigate the
types of companies that sold textiles thoroughly, adapting to those on the same continent and
adjust the budget to prevent it coming from countries with mistreatment of their workers and
reduce waste and pollution for a long way of transport.
Another ethical problem in which IGBO was involved was in the work schedules in
winter. Certain areas of Canada are characterized by freezing winters; therefore, specific jobs
must be suspended or modified so that workers are not affected by their health. The company
was created with knowledge of Canadian companies but Mexican work experience; therefore,
this type of situation was unclear. After a year and a half of production, the workers came
together to demand a reduction of shifts, invest in heating and necessary elements and change
the business objectives to make them more accurate.
The lack of knowledge of the place caused the workers to disagree. Still, thanks to this,
an exhaustive investigation was made and a comparison with other companies already
prepared. The change had to be made quickly because the company was putting the worker in
danger.
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Stakeholders/Interests
"If you want to manage effectively, then you must take your stakeholders into account
in a systematic fashion" (Sexty R. 2020, ch 03, p41). As Freeman said, companies need to
wake up, classify, and give credit to stakeholders as they are the foundation and give
continuity to a company.
In IGBO, the main stakeholders are the suppliers; their interest in the company is that
their product is used, and their goal is fulfilled. As their clients and collaborators, it is essential
to meet their expectations so that they continue to provide what IGBO needs. For them, it is
important to respect diversity and that our values continue to grow so that the market has more
confidence in the products; For this, we must have a social and sustainable responsibility.
Both, suppliers and IGBO want to give back to Canada what Canada gives them through the
time and skill of people giving donations and sponsorship to other organizations.
IGBO seeks sponsorship from Stakeholders that are part of communities, activist
groups, and governmental and non-governmental associations such as The Greenest Work
Force and Canada BioDesign, companies which support their partnerships in improving
opportunities for Canada to become a Biosustainable country. To be part of them, their
projects, benefits and accreditations, the company needed to demonstrate the actual
consumption of bioplastic, biofuels, biomaterials, biochemicals and waste to energy. (The
Greenest Workforce, 2019)
Finally, the company has direct Stakeholders: workers, partners, vendors, and all who
work with and for the company to drive innovation and growth. This category includes people
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who work directly for the company and are encouraged to be part of this family by teaching
them the advantages of offering a sustainable life to people, starting from the purchase, the sale
and the waste.
IGBO takes learning opportunities from external stakeholders (suppliers and sponsors)
to offer them to internal ones, creating a career in the world of bio-sustainable innovation.
The competing Stakeholders, even though they directly influence the profits that are
made, are an inspiration to improve the products but also of learning; if our materials can be
combined with better ones that the competition handles, that proposal should be analyzed to
improve the environmental impact.
Just as we have stakeholders that allow IGBO to be friendly to the environment and
change the way people think, we have stakeholders that are not positive. Problematic
stakeholders oppose the continuous improvement process, such as clients who criticize the way
of working and the type of services. Antagonistic stakeholders, those who resist change, object
that companies should improve to earn more and stop affecting the planet. These stakeholders
are usually competitors, suppliers, buyers, and partners who take a particular action to stop this
process of improvement and change. These people want to have a benefit from the affectation.
Investors who wish to make a change to improve the economy without caring about the results
can fall into this category.
Whether it is a positive or negative relationship with stakeholders, IGBO has always
sought to establish a relationship that generates a positive response; keeping all stakeholders
close to the company's actions is how it can grow since there will be improvements and
changes in all areas.
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Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
"The basic idea of corporate social responsibility is that business and society are
intertwined rather than distinct entities," this quote from Wood is the foundation of a
good CRS strategy (Sexty R. 2020, ch 07, p118). From the development of the idea of
creating IGBO, it was clear that its primary strategy would be with the environment;
having as support the change of mentality and objectives of the people to contribute to
this objective; combining the company, the people and the planet. The strategy that was
created was based on dialogue, where the stakeholders are so important that they direct
and collaborate, understanding the problem to create initiatives with social and
environmental benefits. (Sexty R. 2020)
Both the main objective of the company and meeting the Tree Bottom Line were
the elements to consider for the creation of the CSR strategy:
• Development of measurable objectives
• Link community goals with business goals
• Leverage the company's core capabilities for a greater good
• Collect feedback from collaborators, customers, and workers to increase stakeholders'
value.
Development of measurable objectives
By quantitatively demonstrating the result of a project or objective, people will be able to
realize the positive or negative impact that the company has on their community. It is clear that
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the labour force will more quickly realize the change that is beginning to be generated by
increasing sales, the number of products designed, the variety of materials used and improved,
etc. In the same way, it is somewhat easy for suppliers and partners to manage these results
quantitatively since their sales increase and their metric of results achieved by us are met or not.
To demonstrate these results to society, objectives and outcomes are disclosed through
graphs, which are qualified by the NGOs and confirmed with badges. Customers can access the
website directly in the showroom, where they will realize the company's objectives with the
community. Some of these objectives were:
-Development of a new product with new waste material.
-Growth in the collection of discarded furniture and how many were created after.
-New workers arriving from communities outside the forest community.
Maintaining continuous communication with stakeholders can be the difference they can make to
the business; in this way, the community goals are joined with the business goals.
Leverage the company's core capabilities for a greater good
Our most vital asset is the use of natural resources for housing; the company already
established the common good, but to generate more assets, several programs were created so the
community could be more active within the company.
Learning courses were offered for children and adolescents where they were taught the
process of collecting materials and how to use them; In this way, it will be easier for them to
understand the process, and in the future, they could be interested in having a career in this area.
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Within the courses, the children were able to use basic machinery for modelling wood, the
finishes that can be given and a basic design process.
Another project that was developed for the community was design and production
contests; Even though not everyone has this experience, everyone was able to contribute their
knowledge and wishes. There were those who directly designed products for their houses, for
houses of colleagues or those who delved deeper into the materials to give ideas for combining
natural waste such as seeds, branches, peels of certain fruits, etc.
Maintaining a community with new knowledge will always make society grow,
defending what it has and creating new opportunities and products to improve in the future.
Another program that was handled was that the registered people did it with a reason to
help; with their ingenuity and our help, someone who needed it would obtain a custom-made
piece of furniture in their home. In the end, there were 5 winners who gave their mental and
physical effort as they worked with us. Beds with desks and closets were made for children who
needed their study space, all-in-one furniture sets were made for small houses to optimize space.
All to make it possible for people to have a warm place to sleep so they can fulfill their purposes.
Collect feedback from collaborators, customers, and workers to increase stakeholders'
value.
Companies must always listen to their buyers, workers, suppliers, investors, and
stakeholders that make the company constantly change. The most robust communities are
those that trust each other, their leaders and the companies around them.
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IGBO is close to its community; it has its workers close, not only in their offices
but also in their homes. Those who buy the furniture can give their monthly feedback to
see how they are used and how we can improve production and quality.
Workers have a balance in their lives and at work; they have the freedom to
express the things that do not make them feel comfortable or those they lack.
Conclusion
A socially responsible company must respond to its customers and noncustomers, not only because there are people who are not interested in buying a
company's products should their needs be ignored. That is why IGBO, being in a Forest
Community, has dedicated itself to spreading its stakeholders' knowledge. The
community is aware of the company's projects and the competitors, too, all with the
purpose that everyone in the community knows that the most important thing is the
resources from which we live.
IGBO is clearly an organization that generates profit; it lives from what people
consume; but we are focused on developing philanthropy, corporate giving,
volunteerism, sponsorship and community investment. Allowing us to continue growing
as a company to share knowledge with more people and have more reach nationally and
globally.
The future objectives of IGBO are not only to use elements of the forest, since in
the world there are endless natural areas where certain things can be used, such as the
algae that the sea removes, the shells of the clams on the seashore. , etc.
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References
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https://www.afaforest.com/products
Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. (2022, May 24). Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. |
Canadian Kraft Pulp Mill. Al-Pac. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://alpac.ca/
BioDesign. (2020, February 26). BioDesign. Canada Bio Design. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from
https://canadabiodesign.com/
Dexigner. (2022). Location-based Search - Design Directory. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from
https://www.dexigner.com/directory/search?location=1&lat=49.2827291&lon=123.1207375
EACOM thimber corporation. (2021, August 5). Co-products. EACOM Joins Interfor. Retrieved
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