Harm Reduction for Corporations
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Date
2020-09-04
Authors
Correia, Vanessa
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Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
When corporations set out to do good for the environment and society, they usually do so under the banner of corporate social responsibility. This approach has become commonplace among the public, in business schools, and in issues of academic journals. However, corporate social responsibility has a few flaws. First, some corporations may never be socially responsible because of their core business. Second, there are corporations who pursue corporate social responsibility campaigns that are highly removed from their core business and these campaigns seem inappropriate. Finally, there are corporations for whom corporate social responsibility is unattainable because it requires too many resources.
This thesis offers another tool for social responsibility: harm reduction for corporations. My harm reduction framework fills the gaps left by corporate social responsibility and encourages every corporation to set and meet goals that reduce the harms that they do to the environment and society. My harm reduction framework offers a low threshold for engagement, where corporations can reduce harms for any reason they choose and to any extent that they choose. This low threshold approach makes room for every corporation to contribute to reducing harms done to the environment and society.
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Keywords
business ethics, harm reduction, ethics, philosophy