“The idea that a business should only focus on making money is coming to an end,” Mr. Lamont says. Photo: News Scan
People According to the boss of Tony's Chocolonely, those who scoff at the ethical position of the business are simply afraid of change.
Douglas Lamont, chief executive of a chocolate company that opposes slavery and forced labor in the chocolate industry, struck at criticism of the shift towards social goals and green business policies.
He said: «People are looking for ways to talk about how we can more effectively balance our responsibilities to people, profits and the planet. And I think a lot of people who scoff at these things are afraid of these changes.
«Everyone can say, oh, but you're still not doing X, Y, and Z.» He said that most of these people «did nothing» to become greener.
Tony's Chocolonely bars are unevenly segmented to represent inequality. Credit: Feature Scan
Social and environmental issues have become an increasingly important part of corporate life over the past decade. However, businesses have also faced claims of «virtue signaling» and an over-focus on social goals rather than making money.
Hellmann's owner, Unilever, for example, has been repeatedly criticized by Fundsmith's fundraiser Terry Smith, rather than claiming he focuses more on the goal than maximizing shareholder value.
Authorities also suspected that some companies do not meet their ethical requirements. Competition & The Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this year launched an investigation into bogus claims about green supermarket products.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of CMA, said in January: “As more people than ever try to do their part to help protect the environment, we are concerned that many shoppers are being misled and may even overpay for products. who are not what they seem, especially at a time when the cost of living continues to rise.”
What? is it CMA?
Tony's Chocolonely head Mr Lamont, who is also chairman of the Better Business Act campaign, said the low number of cases makes most ethical businesses look bad. The Better Business Act group is campaigning to «ensure that every company in the UK aligns its interests with those of society as a whole and the environment», according to its website.
Mr Lamont said: «The challenge in the world is, there are people who say let's just make a PR story… but [they] don't do anything. And then it becomes the norm, not the exception.”
He rejected the idea that a business should only focus on making money.
«The idea that the role of companies is just to maximize profits and forget about external factors, whether it's your employees or the influence we have on the planet … for me, we are coming to the end of that era.»
Tony's Chocolonely was founded by Theun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist who wanted to draw attention to the issue of chocolate slavery. supply chain. Its bars, which are unevenly divided to represent «inequality» in the industry, have become bestsellers in the UK in recent years, increasing sales by 23% in 2022, according to Nielsen data in trade magazine The Grocer.
G- n Lamont became the company's chief executive in 2022. Prior to that, he was chief executive of smoothie and juice brand Innocent.
The company said Friday it has raised €20m (£17m) from investors to help grow the business, as well as set up a separate Tony's Open Chain, a bean supplier.
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