Level 5 Business Ethics Assignment Sample

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Introduction: Level 5 Business Ethics

Business ethics refers to the moral principles & values which direct how organisations and people perform business operations, going beyond legal obligations to nurture trust, fairness and positive reputation. In other words, business ethics may be explained as applying suitable business policies, rules and practices concerning arguably controversial subjects. Several issues that come up with the discussion of business ethics involve insider trading, discrimination, social responsibility, fiduciary responsibilities, corporate governance, environmental impact and sustainability issues. By conducting business ethically, companies can establish trust, promote long-term sustainability, improves reputation and make a positive work environment. Customers also attract to the companies that embrace ethical and morally right practices which leads to long-term success of the business.

The Body Shop, a one of the leading global British cosmetic company has been chosen for this report. The company was established in 1976 and it’s headquartered in Brighton England (The Body Shop, 2025). The company offers a wide range of products under the different categories such as; skin care, cosmetics, makeup, hair care and fragrances. Since its establishment, the Body Shop has seen high level of success and growth due to its quality products. The company operates in several countries with their physical outlets and e-commerce platforms. Through offering variety of products, the company meets the changing needs of the target customers. Level 5 Business Ethics provides a framework to evaluate the ethical and sustainable practices of companies like The Body Shop Further, the company is recognised for its commitment to social activism, sustainable approaches and ethical sourcing. However, from the past few years, the Body Shop is facing issue of increasing environmental impact. The issue is not only influences the environment and society but also affects the business profitability.

In this regard, the topic which selected to carry out the report is the environmental impact of cosmetic industry. The report will explain the major issues the Body Shop may face related to environmental impact. Further, the report will describe the responsible or ethical practice for each key issue. Different policies and ideas will be also discussed in this report that can be applied by the company to reduce the challenges. Relevant theoretical frameworks and moral theories will be used throughout the report in order to support the arguments.

Reference materials and samples are provided to clarify assignment structure and key learning outcomes. Through our assignments writing help, guidance is reflected while maintaining originality and ethical academic practice. The Level 5 Business Ethics Assignment Sample highlights ethical decision-making, corporate responsibility, and application of ethical principles in business scenarios. These resources are intended solely for study and reference purposes.

Level 5 Business Ethics Assignment Sample

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Harriet Collins 12 Years | PhD

Main Body

Problem statement and analysis

The Body Shop is well-established and popular British cosmetic firm that operates in all over the world. The company has wide range of product portfolio that fulfils the customer’s expectations. Products usually feature natural ingredients and are promoted worldwide as vegan, vegetarian or cruelty-free. The Body Shop highly focuses on maintaining sustainability by sourcing raw ingredients ethically and using sustainable approaches. However, the Body Shop may face the major challenges related to the environment impact such as; excessive plastic waste, scarcity of valuable resources and failing to adopt the environmental rules.

The detail of each issue with relevant theoretical framework is explained below:

Excessive use of plastic packaging

The Body Shop may experience the challenge of excessive plastic use in packaging that would be responsible for environmental impact. Overtime, customers have changed their preferences and are choosing organic, natural and cruelty-free products. As the Body Shop uses the good quality ingredients and offer vegan, vegetarian or chemical free products, it has increased the demand of Body Shop products. Level 5 Business Ethics highlights the importance of addressing environmental challenges such as plastic waste in corporate practices. Due to this reason the company produces and sell such products in high manner to meet the changing demands (Crane et al, 2019). It directly increases the plastic waste. People use products and through the empty plastic bottles on the lands that increased the plastic waste and environmental pollution. Further, it is posing risk to the ecosystems, human health as well as wild-life. Plastic waste further breaks down into micro plastics that can enter into the food chain and possibly damage the people‘s health. Regular increasing waste is one of the major problems faced by the entire world.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

TBL is a kind of sustainability framework which evaluates the performance of organisations across three areas such as; people, planet and profit. The three dimensions relate to social, environmental and economic influence (Pedroso et al, 2021). The Body Shop can use the eco-friendly material for packaging of the product which helps in reducing the plastic waste on the land. The solution aligns with the planet at the same time help to improve the brand value means profit. It also helps to enhance the perception of consumers which is related to people.

High carbon emissions during production

The Body Shop is involved in the manufacturing process, it highly responsible for increasing carbon emission. Due to increase carbon emission, the governments of many countries take strict actions against the businesses due to constantly growing environmental impact. It put pressure on the Body Shop to comply with rules according to different countries. Sometimes, it can be difficult for the company to comply with various rules and regulations (Ciulla, 2018). There is a high chance that the cosmetic company can fail to adhere to multiple environmental rules. To fulfil the demand of the customers, the company increases its production process, leading to high level of carbon emission. Moreover, it can damage the brand image and reputation of the company in all over the world which in result reduce sales and revenue.

Utilitarianism

It is a popular moral theory that assumes that best course of action is the one which brings happiness to the people. The theory helps the company to reduce the problem like carbon emission in the manufacturing process. For example, The Body Shop can use the natural resource in a proper manner and thereby align operations with the sustainability goals (Häyry, 2021). In line with the theory, the firm makes sure that they use water and electricity in an ethical way and does not misuse resources. By using the renewable or green energy while doing the manufacturing activities, the firm reduces the chances of increasing carbon emission.

Unethical sourcing of raw materials

The cosmetic firm may face the problem of unethical sourcing of raw components that can heavily affect the customer’s trust and business growth. The population in all over the world is regularly increasing which in turn increase the demand of the products including cosmetic products to cater the growing demand, the company can increase its production process to make more products to manufacture adequate amount of products (Fotaki, Islam and Antoni, 2020). Obviously, to carry out manufacturing process, the Body Shop will require raw ingredients in excessive manner. To produce products on time, the company may use the unethical sourcing and obtain products unlawfully. It is one of the major problem which not only affect business reputation but also impact the health of the people. It may lead to reduction in sales and profit margins which is not good for the company.

Justice Theory

Justice theory explains that each person in the society has equal rights to the basic liberties and that they must have the right to equal opportunities. Align with the theory, the Body Shop requires to follow the legal rules and regulations in order to reduce the carbon emission. By offering training to the all staff at all locations, the firm can increase the awareness regarding own rights to save environment and society among the employees & suppliers (Celermajer et al, 2022). It helps in increasing the ethical practices as well as reduces the practices which are responsible for carbon emission. By promoting fairness and honesty in the workplace and offering equal opportunities to the employees, the firm increases the job satisfaction. This in turn leads fair work practices and reduces the level of unethical sourcing.

Situation analysis

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

Triple bottom line is an excellent theory that focuses on the sustainability. By using the model, the companies can highly contributes towards the preservation of environment as well as society. By improving all three bottom lines such as; people, planet and profit, the Body Shop would positively impact the entire planet at the same time enhances financial performance. By balancing the three factors such as; environmental, social and economic, the company gains the higher level of success and competitive advantage (Hoffman, Frederick and Schwartz, 2014). By investing in green plastic packaging, the firms reduce environmental impact while achieving the trust of customers as well as other stakeholders. Through making use of recycled and reusable materials to manufacture the cosmetic products, the cosmetic sector facilitates to reduce waste on the land and rivers. This approach further contributes to people’s wellbeing. The use of recycled material not only helps to preserve planet but also facilitates the company to improve itself.

Using biodegradable materials while packing the cosmetic products is most ethic al and responsible solution. It helps to improve the sustainability and aligns with demand of the customers for environment friendly cosmetics. Over time, people change their preferences and needs and are focusing more on sustainable products. Green packaging allows the cosmetic industry to attract those customers who like eco-friendly products (Jacobsen, Pedersen and Thøgersen, 2022). By investing in biodegradable packaging, the cosmetic firms increase sales and profit margins because customers always choose the company that uses ethical practices. In addition, it helps to build positive image of the brand in the market, leading to obtain competitive advantage. For example, Lush, a popular cosmetic brand address the problem of excessive plastic use in good way. The firm utilises the reusable materials to pack the products. The company Education of employees about the significance of minimising plastic waste is good option to reduce waste. When employees know the disadvantages of plastic, they become more aware and support to reduce the use of plastic while packing products. So, the triple bottom theory, helps to reduce environmental impact, contribute to society welfare and achieve high levels of profitability.

Virtue Ethics

It is type of a philosophical approach to morality that considers the virtue and character as a primary subjects of the ethics. The theory mainly pays attention on the ethical decision-making instead of rules or limitations. According to theory, it is accountability of the organisations to use ethical and fair approaches while carrying out the business operations. By adopting and applying the virtue ethics theory, the cosmetics companies including the Body Shop becomes responsible and ethical (Rendtorff, 2019). The cosmetic company is extremely responsible for the increasing carbon emission while conducting the manufacturing process. Use of energy efficient tools during manufacturing is good practice to reduce the carbon production. The energy efficient tools helps to reduce the cost as it uses less energy. Further, it helps to reduce the overall operational costs because it works at lower energy levels. So, investing in energy effective within the manufacturing process, the company not only reduces carbon footprint but also increases its profit margins.

Another ethical approach to reduce the carbon emission in the production process is using renewable energy sources. By investing in different renewable energy solutions such as; solar, hydropower, wind etc. the company performs the manufacturing process in ethical way (McGovern et al, 2022). Using electric vehicles in place of traditional petrol diesel vehicles to get the raw materials and to supply the finish products is ethical way to decrease the carbon emission. Traditional vehicles depends on the fossil fuels on the other hand electric vehicles rely on battery. For instance, Estee Lauder declared its commitment to reduce carbon emission by changing their transportation mode from traditional to electric vehicles. Recycled and organic materials have lower environmental impact so, if the company prioritises the solution, it can reduce carbon emission. The Body Shop can apply the smart production technologies such as; artificial intelligence, internet of things and automation in order to optimise the production procedures. The application of the advance technology in the manufacturing procedure facilitates to minimise the energy use as well as carbon emission.

Deontology

It is one of the best ethical or moral theory which judges the activities on the basis of set of principles and rules instead of disadvantages of those actions. The theory is the based on the concept that an individual have the capability to understand the general moral laws. As per the theory, it is duty of the cosmetic companies to make sure that workers do not face any kind of harm in the workplace. Offering safe working conditions are necessary for the company to reduce the chances of accidents and injuries. Moreover, it is responsibility of the company to make sure that there is caused to environment. By implementing the ethical practices and approaches, the company save the environment. It is important for the Body Shop to source the raw materials ethically and does not use products like palm oil to produce cosmetic products. It negatively affects the health of the customers as well as reduce their trust towards the brand. To maintain the trust among the customers, it is most crucial for the firm to use high quality ingredients to produce products. For example, L'Occitane which is popular for their luxurious cosmetic products prioritises the ethical sourcing. The company only utilises the better quality ingredients to make luxury products.

Making partnership with the ethical and sustainable suppliers, the company can become able to source ethical raw materials. Sustainable suppliers use the best practices and only offer organic and natural materials to the cosmetic firm (Fontoura and Coelho, 2022). They also comply with the environmental rules and follow all industry standards and principles while performing their activities. Collaborating with the sustainable suppliers is responsible way to reduce the issues like unethical sourcing of raw materials that helps to improve the brand image in the market.

Recommendations

From above analysis, there are recommendations, policies or ideas for each key issues that can be applied by the Body shop to overcome the issues.

Use eco-friendly packaging

It is most crucial for the Body Shop to focus on improving their product packaging and use more effective packaging. It would be helpful for the company when they face issue of excessive plastic waste. By using Triple Bottom line model, the company can use eco-friendly packaging to reduce the amount of plastic. Level 5 Business Ethics emphasises ethical decision-making in sourcing and production to minimise environmental harm. Various eco-friendly product such as; recycled plastic, glass bottle, or biodegradable containers can be utilised by the firm for packing cosmetics (Koch, Frommeyer and Schewe, 2022). The Body Shop can diminish the excessive packaging such as; needless plastic wraps, inner plastic covering etc. While packing products for online orders, the company can use paper packaging or paper box instead of plastic bags. For example, Kiel’s cosmetic company highly focuses on refilling, recycling and reusing to reduce plastic waste.

The Body Shop must focus on simplicity as well as functionality which can facilitate reduces waste. The firm should invest in research and development to find alternative options such as; plant-based plastic, compostable options etc. that have less environmental impact compared to old packaging ways. The Body Shop can work with sustainable suppliers to make sure that packaging materials are ethically sourced. For example, Aveda made partnership with the ethical suppliers to source the natural ingredients to produce cosmetic products.

They must ensure that there are less plastic materials utilised in manufacturing and supply process. Through making these modifications in packaging process, the Body Shop can substantially reduce plastic waste.The company can educate and train the all staff members who work at different locations on compliance standards along with their responsibilities. If staff members perform by following all rules and policies, then it can be helpful for the company to do their business in ethical way.

Invest in renewable energy

The Body Shop must address the issue like overconsumption of natural resource. In order to save the natural resources such as; water, energy etc. the company can use green or renewable energy to carry out manufacturing process. Because of emerging technology, it has become possible for the company to use renewable energy in their business. In line with Utilitarianism theory, the company can right method like solar energy or wind for production work (Khan et al, 2021). For example, Estee Lauder invests in solar-powered production that helps to reduce carbon emission. The firm can also utilise hydropower, geothermal power as well as bioenergy to perform their business activities. Further, water is major resource in the cosmetic industry. The Body Shop can utilise apply water efficient production procedure to save the water on earth. The company can utilise closed loop system so that they can reuse the water in their manufacturing procedure. Waterless manufacturing process can be also adopted the company to reduce water usage, particularly while producing cosmetics.

It is recommended to the Body Shop to invest in electric vehicles for moving the products. The company should use the electric vehicles in place of traditional vehicles that use petrol and diesel. The traditional vehicles release the carbon in excessive manner which not only negatively impact the environment but also affect the health of the people. On the other hand, electric vehicle highly contributes to preserve the environment. The company must encourage their suppliers to use electric vehicles while supplying the raw materials and distribute the final products in the market. For example, L'Oréal adopts the green transportation in order to minimise the environmental challenges.

Conclusion

As per above report, it is concluded that business organisations including cosmetic industry are highly responsible for environmental impact. The cosmetic industry uses the natural resources to perform their manufacturing procedure that increases the environmental impact. The cosmetic companies generate the significant amount of waste, including packaging waste and industrial waste that pollute air, water and soil. The report has identified that The Body Shop might face the major issues regarding environmental impact such as; excessive plastic waste, shortage of essential resources and regulatory compliance issues. There are many moral and ethical frameworks and theories such as; triple bottom line (TBL), utilitarianism, justice theory etc. utilised to know the ethical and responsible practices while operating business. In addition, the report has presented some ideas and recommendations such as; invest in green technology and utilise eco-friendly packaging. By applying all these strategies appropriately the Body Shop can overcome the issues. These strategies would help the cosmetic company to reduce the pollution, plastic waste, and excessive use of natural resources, deforestation, climate change, and many more. It has discussed that the company should adopt moral and ethical theories such as; virtue ethics, deontology etc. while doing business to become ethical and sustainable business.

Our assignment sample demonstrates how sources should be cited, and you can refer to a detailed Harvard Referencing Guide Example to ensure your work meets academic standards and maintains consistency throughout.

References

• Crane, A. et al., 2019. Business ethics : managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Fifth edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Ciulla, J. B., 2018. Honest work : a business ethics reader. Fourth edn. Edited by C. W. Martin and R. C. Solomon. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Fotaki, M., Islam, G. and Antoni, A. (eds) 2020. Business ethics and care in organizations. New York, NY: Routledge (Routledge studies in business ethics, 20). doi: 10.4324/9780429029943.
• Hoffman, W., Frederick, R., and Schwartz, M. (eds) 2014, Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
• Rendtorff, J. D., 2019. Philosophy of management and sustainability : rethinking business ethics and social responsibility in sustainable development. First edn. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
• Pedroso, C.B., Tate, W.L., da Silva, A.L. and Carpinetti, L.C.R., 2021. Supplier development adoption: A conceptual model for triple bottom line (TBL) outcomes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 314, p.127886.
• Häyry, M., 2021. Just better utilitarianism. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 30(2), pp.343-367.
• Celermajer, D., Schlosberg, D., Rickards, L., Stewart-Harawira, M., Thaler, M., Tschakert, P., Verlie, B. and Winter, C., 2022. Multispecies justice: theories, challenges, and a research agenda for environmental politics. Trajectories in environmental politics, pp.116-137.
• Jacobsen, L.F., Pedersen, S. and Thøgersen, J., 2022. Drivers of and barriers to consumers’ plastic packaging waste avoidance and recycling–A systematic literature review. Waste Management, 141, pp.63-78.
• McGovern, A., Ebert-Uphoff, I., Gagne II, D.J. and Bostrom, A., 2022. Why we need to focus on developing ethical, responsible, and trustworthy artificial intelligence approaches for environmental science. Environmental Data Science, 1, p.e6.
• Fontoura, P. and Coelho, A., 2022. How to boost green innovation and performance through collaboration in the supply chain: Insights into a more sustainable economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 359, p.132005.
• Koch, J., Frommeyer, B. and Schewe, G., 2022. Managing the transition to eco-friendly packaging–An investigation of consumers’ motives in online retail. Journal of Cleaner Production, 351, p.131504.
• Khan, A., Chenggang, Y., Hussain, J. and Kui, Z., 2021. Impact of technological innovation, financial development and foreign direct investment on renewable energy, non-renewable energy and the environment in belt & Road Initiative countries. Renewable Energy, 171, pp.479-491.

Online

• The Body Shop, 2025. Our brand story. [Online] Available through < https://www.thebodyshop.in/our-story?srsltid=AfmBOoqilOyxVxtCRa_d75u8fjdeeKhhv8wIvayRBLTAeWo3UZZzmCsn >