Podcasts related to Ethics & Morality - Corporate Standards

It's fair to say environmental issues have moved to the forefront of the agenda in recent times. This week, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost take a look at potential changes you can make to help the pound in your pocket turn a little greener. Simon explains his rallying cry for us to be his acronym 'Layby' rather than being labelled 'Nimbys'. Layby – or look after your back yard – is a movement to look after the country we live in. When it comes to investing, there is a growing movement where savers who want to combat climate change invest a small amount of money in the very companies eco-activists traditionally rally against, such as fossil fuel giants Shell and BP – so why? What can you do to be a more eco-friendly tourist? And finally… it's hard enough trying to predict how rapidly a normal car will depreciate, but estimating the loss of value of an electric vehicle is a whole other ball game. We reveal all.

The New Labour government introduced a national minimum wage (NMW) in 1999. At first this was opposed by the Conservative party, but they have since joined a growing political consensus. The Low Pay Commission (LPC) are tasked with recommending NMW rates that 'help as many low-paid workers as possible without any significant adverse impact on employment or the economy’. The LPC’s apparent success in achieving this, may be one reason for growing political census, so it is perhaps worrying that a National Living Wage (NLW) is being set without these considerations. Len Shackleton, Professor of Economics at the University of Buckingham and Editorial and Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, sets out these issues and more in a recent IEA paper on Restructuring Minimum Wages. Prof. Shackleton argues that the system has become overly complex and recommendations made by the Taylor Review will only add to this complexity. In this interview we consider his proposals and what the future may hold for UK minimum wages.

Adam Cox leads a discussion into whether banks actually meet our psychological and emotional needs. Banking has experienced a shake-up, a rapid evolution since the credit crunch, and open banking is set to enhance that even more. Will modern banks tap into our human needs? Joining the show to further discuss these questions and more is Rich Wagner, CEO of Cashplus, one of the newest banks entering the UK market.

Social media firms will be summoned before the Home Secretary on Thursday after it emerged the Khalid Masood sent an encrypted message via Whatsapp minutes before the Westminster attack. Amber Rudd claims efforts by firms to curb extremist content online have been inadequate. But what issues would be raised if tech firms were to open up their platforms? To find out Georgie Frost was joined by Ed Johnson-Williams, a campaigner for The Open Rights Group - which campaigns for internet privacy.

UK mums get one of the lowest amounts of decently-paid maternity leave in Europe According to research by the TUC, only Ireland and Slovakia have worse entitlements. To find out more Share Radio's Joe Aldridge spoke to Kathryn Mackridge, Equality Officer at the TUC.

Google has responded to major companies withdrawing online adverts by promising to take "a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content". The comments come after it emerged adverts including those funded by the UK Government were appearing next to extremist videos. So who is Google really answerable to and what can it do to regulate its content? Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to editor of Marketing Week Sarah Vizard and media lawyers Mark Smith from Fieldfisher and Natalie Elsborg from Charles Russell Speechlys.

From Deliveroo to Uber more and more people are getting involved in the gig economy. Whilst for many it can provide a useful income boost, thousands could be missing out on employment rights. Indeed nearly two-thirds of gig economy workers think the Government should do more to regulate according to research from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. To find out more from the people behind the research Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to CIPD chief economist Ian Brinkley.

Last month the Co-operative Bank put itself up for sale because it hasn't managed to improve its finances in the way it needs to. There's no immediate threat to the Co-op Bank, and the The Co-operative Bank has been at pains to say that it is not abandoning its principles. It was and is the first - and only - high street bank to have an ethical policy. But what is the future for the bank and what are the alternatives if you want to bank somewhere that does have some principles. Sarah Pennells was joined in the studio by founder of Fairer Finance James Daley, Anthony Elliot from the Fair Banking Foundation and Huw Davies, Head of Retail Banking at Triodos Bank.

It seems people are getting increasingly concerned over the ethical credentials of their food as sales of Fair Trade produce rose for the first time since 2013. This week is the first of Fair Trade Fortnight which aims to raise awareness of the situation for farmers globally and what consumers can do to help them. Joining Georgie Frost for the launch of the week was CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation Mike Gidney.

Increasingly people are becoming employed in the so-called gig economy with firms such as Deliveroo and Uber however it leaves a lot of questions over their employment rights. Recently Uber and Deliveroo have appealed for an overhaul of employment laws which they claim prevent them from providing benefits such as insurance and pensions to self-employed staff. This follows last month's legal battle by a plumber- who wanted to reduce his days at Pimlico Plumbers following a heart attack. To give some insight into the law in workers rights Georgie Frost was joined by employment expert Beverley Sunderland from Crossland Employment solicitors.