One ethical dilemma that we may face in pursing our triple bottom line business certification concept is the entanglement that comes with being funded by member organizations. In an effort to grow membership and strengthen the power of the certification, there may be pressure to ease membership standards to accommodate a wider group of potential members. I believe we can significantly mitigate this ethical risk by providing tiered membership. Not every member will achieve the highest level of certification (which we may call "Platinum") but a lower level (perhaps called "Silver" or "Gold") will be more broadly accessible. This will enable us to recognize companies in intrinsically challenging industries for their efforts without diluting the power of the certification.
Another potential ethical issue lies in the profit model for the business if we choose to make it a for-profit enterprise. A natural way to generate revenues would be to provide an array of remedial services that help businesses identify and change processes that undermine their successful adherence to certification standards. This could create a conflict of interest, and it would therefore be imperative that our company maintain the highest ethical standards and transparency.
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