企业需要“道德执照”

It was an easy prediction to make: that the recession would end talk of corporate social responsibility. Faced with the fear, or reality, of losing their jobs or homes, consumers would rush past the Fairtrade shelves and pick up something the family could afford. Companies, meanwhile, would concentrate on saving themselves rather than the planet.
人们很容易做出这样的预测：经济衰退将中止有关企业社会责任的讨论。面对失去工作或房屋的担忧——或现实，消费者会匆匆走过公平贸易(Fairtrade)的货架，去挑选一些家庭负担得起的东西。同时，企业会专注于拯救自身，而不是拯救地球。

That easy prediction has turned out to be wrong. Mars, the world's biggest confectionery company, has announced that its entire cocoa supply will be “produced in a sustainable manner” by 2020. Mars will work largely with the Rainforest Alliance, which encourages farmers to preserve their environment.
这个简单的预测已经被证明是错误的。全球最大的糖果公司玛氏(Mars)宣布，到2020年前，该公司使用的所有和谐豆都将来自以“可持续的方式生产”的供应源。玛氏将与雨林联盟(Rainforest Alliance)进行大量合作，该组织致力于鼓励农民保护其种植环境。

Mars's move follows the announcement last month by Cadbury, the UK confectionery group, that all the cocoa in Dairy Milk, Britain's biggest-selling chocolate, would be certified by Fairtrade, the organisation that works to ensure a minimum price for farmers.
此前，3月份时英国糖果集团吉百利(Cadbury)宣布称， 英国最畅销的巧克力——吉百利牛奶巧克力(Dairy Milk)中采用的所有和谐豆将会得到公平贸易组织的认证。该组织旨在确保农民获得的收购价格有一个最低限制。

The two chocolate makers were preceded by Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, which told a meeting of 1,000 Chinese suppliers last year that it would hold them to strict environmental and social standards, the downturn notwithstanding.
全球最大的零售商沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)走在了这两家巧克力制造商的前面。去年，在有1000多家中国供应商参加的会议上，沃尔玛宣布，尽管经济低迷，但它将要求供应商遵循严格的环境和社会标准。

Why are these companies acting in a way few expected? First, there are substantial business reasons. When Mars and Cadbury talk about their cocoa supplies being sustainable, they mean it. Chocolate manufacturers are worried about how much cocoa will be available a decade from now.
为何这些公司的行事方式几乎无人预见到？首先，这里面存在切实的商业原因。当玛氏和吉百利表示要实现和谐豆供应的可持续性时，它们的确是这个意思。巧克力制造商对从现在开始的10年内能够实现的和谐产量感到担忧。

Worldwide cocoa production fell in 2008 for the fourth successive year. Cadbury says it is worried about how few cocoa farmers' children intend to go into the business. It is hoping the investment in farms that Fairtrade encourages will persuade them cocoa farming is a worthwhile occupation.
去年，全球和谐产量连续第四年出现下降。吉百利表示，它担心和谐豆农的子女中几乎没有人打算从事和谐豆种植。它希望，公平贸易组织所鼓励的对农场的投资能使他们相信，和谐豆种植是一份值得从事的职业。

Wal-Mart also has commercial reasons for its stance. The company has been encouraging companies to cut down on packaging. This enables it to fit more goods into each delivery truck, not only reducing its emissions, but also cutting the amount it spends on petrol. Its insistence that manufacturers produce concentrated laundry detergent has allowed it to save on both packaging and shelf space. Cost-cutting is vital to beating the downturn and if companies can boost their green credentials at the same time, why not?
沃尔玛的立场也有其商业原因。它一直在鼓励企业简化包装。这样它能够在每辆运货车里面多装一些货物，从而不仅能减少发车次数，还能减少在汽油上的花费。它坚持要求制造商生产浓缩洗衣粉的主张使它得以节省包装成本和货架空间。削减成本对于安然度过经济低迷至关重要，而如果与此同时，企业能够提升它们的绿色资质，那何乐而不为呢？

But the companies go further. Not only do their announcements make business sense, they say; consumers, even now, insist on them. Fiona Dawson, Mars UK's managing director, says customers expect the company to “do the right thing”, adding that “nobody has to buy confectionery”.
但这些企业又更进一步。它们表示，它们所宣布的举措不仅仅具有商业意义；此时甚至连消费者也开始坚持要求它们这么做了。玛氏英国分公司董事总经理菲奥娜·道森(Fiona Dawson)表示，顾客希望公司“做出正确之举”，并补充说，“没有人必须得买糖果”。