Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

The definition of business ethics is a category of ethical behavior examined within the context of an organizational environment. Business ethics seeks to understand the dimensions of business conduct, principles as it pertains to individuals and companies and corporations as a whole. Companies and corporations have tried to be ethically responsible over the years when making business choices and decisions as they undoubtedly affect all aspects of that particular organization. Business ethics affects the sphere of public opinion about the company or corporation. One company that has continued since its inception to exhibit virtuous ethics is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

The area of business ethics continues to evolve swiftly as companies are recognizing the importance of improving ethical conduct. This has in turn created a strong link between ethics and financial performance. In other words, companies and corporations can benefit significantly when they seek out ways to have a smoothly run working environment for employees and managers. Companies need to be dedicated to their employees as employees are committed when they feel that their future is tied to that of the organization that they work for. Employees are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the business when this occurs. A company culture that incorporates strong principled values and constructive business practices solidifies the job satisfaction threshold and lessens the likelihood of turnover (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2012). Green Mountain Coffee Roasters strongly represents the dynamic of financial performance and improving its business ethics. 

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters started in 1981 in Waitsfield, Vermont. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters grew from its creator, Bob Stiller, who ran a small cafe to virtually $180 million in sales profits and over 7,000 wholesale customers as of 2006. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has continually been defined as the place to work and the company to buy coffee from (Neville, 2008). Green Mountain Coffee Roasters exemplifies virtue when examined through the lens of business ethics.

The Green Mountain Coffee Way

One of the foundational aspects of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is their belief in brewing for a better world. Coffee is not just coffee. The company has taken on initiatives to instill a quality business ethic. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters' "goal is to create truly inspired coffee that's environmentally sound, socially just and undeniably delicious. From carefully sourcing and roasting the highest quality beans, to empowering employees and protecting the environment" (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2013) that is the power of the culture that they have created. Perhaps, this is why the employees that work at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have a quality perception of them. The company has consistently ranked No.1 or within the top 5 on lists associated with companies that pay detailed attention to their employees and social responsibility. In 2006, Business Ethics magazine noted that "Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was a pioneer in the Fair Trade movement, which provides coffee growers a fair price and a guaranteed minimum floor price for their crops" ("Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Tops Business Ethics List," 2006). Thus, corporate perception is the driving force behind the gratification that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is receiving within the field of business ethics.

Employees of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters trust those in higher management as the leadership treats them with respect. Trusting associations between executives and subordinates adds to successful choices being made. Employees see values such as sincerity, reverence and conviction as being the ethical constructs that a company must have in order for that company to be viable in the marketplace (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2012; Neville, 2008). Yet, it is not just the employees that benefit from a virtuous company that practices good ethics as consumers also benefit.

Consumers have continually stated that the product line of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is what makes the company. The company buys coffee beans through Fair Trade initiatives, which is an organic means of coffee purchasing. This is the same way Dancing Goats coffee buys their beans. This is a win for those who highly respect the holistic perspective. From their highly profitable array of K-Cup Packs and bagged coffee to the uniquely crafted teas and Vitamin Burst fruit power refreshers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is superb in the arena of business ethics and consumer satisfaction. The company continually works to balance consumer well-being and wealth, as well as carefully considering future generations of coffee buyers. Environmental consideration is what is, the show off quality of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, as that demonstrates that they want a future that is not bitter in taste, but is sweet and innovatively engaging in organic strategy (Neville, 2008; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2013). So coffee and tea is more than just beans and leaves. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has artistry to their business ethics.

To Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, building a powerful environmentally sound future means connecting with supplier communities around the world that are about the same thing in regard to ethical diversification. The beverage experience cannot be satisfying without brewing for a better world through social and environmental cooperation. The company works with several farms and growers to ensure that all of the areas of supply chain are cared for. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also continually engages communities to understand how they affect the purchasing power of the beverage industry. Their business ethics initiatives are primarily grounded in their operations such as reducing waste sent to landfills. The company is "working to send zero waste to landfills from each of [their] plants. Energy is also a top priority. Reducing energy use whenever possible reduces greenhouse gas emissions and [their] contribution to climate change. We have gone beyond energy efficiency projects to reduce climate impacts by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions through forward stream purchases from NativeEnergy that are produced over time. Most of the energy used by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is in the Specialty Coffee business unit and the Canadian business unit, the two units that roast and package coffee and other beverages" (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2013). From the social responsibility perspective, business ethics embodies the norms and expectations that reflect all of the stakeholders (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2012) of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. The performance of a company then is based solely on their ethical constructs. Besides the aforementioned environmental initiatives, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters launched in July of 2006, an all natural paper hot beverage cup. Joining forces with NatureWorks and International paper, the cup itself was lined with bio-plastic that was made from sugar, which in itself is a natural and renewable resource. They were recognized in 2007 with the Sustainability Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America for this eco-friendly cup ("SCAA 2007 Sustainability Awards," 2007). In addition to their role in customer and employee satisfaction and environmental ethics, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also keeps within the values of accountability and transparency of their financial dealings and workplace experiences.

Accountability and transparency are becoming of great demand. Directors of companies are increasingly being chosen for the competency as well as their ability to be transparent in how they handle their tasks and duties and their treatment of others. The reputation of a company is often dictated by the corporate governance of that company, which is defined by the board of directors and those in management. The decisions made by those in power in a company determine whether the decisions are perceived to be ethical or unethical. Many organizational scandals in recent years could have been avoided if there were not clashes associated with ethical decisions made that were in effect, unethical (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2012). 

While Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has encountered issues, they have been nominal when compared to rivals such as Starbucks. One of the more recent examples of transparency of GMCR was their handling of the release of their Vue system, which sought to take advantage of the affluent demographic. The new brewing system was designed to brew lattes and cappuccinos and to allow consumers to temperature control their beverage. There was significant transparency in their quarterly results from the profits associated with the Vue system made to the general public as well as their investors. This was a significant step for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters holding themselves accountable if anything were to go wrong with projected revenues on behalf of the Vue system (Farrell, 2012). Yet, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters did not stop solely with the available earnings reports on the Vue system. There are several investor pages available on their website that provide detailed information on why certain types of coffees and beverages have performed better within their corporation as well as stock information that puts their financial performance into perspective.

The Green Mountain Perspective

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters operates on the perspective of conscientious capitalism. Conscientious capitalism is the idea of interconnectedness and holistic wealth. Interconnectedness is the belief that everyone inside and outside of the company is impacted by a company's products. The underlying assumption here is that the collective conscience is linked either positively or negatively to conceptions of ethical behavior. Holistic wealth suggests that wealth is demonstrated over time and that wealth brings value, which can be examined through a particular framework on an individual and corporate level (Neville, 2008). This formula of corporate operations has been successful for the company both when looked at through an ethical paradigm as well as from a traditional business sense. 

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has been able to make good judgments in their business ethics decisions. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters epitomize what it means to be a virtuously ethical company. It can be reasoned that much of their success has been garnered from their approach to producing quality beverages that have shifted the scope of business not only in the beverage industry, but in business. Companies and corporations should strive to attain what Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have been able to achieve and continues to apply in their work ethics. The coffee company based in Vermont is a testament to the fact that business ethics is a feasible field to examine and investigate; as well as a testament of how companies and corporations can be successful without manipulation, scandals and other unethical practices that have plagued the area of business throughout the years.

References

Farrell, M. (2012, February 16). Green Mountain Coffee's new Vue. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/15/markets/green_mountain_coffee/index.htm

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. (2013). Experience the exceptional taste of our carefully selected single original coffees. Retrieved from http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Tops Business Ethics List. (2006, April 27). CoffeeGeek. Retrieved from http://coffeegeek.com/resources/pressreleases/2006-05-06greenmountain

Neville, M. G. (2008). Positive deviance on the ethical continuum: Green Mountain Coffee as a case study in conscientious capitalism. Business and Society Review, 113(4), 555-576.

SCAA 2007 Sustainability Awards [Report]. (2007). Specialty Coffee Association. Retrieved from http://scaa.org/index.php?goto=pdfs/news/SCAASustainabilityAwardsPressRelease2007FINAL.pdf