CERTIFICATION CULTURE 2.0(5 GOOD REASONS FOR AN ETHICAL CERTIFICATION)

#CultureCode

Massimo Cardaci – 03.10.2014

Message 1:

There are Apples and Apples…

This is an Apple This is another Apple

What’s the difference?

Unknown National

This is an Apple This is another Apple

What’s the difference?

National National Biological

This is an Apple This is another Apple

What’s the difference?

National Biological National Biological from ONG

Message 1:

A product differentiates not only for its surface aspect, but also for

other invisible elements.

Customers are becoming sensitive to these invisible elements, and start looking for their evidence.

Message 2:

There heavy weight of the intangible.

• Multinational

• National Company

• Cooperative

• Local producer

• Family production

• ONG

Who ?

• Made in...

• Ingredients coming from:

• Generic World area

• Foreign country

• National

• Specific National Area

• Local to me

Where?

• Environmental impact

• Respect of Human Rights

• Production Quality

• Control processes

• Customer care

• Corporate Social

Responsibility

How ?

• Ingredients Production date

• Product Production date

• Arrival date to the shop

• Expiration date

When ?

How ?

Where ?Who ?

When ?

Getting all this seems already very good, isn’t it ?

Maybe.

• Profit

• Aid

• Development

• ...

Why ?

Message 2:

Invisible elements used by products are generally limited to Who and

something about When.

In some fortunate cases you also get Where and How.

The most important one is missing.

The one giving a meaning to all others.

Why.

Message 3:

Collecting score points

is not enough.

Companies tend to accumulatequality certificates: good, isn’t it?

Not really.

These rarely correspond to people’s real information needs in support

to informed procurements.

Certifications’ emphasis is on processes & control: good, isn’t it?

Not really.

This is achieved ensuring minimising the “human-effect”.

Humans are the ones finding solutions when things go wrong

with processes and control.

Humans are the ones producing innovative ideas.

Certifications focus on efficiencyand effectiveness: good, isn’t it?

Not really.

This is practically achieved pointing ultimately on maximisation of profit,

and not by focusing on the peoplegenerating it.

Message 3:

Existing certificates somehow cover How, When, Who, but not Why

and also For Whom

They tend to eliminate the human factor as just a source of potential

failures,

and not as a re-source ofresilience and innovation.

Message 4:

Appetite comes with eating.

A company starts

showing these

hidden values with

a proposed public

certificate branding

A supplier is

interested and

adopts it

A Business consultant

sees this and

starts studying it...

…and shares what learned

with a colleague, who starts

proposing it to his customers

A company presents it

as a differentiator in a bid

A Local Government sees

it and starts to be interestedCentral Government receives

all these inputs and starts

considering it as a requirement

for new public administration

Tenders

It becomes

a rule

Message 4:

The pervasive success of an Ethical certificate does not happen because

of imposition from the Top,

but as progressive adoption from the Bottom.

Message 5:

If everyone was doing it,

I was going to be the first!

To document all these hidden elements in a consistent manner,

and in particular Why and For Whom,

with a publicly supported free standard,

opens the door to create an

Ethical certification.

Message 5:

To certificate an Ethical way to produce, is no more a taboo.

People are starting to look for these additional hidden

differentiators and

are progressively discriminating products.

Conclusions

Conclusion 1

An Ethical certification shall ensure all products hiddenelements are clearly shown:

Who, When, Where,

but also Why and For Whom.

Conclusion 2

Users have the responsibility of using the presence of all these

factors as differentiators in their selection of goods and services.

Smart Users have the responsibility of communicating to

producers and institutions, highlighting this behaviour.

Conclusion 3

Smart Producers shall not be scared to highlight all these

specific factors as differentiators in their products and services.

Smart Virtuous Producers shall meet to define common ways to document these factors, using

royalty free copyright systems.

Conclusion 4

Government Institutions have the duty to listen to people and start

requesting to show all these hidden elements as a rule, and no more as

an option.

ONG Institutions have the duty to transform these into an

independent and free Ethical certification system.

THANK YOU!

More about me:

LinkedIn Profile: Massimo Cardaci [English]

Volunteer activities:

Handicap: www.orsaminore.org [English/Italian]

Ethical Economy: www.edc-consulting.org [Italian]

Time Management: www.time-management.it [Italian]

Some Publications: www.lulu.com/spotlight/maxcardaci and www.edc-consulting.org

- Book on Time Management: “Would you change 25 minutes?” [Italian]

- Book on Ethical Governance: “The Third Road: A tale of Princes, Teachers and Hatters?” [Italian]

- Books on History of Science: “Spots on the Sun? Are you joking, right?” [Italian]