BUS 309: Business Ethics
Assignment 2:
The World’s Most Ethical Companies
Pamela Barfield
Dr. Harvey Weiss
Strayer University

March 2, 2014
Determine at least two (2) ways in which the chosen company behaves in a morally responsible way toward each of the following:
a. Consumers
b. The environment
c. Employees Target Corporation (NYSE TGT) is known as one of the most upscale discount retailers in the country that provides on-trend merchandise at affordable prices, guest-friendly stores and high-quality. The first Target store opened in 1962 in the Minneapolis suburb of Roseville, Minnesota. Their mission and values are to offer a shopping experience and locations for their customers by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by consistently fulfilling their Expect More, Pay Less brand promise.

Target’s Environmental Pledge states the following:
“From the way we build our stores to the products on our shelves, environmental sustainability is integrated throughout our business.” Target offers sustainable living by offering easily accessible locations for recycling materials and reusable shopping bags. Target celebrated Earth Day in its stores and gave away 1.5 million reusable bags and held in-store sampling events where guests could try sustainable products and the opportunity to learn more about them. Target offers sustainable products that we know and love such as Burt’s Bees beauty products from groceries to cleaning products, beauty items and more. Smart development is utilized by developing store space that was once used for another purpose and building stores in urban areas to focus on more responsible growth where guests live and work, near mass transit. They are smart by developing stores in revitalized business districts and attracting additional services and designing to the neighborhood. Efficient operations examples that Target offers recycling and careful use of disposal practices for electronic waste as well as merchandise and materials we use in our supply chain. Target’s Carbon Disclosure Project works towards lessening the impact through more energy-efficient store design and experiments with renewable energy. Their stores use water-saving plumbing features and have cut water use by up to 30 percent. Their goal is to reduce the overall water use by 10 percent per square foot by the end of 2015. They partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy to meet their efficiency standards. More than 500 stores have already earned ENERGY STAR certifications and feature low-wattage light fixtures as well as LED lights. Target has placed a challenge with all their locations to raise that number to at least 75 percent of our U.S. buildings by 2016.

Predict the effects that these morally conscious decisions would have on the company’s bottom line. None of these practices would affect Target’s bottom line in any negative light because they are all appreciated practices. With the environment in the condition it’s in, any practice used to save energy, money and the environment needs to be utilized as much as possible. The only issue that could hurt Target’s bottom line was featured in many news stories, broadcasts and articles last year in regards to their Data Breach. Costs related to the holiday data theft are suspected to have exceeded over $200 million for financial institutions according to the Credit Union National Association and Consumer Bankers Association. Target, the nation’s second- largest discount retailer is offering free credit monitoring services for one year for those affected by the data breach. Target Corp., based in Minneapolis, said that