Essay on Why doesn’t Jeff Bezos pay more tax instead of launching a $10bn green fund?

            It is quite interesting to see that companies tend to invest in those things, which are more related to their reputation in the eyes of their customers, and the world. This article is highlighting the same thing, which explains, how Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon is ready to invest $10 billion in a green fund. The company is going to launch a $10 billion fund to start an organisation with the name “Bezos Earth Fund”. Apparently, it looks to be a great gesture by the CEO of Amazon, which shows his concern regarding the people and climate. But when things are minutely analysed for internal matters and conduct of the company, there was so much difference in approach as compared to this campaign going to be launched for the green fund. The purpose of this fund is to help NGOs, activists, and scientists so that they work to find out possibilities to save the planet earth. The company is making great revenues and profits, and Jeff Bezos is one of the richest men in the world. So, it is easier for him to donate as much money as he can for social causes. It is compulsory for a company like Amazon to give back to society as they are successful in this society, where people purchase their products and services. Therefore, they should invest for the society to show their responsible conduct for the planet (Stern, 2020)

            It is obviously great when companies are ready to make such huge investments to keep this earth a better place to live. But there is one more thing, which is more vital than spending the money and that is how the money is being earned? If money is made in a way, which is against the overall ethical and moral guidelines, and if employees of the company are not given their due rights, but at the same time, money is being spent on social welfare projects, then it is a complete contradiction in so many ways. It has been observed that Amazon is one of the companies, which are making a negative impact on climate and environment with its bad energy and resources strategy. If the company is actually honest in getting an expert's opinion and research to make this earth a cleaner place, then why some of their employees were threatened by Amazon, who are claiming that company is violating the guidelines. These employees of the company are fighting for Climate Justice, and they are still protesting on the wrong policies of Amazon. If Amazon is really committed to the cause of making this world a better and clean place, then why people of the company are threatened who speak for it. This contradiction shows that the company is not actually serious in doing well, which is being pretended through this new project. It is important to understand that doing the right thing every time is the requirement of business ethics, not just doing it at one spot, and then ignoring the other one (Stark, 1993)

            It is vital to review the content of this article in the context of the business ethics concept. According to this concept, it is vital for organizations to show a right kind of attitude and conduct with regards to corporate social responsibility, discrimination, bribery, insider trading, as well as, corporate governance. There are certain things, which are done as per the law, but there are various things in business ethics, which have no concern with the law, but they are more related to ethical and moral practices. For instance, if a company is not spending anything on its corporate social responsibility, then no law will ask them to do so or hold them responsible for not doing so. However, the law will always provide a guideline to organisations to follow the essence of business ethics. It is important to understand why companies are involved in the practice of business ethics. They generally do it to get public approval and win their trust. If a company is more socially responsible, then it will have a better reputation amongst customers. So, different companies invest money in projects related to corporate social responsibility. When customers hear about such projects, they have a positive feeling about such companies. It may also force people to buy products from such companies as they feel that their spent money is being spent on the betterment of society. This is how better goodwill is generated amongst the consumers, especially when competitors are not involved in some kind of activities, then ethical companies get more respect from the customers (Schwartz, 2017)

            However, when the situation of Amazon is analysed with its actual practical policy being followed in the internal processes of the company, it was evident that they were not showing any kind of responsibility in this regard. Their employees were protesting for their wrong energy and climate policies, and rather than talking to these employees to satisfy their concerns, the company was involved in threatening them. It shows that some companies are involved in unethical practices to be more profitable and lucrative, but when it comes to corporate social responsibility, they look more active than many others. But this is done just for the popularity and increasing goodwill for the company. It is a fact that providing better opportunities, facilities, and salaries along with a better work environment will not a buzz in the news. But if $10 billion will be spent on green earth projects, it will certainly make a buzz in the media for the company. Amazon CEO is telling the world about its commitment towards the climate and society, but what is wrong with those employees, who are asking for the same. An inquiry was done by the GM union regarding the work environment of the Amazon, and it is shocking to hear that around 600 employees have got injured, who are working in the UK. When such huge organisations are analysed in terms of injury, this recent number is higher than many other company in the world. If they are a responsible and ethical company, then why employees are not being protected (Frenz, 2017)

            It is important for companies like Amazon to understand that they cannot ignore the true sense of business ethics if they want to show the world that they are truly an ethical company. If they really want to increase their reputation in this regard, then they should invest in their own processes first to reduce its negative impact on the climate. Moreover, business ethics also ask them to be more responsible for their employees. If their employees are frequently getting injured, and if they are not being taken care of by their company, then it shows the real face of the social responsibility of a company. Business ethics and corporate social responsibility are two concepts, which are relevant to each other, but a socially responsible company is also better in handling its internal business processes. They tend to work for the safety of their workers and look for business innovations to decrease their negative environmental impact. But such thing was not found with Amazon in this article (Adda, Azigwe and Awuni, 2016).

References of Why doesn’t Jeff Bezos pay more tax instead of launching a $10bn green fund?

Adda, , Azigwe, D.J., and Awuni, , (2016) 'BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH', European Journal of Business and Innovation Research, vol. 4, no. 6.

Frenz, (2017) How to Understand Business Ethics, [Online], Available: https://bizfluent.com/how-7733543-understand-business-ethics.html [25 April 2020].

Schwartz, M., (2017) Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach, John Wiley & Sons.

Stark, (1993) What’s the Matter with Business Ethics?, [Online], Available: https://hbr.org/1993/05/whats-the-matter-with-business-ethics [25 April 2020].

Stern, (2020) Why doesn’t Jeff Bezos pay more tax instead of launching a $10bn green fund?, [Online], Available: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/18/jeff-bezos-amazon-10bn-more-taxes [25 April 2020].