Ethics committees for corporate culture of sustainability

This theoretical paper considers the role of ethics committees in the promotion of business ethics and corporate culture of sustainability, and aims at contributing to the debate about the leadership role of board of directors as a real source of competition in global markets. Ethics committees within the boards can support leaders’ commitment to corporate social responsibility, encourage stakeholder protection, reinforce the board’s expertise about ethics and sustainability issues and safeguard the independence of decision-making processes in situations characterized by potential conflicts of interest. This paper could also have practical implications, encouraging policy makers to translate the good practices in managing corporate sustainability culture into actions and sending a message to investors sensitive to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. In fact, the establishment of ethics committees could be an indicator about the degree of maturity of corporate sustainability culture for investors and stakeholders in general.