In a world where short-term gain seems to be more attractive than long-term sustainability, in a business environment where a business deal needs end-less pages of legal language that can easily be circumnavigated if wanted, it may be necessary to focus attention on the historic principle of the ‘honorable merchant’ and ‘preserve the virtues and decency of the honorable merchant’.
The term ‘honorable merchant’ describes the mission statement for responsible stakeholders in economic life. It stands for a sense of responsibility for one’s own company, for society, and the environment. An honorable merchant bases his behavior on virtues which aim for a long-term economic success without opposing society’s interests. He concludes sustainable business.
But what makes a merchant honorable? The roots of the principle can be traced back to the early middle-ages. A merchant could call himself ‘honorable’ and benefit from this reputation if he acted in compliance with the developed rules. He became honorable through virtues such as integrity, honesty and decency. The honorable merchant stood out because he always kept his word and others could rely on him. The merchant’s reputation was intertwined with his commercial success, and therefore represented a crucial asset for his business.
Nowadays, the notion of the ‘honorable’ merchant appears rather old-fashioned, but numerous development trends in society, politics and business illustrate that decency also plays a major role in the 21st century. Globalization increases the competitive pressure as counties and companies with a different understanding of integrity compete; the same is true for ASEAN integration where competition will increase and good companies and not-so-good companies will clash.
Luckily, the public gets more and more critical and social media raises the bar. People have very high expectations when it comes to assumptions of responsibility and respectability regarding companies. In the financial market, the demand for sustainable investment increases continuously. Some funds only invest in companies that fulfil, besides economic, also social and environmental criteria.
In the Middle-Age, the merchants proved that the collective establishment and implementation of the principle of the honorable merchant could generate benefits for both companies and society. Globalization and the resulting loss of influence of governmental control mechanisms, puts more pressure on companies and their management (executive and supervisory) to create preconditions that enable sustainable and successful business activity.
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The Honorable Merchant as a person:
The Honorable Merchant in his/her company:
The Honorable Merchant in society and the economy:
The Honorable Merchant became the guiding star when the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) started the Integrity Initiative in 2009, joining hands with the Makati Business Club in 2010, and organizing the Integrity Initiative, Inc. in 2015.
ECCP is committed to ethical business. We are calling on people in business, government and civil society to join us. It makes good sense to join ECCP.
In close partnership with government, businesses, civil society, and academia, ECCP passionately works to enhance the business environment for both European and Filipino companies.