The College Ethics blog is delighted to have led the first College Ethics walk – to mark national walking month and the start of the Global Corporate Challenge. You can find out about our walk in the slideshow below, and there’s also a short audio clip about Doris Birdsall and some useful links. Thanks to everyone who took part.
Listen to a recording of Sandra Vine-Jenkins and Jillian Mercer remembering Doris:
Other useful links:
- Find out more about Ethical Tissue on the College Ethics blog.
- Find out more about the Free City Bus on the College Ethics blog.
- Doris Birdsall: an obituary in the Guardian, and a profile on our 175 Heroes website.
- University of Bradford Ecoversity
- Green Solutions (College-owned recycling, re-using and storage business)
Ethical biscuits: palm oil
- UK sustainable palm oil targets are too weak, say retailers (The Guardian)
- The Rainforest Foundation report ‘Seeds of destruction’: palm oil developers threaten Africa’s rainforests
- Orangutangs and oil palm plantations: hanging on but just barely (World Wildlife Fund)
Thanks to:
- Our experts, Dr Susan Boyce, Ben Tongue, Ian Brown, Sandra Vine-Jenkins, Jillian Mercer, Neil Moore, Pam Sheldon
- Our Walking Champion, Jonathan Curtis
The walkers:
Susan Boyce – Ed Briggs – Zoe Corcoran – Jonathan Curtis – York Dixon – Joanne Fawthrop – Gail Hall – Gail Holmes – Emma Haycock – Susan Houlbrook – Vanessa Hutchison – Julia Kendall – Maria Mousawi – Linda Taglione – Ben Tongue – Sandra Vine-Jenkins – Fran Walker – Andy Welsh – Ruth Wilson
College Ethics 
Fabulous posts Ruth and great pictures. The weather was awful but it has picked up since, thank goodness! Love Gail and Fran eating the biscuits!!
Thanks Gail, it was lovely to have you and your team with us!
great post about a brilliant event, despite the weather! there was so much to see in such a short distance and i am sure we can find other items of interest nearby. well done to you and Jonathan for organising.
Thanks Andy. Really glad you could join us.
“The College Ethics blog is delighted to have led the first College Ethics walk – to mark national walking month and the start of the Global Corporate Challenge”…
Not often that you see the words ‘Ethics’ and ‘Global Corporate’ in the same sentence… Seeing as most global corporations are reknowned for their utter lack of ethics (eg; towards their workers and the environment) – how does this tally?
And from looking at the GCC website, it seems to be advocating the use of ‘tracking devices’ worn by members of staff… I fully appreciate that the use of tracking devices are voluntary at the moment, but it could quite easily be the top end of a very slippery slope indeed. I found this quote from their website a little worrying: “We use leading-edge technologies to support effective behavioural change in your employees…” I’ve always found that fair rates of pay and being treated with a modicum of respect by those in charge to be much more effective in supporting ‘behavioural change’ in employees rather than any sort of technological gizmos.
Hi Dan, good to hear from you, sorry you couldn’t join us on the walk.
The GCC is a four month scheme where teams of volunteers set out to try and walk at least 10,000 steps a day. There’s a pedometer, and you input the number of steps each day. Online, everyone starts in Rio and then, as your steps add up as a team, you get to other destinations – My team has reached Peru (there are a few airline flights along the way). So that’s the tracking, I guess. I am constantly intrigued by how it works, and really pleased that I am working for employer that is taking part because in my experience it boosts health and well-being and gets you walking with and talking to other walkers at work (though you don’t have to do that!). For me, the interesting ethical issue is around telling the truth about your steps.
Best wishes, Ruth
Hi Ruth.. Thanks for the response! I’m aware that the ‘challenge’ is a walking event and that the ‘tracking device’ (as it is described on the GCC website) is essentially a pedometer. However, there is a real issue here as both Amazon and Tesco warehouse staff are already being made to wear ‘tracking devices’ to monitor their staff (http://www.bitterwallet.com/tesco-warehouse-staff-wear-tracking-devices-as-they-pick-your-horsemeat-dinners/62479) so it is a pertinant issue for an ethics blog…
And if I can find the time to get off my soap-box, I may well join you on the next walk… sounds interesting!