What Does "Conscious Business" Mean To You?

Questions for business-doers, not just Focus' experts: 1. Do you pay the slightest attention to doing business consciously? 2. If you try to do business consciously, why? 3. If you don't, why not? 4. What does "conscious business" mean to you? Across the globe I see the meme "conscious business", also expressed as "doing business consciously", "corporate consciousness", and other catchphrases. It seems to mean different things; here are just a few examples: 1. "Green": whether you conserve energy; use recycled raw materials; eliminate synthetic chemicals from your products; or just slap a green label on products, being "green" is good for the bottom line. Or are you conscious of your children's future? 2. "Fair trade": buying only from suppliers who treat employees and their own suppliers "fairly" according to someone's standards. Also good for the bottom line, you get to label your products "fair trade" and charge more for them. Or do you do it because it's right? 3. "Employee Empowerment": which implies that employees are powerless to begin with. "I'm sorry, it's company policy, there's nothing I can do for you" is not what a customer wants to hear. I recently fired a bank with which I'd done business since 1993 for this very reason. Empowering employees to do what any conscious human being can see plainly is the right thing to do, no matter what the policy manual says, is good for the bottom line. Or do you do it so you won't look like a mindless idiot?