A product differentiates not only for its surface aspect, but also for other invisible elements. Invisible elements used to describe products are generally limited to Who and something about When. In some fortunate cases you also get Where and How. The most important one is missing. Discover it here.

1. CERTIFICATION CULTURE 2.0
(5 GOOD REASONS FOR AN ETHICAL CERTIFICATION)
#CultureCode
Massimo Cardaci – 03.10.2014

2. Message 1:
There are Apples and Apples…

3. This is an Apple This is another Apple
Unknown National
What’s the difference?

4. This is an Apple This is another Apple
National National Biological
What’s the difference?

5. This is an Apple This is another Apple
National Biological National Biological from ONG
What’s the difference?

6. Message 1:
A product differentiates not only
for its surface aspect, but also for
other invisible elements.
Customers are becoming sensitive
to these invisible elements, and
start looking for their evidence.

7. Message 2:
There heavy weight of the
intangible.

8. • Multinational
• National Company
• Cooperative
• Local producer
• Family production
• ONG
Who ?

9. • Made in...
• Ingredients coming from:
• Generic World area
• Foreign country
• National
• Specific National Area
• Local to me
Where?

10. • Environmental impact
• Respect of Human Rights
• Production Quality
• Control processes
• Customer care
• Corporate Social
Responsibility
How ?

11. • Ingredients Production date
• Product Production date
• Arrival date to the shop
• Expiration date
When ?

12. Who ? Where ?
How ?
When ?
Getting all this seems already
very good, isn’t it ?

13. Maybe.

14. • Profit
• Aid
• Development
• ...
Why ?

15. Message 2:
Invisible elements used by products
are generally limited to Who and
something about When.
In some fortunate cases you also
get Where and How.
The most important one is missing.
The one giving a meaning to all
others.

16. Why.

17. Message 3:
Collecting score points
is not enough.

18. Companies tend to accumulate
quality certificates: good, isn’t it?
Not really.
These rarely correspond to people’s
real information needs in support
to informed procurements.

19. Certifications’ emphasis is on
processes & control: good, isn’t it?
Not really.
This is achieved ensuring
minimising the “human-effect”.

20. Humans are the ones finding
solutions when things go wrong
with processes and control.
Humans are the ones producing
innovative ideas.

21. Certifications focus on efficiency
and effectiveness: good, isn’t it?
Not really.
This is practically achieved
pointing ultimately on
maximisation of profit,
and not by focusing on the people
generating it.

22. Message 3:
Existing certificates somehow
cover How, When, Who, but not Why
and also For Whom
They tend to eliminate the human
factor as just a source of potential
failures,
and not as a re-source of
resilience and innovation.

23. Message 4:
Appetite comes with eating.

24. A company starts
showing these
hidden values with
a proposed public
certificate branding
A supplier is
interested and
adopts it
A Business consultant
sees this and
starts studying it...
…and shares what learned
with a colleague, who starts
proposing it to his customers
A company presents it
as a differentiator in a bid
A Local Government sees
it and starts to be interested
Central Government receives
all these inputs and starts
considering it as a requirement
for new public administration
Tenders
It becomes
a rule

25. Message 4:
The pervasive success of an Ethical
certificate does not happen because
of imposition from the Top,
but as progressive adoption from
the Bottom.

26. Message 5:
If everyone was doing it,
I was going to be the first!

27. To document all these hidden
elements in a consistent manner,
and in particular Why and For Whom,
with a publicly supported free
standard,
opens the door to create an
Ethical certification.

28. Message 5:
To certificate an Ethical way to
produce, is no more a taboo.
People are starting to look for
these additional hidden
differentiators and
are progressively discriminating
products.

29. Conclusions

30. Conclusion 1
An Ethical certification shall
ensure all products hidden
elements are clearly shown:
Who, When, Where,
but also Why and For Whom.

31. Conclusion 2
Users have the responsibility of
using the presence of all these
factors as differentiators in their
selection of goods and services.
Smart Users have the
responsibility of communicating to
producers and institutions,
highlighting this behaviour.

32. Conclusion 3
Smart Producers shall not be
scared to highlight all these
specific factors as differentiators
in their products and services.
Smart Virtuous Producers shall
meet to define common ways to
document these factors, using
royalty free copyright systems.

33. Conclusion 4
Government Institutions have the
duty to listen to people and start
requesting to show all these hidden
elements as a rule, and no more as
an option.
ONG Institutions have the duty to
transform these into an
independent and free Ethical
certification system.

34. THANK YOU!
More about me:
LinkedIn Profile: Massimo Cardaci [English]
Volunteer activities:
Handicap: www.orsaminore.org [English/Italian]
Ethical Economy: www.edc-consulting.org [Italian]
Time Management: www.time-management.it [Italian]
Some Publications: www.lulu.com/spotlight/maxcardaci and www.edc-consulting.org
- Book on Time Management: “Would you change 25 minutes?” [Italian]
- Book on Ethical Governance: “The Third Road: A tale of Princes, Teachers and Hatters?” [Italian]
- Books on History of Science: “Spots on the Sun? Are you joking, right?” [Italian]