THERE was a time when an ethical lifestyle meant taking a name like “Swampy”, living in trees, only eating fruit and wearing hemp sandals. Oh, and there was the regular run-in with the authorities.

Now it seems that the boot — or should that be sandal — is on the other foot. The authorities are leading the ethicists’ agenda and the public and voluntary sectors could well be at the forefront armed with a host of new regulations.

The construction industry is feeling the effects of new planning laws which will lead it into the “renewable energy age”, says Building (March 24). New guidance — snappily called Planning Policy Statement 22 — allows local planners to demand renewable energy plants to be built into new developments. But Peter Rogers, a developer, asks: “Why should developers be energy providers?” Terry Brown, another developer, argues: “I’m a great supporter of renewable energy on the national level, but not on the local.”

Try telling that to the 100,000 local authorities that told the G8, the group representing the eight leading economies, that they control the future on climate control. So says David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government Association’s environment board, who adds in The MJ (March 24): “Transport, planning, education, waste management and housing — the future of these will change the climate of our planet.” Sparks wants sustainable-energy issues integrated into school curriculums.

Progress is being made, though. Proposals published by the Council for Industry and Higher Education suggest that colleges should consider the “wider purposes” of higher education beyond producing graduates with degrees, says The Times Higher Education Supplement (March 25).

Charities, too, could do with a bit of naval gazing. Tash Shifrin, a social affairs commentator, says in Third Sector (March 23) that there is a culture where “staff are expected to accept poverty and insecurity out of deep commitment to the organisation and its cause”. A call for greater unionisation is the only way to stop this unethical behaviour, says Shifrin.

Perhaps they could learn from McDonald’s, the fast food outlet. At a recent conference, Larry Light, the company’s global chief marketing officer, spelled out “McDonald’s new enthusiasm for the benefits of a balanced diet”, says Media Week (March 22), adding that it may be a clever marketing ploy aimed at heading off statutory regulation.

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