Every industry is clamouring to be the driving force behind Australia’s economic recovery: we’ve seen proposals for a ‘gas-powered’ recovery, a ‘digital’ recovery, ‘manufacturing-led’ recoveries. The list goes on.

The Ethics Centre, backed by data from Deloitte Access Economics, has put forth another proposal: an ethics-led recovery.

The report from Deloitte shows that a 10% improvement in ethical behaviour would generate a $45 billion increase in the nation’s GDP each year. It would also lead to improvements in employment rates, the physical and mental health of our population, and the sustainable profitability of businesses. The data shows that a firm that treats its employees and suppliers well can increase their return on assets by 7%.

This report begs the questions, what if we improved our ethical behaviour by 50%, 75%, or even 100%. Imagine how incredible the benefits would be, in this country and the world.