Five Ways Insulation Is Like Ethical Corporate Culture
December 2025 was one of our town’s coldest and snowiest in recent history. We had 20 inches of snow and a whopping $903 electric bill to show for it. Despite sinking $35k to upgrade our heating system with an energy efficient heat pump, it didn’t stand a chance against a house that has virtually no insulation.
And a house without insulation is like a company without an ethical culture.
Just because you can’t see insulation or know what it’s made of doesn’t mean it has no purpose. There are still people who question the importance of an ethical culture because they lack the ability to understand, describe or quantify it.
Most people don’t even realize that insulation exists. But in subzero temperatures, its absence is obvious. Same with an ethical corporate culture. It may only be noticed when its absence leads to corporate scandals.
You can’t assume that there is insulation simply because you have walls. Companies can’t assume they have an ethical culture just because their codes of conduct claim they do.
Installing insulation is a deliberate activity in homebuilding that you plan and budget for. An ethical corporate culture also requires focus and investment. It doesn’t just magically materialize.
Not having insulation meant we had to invest in a better heating system and contend with ongoing higher energy costs. A company without an ethical culture would have to invest more resources to protect against compliance risks or develop a much higher risk tolerance – like willing to risk a burst pipe.
Sadly for us, installing insulation now would be prohibitively costly. Luckily for companies, it’s never too late to invest in an ethical culture!