‘Ethical careers’ usually refers to those that are deemed socially and environmentally responsible. There are many different measures of this responsibility and generally the approach is that individuals need to decide for themselves what is ethically acceptable and unacceptable to them. Although this may seem unhelpful the key point is that people can have ethical working lives across many sectors and professions (they are not limited to the obvious not-for-profit organisations). Following an ethical career is about researching sectors thoroughly and making informed choices.    

These resources are good starting points for research:    

People and Plant is a student network campaigning on poverty, human rights and the environment: www.peopleandplanet.org.

Ethical Careers publish related articles to their site and publish the Ethical Careers Guide that People and Planet (above) refer to. The guide can be ordered from their site (for a charge) or a reference copy is available at the Careers Centre, New Hall, BOC: www.ethicalcareers.org

Ethical Jobs Limited has vacancy listings for 'ethically sound' jobs and a linked directory for businesses and organisations that meet their criteria: www.ethical-jobs.co.uk; www.ethicaldirectory.co.uk

Scientists for Global Responsibility is an independent organisation with members who are natural and social scientists, engineers, IT professionals, and architects. Has links to downloadable careers information: www.sgr.org.uk

Third Sector Jobs a great site for vacancies within the charity sector nationally, you can narrow your search by field and location. http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk.

Ethical careers section from Real World: www.realworldmagazine.com/ethical-careers

AGCAS has produced a guidance sheet about choosing an ethical employer. It relies quite heavily on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) so it's worth spending some time finding out what these measures actually tell you.

For information about social enterprises see the self employment page.

Article from the Guardian about social responsibility awareness among graduates: http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/graduation/story/0,,1820810,00.html