PETCO Animal Supplies is the nation's number 2 specialty pet supply retailer with more than 850 stores in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Its pet-related products include pet food, pet supplies, grooming products, toys, novelty items, vitamins, veterinary supplies, and small pets such as fish, birds, and hamsters. It does not sell cats or dogs, however. PETCO strives to offer customers a complete assortment of petrelated products and services at competitive prices at convenient locations and through its website, www.petco.com, with a high level of customer service. Most PETCO stores are 12,000 to 15,000 square feet and conveniently located near local neighborhood shopping destinations, such as supermarkets, bookstores, coffee shops, dry cleaners, and video stores, where its target customers make regular weekly shopping trips. PETCO executives believe that the company is well positioned, in terms of both product offerings and location, to benefit from favorable long-term demographic trends: a growing pet population and an increasing willingness of "pet parents" to spend on their pets. Indeed, the U.S. pet population has now reached 378 million companion animals, including 143 million cats and dogs. An estimated 62 percent of all U.S. households own at least one pet, and three-quarters of those households have two or more pets.

1. How does PETCO's ethics program help manage the risks associated with the pet industry?
2. How can PETCO's social responsibility programs advance its marketing strategy?
3. Why is it important for PETCO to train all its employees to understand and implement its ethical policies?