World  Forum  for  Ethics  in  Business  (WFEB)  Satellite  Conference  in  Nepal  -­‐    Concept  Note     Introduction   1.   The  World  Forum  for  Ethics  in  Business  is  a  registered  public  interest  foundation  based  in   Belgium.  The  mandate  of  the  Forum  includes  all  manners  of  pursuing  and  establishing  the   indispensable  ethical  foundations  of  business  in  a  globalized  world.  Through  the  International   Leadership  Symposium  on  Ethics  in  Business,  the  WFEB  brings  together  leaders  from  all  sectors  of   society  to  dialogue  on  the  pressing  need  to  strengthen  human  values  and  ethics  in  private  and   public  sector.  The  Symposium  was  first  launched  on  the  inspiration  of  H.H.  Sri  Sri  Ravi  Shankar  in   2003  in  Bangalore,  India,  and  the  venue  moved  to  the  European  Parliament  in  Brussels  in  2006.   Over  the  past  years,  political  leaders,  Nobel  Laureates  and  top  executives  from  leading  global   companies  have  participated  in  the  annual  symposium.     2.  

The  WFEB’s  objectives  are  to:   • •

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Provide  a  platform  for  the  promotion  and  defense  of  ethical  approaches  to  business   enterprise  and  corporate  governance;   Facilitate  global  dialogue  and  foster  cooperation  among  the  private  sector,  the  academic   world,  government  agencies,  international  organizations,  the  media,  spiritual  as  well  as   secular  communities  and  all  other  stakeholders  with  the  end  in  view  of  fostering  decency,   maximizing  human  values  and  building  wider  public  trust  in  business;  and   Recruit  the  broadest  possible  support  for  trends,  initiatives  and  projects  that  would   encourage  or  enhance  ethical  and/or  spiritual  motivations,  practices,  norms  and  goals  in  the   business  world.     For  further  information  please  visit  www.wfeb.org.  

3.   The  Vision  of  WFEB´s  International  Leadership  Symposiums  on  Ethics  are  to  bring  together   leaders  from  all  sectors  of  society  to  dialogue  on  the  pressing  need  to  strengthen  human  values  and   ethics  in  private  and  public  sector.  Business  and  Human  Values  or  Spirituality  is  often  seen  as  two   separate  worlds.  It  is  believed  that  those  who  are  focusing  on  human  values  may  not  be   competitive.  Perhaps  the  world  of  business  and  the  world  of  human  values  are  no  longer  two   separate  worlds.  Emphasizing  human  values  may  no  longer  be  less  competitive.  Even  with   increased  competition  in  business,  there  are  very  compelling  reasons  why  ethics  should  not  be   compromised,  and  why  ethics  could  in  fact  be  a  prerequisite  to  profitability.    These  symposiums   seek  to  examine  whether  business  and  ethics  are  complementary  or  contradictory  in  nature,  and   explore  new  ways  for  business  leaders  to  evolve  leadership  styles  that  are  sustainable,  yet   profitable  for  their  organizations.  

 

      Sri  Sri  Ravi  Shankar,  Co-­‐Founder  World  Forum  for  Ethics  in  Business:    “Trust  is  the  backbone  of   business.  In  the  current  economic  downturn,  as  businesses  face  the  challenge  of  restoring  people’s   faith  and  confidence,  spirituality  and  human  values  can  play  a  key  role.  Now  is  the  time  for  us  to   come  together  and  plan  how  we  can  build  a  sustainable  future,  and  bring  peace  and  prosperity  to   mankind.  Human  values  and  ethics  need  to  be  the  core  of  any  development.  We  have  seen  the  flaws   in  communism;  now  we  are  seeing  the  failings  of  unbridled  capitalism.  It  is  time  for  a  new  ‘ism’  –   humanism.”   WFEB  Satellite  Conference  in  Nepal   4.   In  a  World  Bank  ‘Survey  on  Doing  Business  2012’,  Nepal  ranked  108th  out  of  185  economies   of  the  world.  In  the  Asia  Pacific  region,  Nepal  ranked  32nd  out  of  the  41  countries.  With  regards  to   ‘Rule  of  Law’  and  ‘Control  of  Corruption’  indicators,  Nepal  rates  around  20th  percentile.  A  recent   survey  on  hindrances  to  ethical  business  practice  by  National  Business  Initiatives,  a  non-­‐ government  organization  specializing  in  the  promotion  of  CSR,  found  out  that  73  percent  of   respondent  said  corruption  must  be  controlled.  62  percent  said  issues  on  tax  transparency,   accountability  and  labor  management  should  be  areas  of  intervention,  while  55  percent  opined   consumer  protection  and  environment  protection  issues  coming  as  a  hindrance  in  the  way  of   promoting  ethical  business  practice.  The  survey  has  also  identified  lack  of  knowledge  and   understanding  of  ethical  business  practice  among  the  challenges.  Nepal  at  present  is  at  cross  roads   politically.  There  is  a  general  feeling  that  business  is  not  able  to  move  towards  sustainable  ethical   practice  due  to  lack  of  rule  of  law  and  absence  of  good  governance.  An  article  in  a  leading   newspaper  ‘The  Himalayan  Times’  recently  mentioned  that  ‘during  difficult  times  economic   opportunities  are  constrained  and  unethical  business  practice  tends  to  increase’.  The  current   situation  calls  for  creation  of  an  environment  that  promotes  ethical  business  practices.  An   environment  of  ‘Trust’  is  the  need  of  the  hour  as  business  can  grow  only  in  such  an  environment.   Sri  Sri  Ravi  Shankar  has  said  “Trust  is  the  breath  of  business,  ethics  its  limbs,  and  to  uplift  the  spirit,   its  goal”.   5.   Nepal  has  experienced  an  increasing  interest  in  Corporate  Social  Responsibility  and  Business   Ethics  in  the  last  few  years  and  some  efforts  have  been  made  by  the  private  sector,  the   Government  of  Nepal  and  other  actors  to  create  awareness  and  capacity  regarding  sustainable,   responsible  and  conflict  sensitive  business  practices.  Some  of  the  organizations  are  as  follows:   FNCCI,  NBI,  NYEF,  FWEAN,  Nepal  Rotary,  and  Transparency  International,  etc.    Despite  these  efforts   most  of  the  activities  conducted  under  the  umbrella  or  CSR  are  still  market  driven  and  in  the  form   of  charitable  donations.  It  is  important,  at  this  point  of  time,  to  inform  business  leaders  and  other  

 

involved  parties  about  the  importance  of  a  holistic  integration  of  good  business  practices  in  the   overall  business  strategies  to  build  trust  and  shared  value  between  companies  and  their   stakeholders  and  to  inspire  and  guide  them  by  showcasing  best  practices  and  introducing  tools  for   the  successful  implementation  of  such  more  sustainable  and  mutually  beneficial  approaches.  WFEB         satellite  conference  in  Nepal  would  help  play  a  catalytic  role  in  the  creation  of  an  advocacy  group,   the  network  of  the  stakeholders,  to  help  promote  ethics  in  business,  both  in  short  term  and  long   term  perspective,  for  the  benefits  of  the  nation  at  large.  In  addition,  the  conference  would  also   highlight  the  important  role  of  spirituality  and  human  values  to  build  trust  to  bring  peace  and   prosperity  to  Nepalese.     6.   The  satellite  conference  in  Nepal  would  be  titled  “Business  Ethics  for  a  Prosperous  Nepal”.     Key  priority  areas  to  be  targeted  are  as  follows:   • •  

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Enabling  environment  (Government’s  Role):    Focus  on  policy,  enabling  legislation  and   effective  regulatory  oversight  to  ensure  ethics  in  businesses.   Judiciary  enforcement:    Effective  and  impartial  judiciary  is  critical  for  ensuring  ethical   behavior  by  enforcing  the  laws  and  disputes  among  stakeholders;  and   Businesses’  role  in  ensuring  ethical  behavior  (Code  of  Conduct);  and    

7.   The  conference  would  consist  of  a  plenary  session  followed  by  breakout  sessions  to  discuss,   define  and  propose  an  action  plan  to  address  issues  in  the  three  key  priority  areas  to  foster  ethics  in   business.  It  was  agreed  that  the  breakout  sessions  would  focus  on  three  main  areas:   • Role  of  Business   • Role  of  Government/Judiciary   • Youth  Forum   The  focus  of  the  conference  will  be  on  private  businesses  but  other  stakeholders  are  also  important   and  would  be  included.    There  is  strong  support  and  consensus  that  Youth  Form  should  be  part  of   the  conference  as  they  are  the  future  for  a  prosperous  Nepal.         The  satellite  conference  in  Nepal  is  scheduled  for  January  17  and  18,  2014.  The  conference  will  be   held  in  Hotel  Soaltee  Crown  Plaza  Hotel,  Kathmandu,  Nepal.You  can  also  check  for  more  detail  on   Global  WFEB  initiatives  at:   www.wfeb.org