Founding Background
In today's business world, excessive competition has led to environmental pollution, commodity poisoning, business fraud and other phenomena worldwide. Many large international enterprises have also failed to maintain their integrity. The lack of business ethics and moral responsibility has buried deep concerns for the benign development of human business civilization, and society is deeply mired in a trust crisis. Undoubtedly, the business philosophy and behavior of the industrial and commercial sectors are directly related to the fate of the earth and humanity. If the business community loses basic conscience, compassion and responsibility, and ignores natural ecology and life dignity, then the symbiosis between humans and the earth is in jeopardy. If the business community cannot "look up at the stars", adhere to business ethics, and uphold humanistic spirit, the world can only "sigh to heaven".
Based on the lack of business ethical spirit and weak sense of social responsibility, as well as the public's strong desire for cultural revival and moral return, Shanghai's "First Financial Daily" and CEIBS jointly launched the World Business Ethics Conference in 2009. The conference takes "reshaping business ethics and revitalizing humanistic spirit" as its mission, committed to promoting reflection in the business community and awakening of humanistic spirit; calling on the business community to return to value origin, transcend survival competition, see the power of conscience and humanistic spirit, and build an ethical business system according to moral responsibility; advocating enterprises to return to "the goodness of their business", return to moral responsibility and social mission, while safeguarding the fundamental interests of all employees, customers, environment, and partners, also attaching importance to spreading beneficial value concepts and cultural care to the general public, "non-stakeholders".
Important Strategic Upgrade
After years of suspension, the conference achieved a milestone restart in 2025, and was officially renamed from the 12th conference as the Business Civilization Conference. This renaming is an important strategic upgrade since the forum's founding, mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, breaking through conceptual limitations, expanding issue inclusiveness and multi-dimensionality, extending traditional ethical dimensions to a three-dimensional framework including technological innovation (such as AI ethics), environmental justice (carbon neutrality practices), and cultural mutual learning (cross-civilization governance); Second, in the undercurrent of de-globalization, the concept of "business civilization" can naturally connect with UN 2030 Agenda, WTO reform, global supply chain restructuring and other international focuses and global governance agendas, achieving discourse system breakthrough; Third, "business civilization" can organically integrate Eastern cultural traditions such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism views on righteousness and profit, making up for the missing dimensions of Western mainstream business thought, realizing contemporary transformation of Eastern wisdom; Fourth, "civilization" as a neutral concept has more cross-cultural affinity, so discussing "business civilization" issues helps eliminate geopolitical sensitivity and enhance cultural penetration; Fifth, Huntington's "clash of civilizations" theory has been partially validated in the wave of de-globalization. The conference strengthens civilizational dialogue, emphasizes the "symbiotic" nature of business civilization, and will hopefully break the curse of "civilizational conflict" in the future.
After renaming, the conference established a new mission - "Reshape the modern business civilization view and build a community with a shared future for mankind", committed to promoting enterprises to build a business ethics cultural foundation (i.e., sustainable development support system) while strengthening international humanistic exchanges, promoting mutual tolerance and civilizational mutual learning among diverse cultures, helping enterprises achieve symbiotic and mutually beneficial sustainable development with the world in global cross-cultural operations, thus promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
UNESCO, which has "ethical construction" as one of its goals, has given the conference special support for many years since the second conference due to high consistency of value concepts. The conference has successfully held 11 sessions and nearly 20 conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Taoyuan, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and New York (UN Headquarters) around the world, gathering many outstanding entrepreneurs and renowned scholars with a strong sense of mission, humanistic spirit and national sentiment, who have brought many valuable practical experiences and life insights to the conference.
Forum Timeline
1st Conference 2009 in Shanghai
Theme: "Reflection and Reshaping of Business Ethics Spirit". Xu Jialu, former Chairman of the Central Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy and Vice Chairman of the 10th National People's Congress Standing Committee, delivered a keynote speech on "Enhancing Entrepreneurs' Humanistic Literacy" and conducted a roundtable discussion with multiple business guests.
2nd Conference 2010 in Shanghai
UNESCO gave special support to the conference. Mr. Hans, Assistant to UNESCO Director-General, delivered a conference address. More than ten entrepreneurs including Cao Dewang, Mao Zhongqun, and Ye Ying jointly issued the "Enterprise Conscience Bottom Line Declaration and Initiative", calling on the business community to establish "reverence", adhere to conscience bottom line, contract spirit and social responsibility, protect the environment, and respect life.
3rd Conference 2011 at CEIBS in Shanghai
Theme: "Creating Shared Value, Returning to the Goodness of Business". Mr. Santa, Director of Multilateral Cooperation Department from UNESCO Paris Headquarters, and Dr. Pachauri, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), delivered conference addresses and speeches respectively.
4th Conference 2012 at Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan
Theme: "The Power of Conscience". Mr. Wu Poh-hsiung, Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang, personally attended the conference and delivered an opening address. Chairman Cao Dewang attended the conference in Taiwan and gave a speech. He particularly emphasized that donating money is a small act of righteousness, while adhering to social responsibility and business ethics is the great righteousness.
5th Conference 2013 at CUHK
Theme: "Govern Enterprises with Virtue, Sage Education Achieves Happy Enterprises". Mr. Santa from UNESCO attended again and delivered an address; Mr. Moon Kuk-hyun, Chairman of the New Paradigm Institute of Korea, 2007 presidential candidate, and former CEO of Yuhan-Kimberly (Korea's Most Respected Company), was invited to speak.
6th Conference 2014 at Golden Horse Palace, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Theme: "Foundation of Business, Revitalizing Corporate Humanistic Spirit". Huang Huikang, then Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, served as the guest of honor at the opening ceremony and delivered a conference address; Ms. Kabeer, UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, attended and delivered an address; Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, owner of Golden Horse Palace, and Mao Zhongqun, Chairman of Fotile, among others, delivered keynote speeches.
7th Summer Conference 2015 in Guangzhou
Theme: "Cultivate Virtue with Sincerity, Establish Business for the World". Ms. Kabeer, UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, attended and delivered an address. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Yeoh Choon Hock, Chairman of Jidi Group of Malaysia, Ding Dang, Chairman of China Ping An Life Insurance, Mao Zhongqun, Chairman of Fotile, Wang Zhenghua, Chairman of Spring Group, and many other entrepreneurs delivered keynote speeches.
7th Autumn Conference 2015 in Seoul, Korea
Theme: "Ethical Management - Source of Corporate Competitiveness". Under the promotion of conference host Mr. Moon Kuk-hyun, Chinese and Korean entrepreneurs unprecedentedly jointly signed and released the "Seoul Declaration" upholding business ethics. Mr. Kwon Byong-hyun, former Korean Ambassador to China, attended and delivered an address; Mr. Kim Yong-ok, renowned "National Teacher of Korea", delivered a keynote speech.
8th Conference 2016 in Shenzhen
Theme: "Opening the Era of Ethical Management Dividends - Hundred-Year Good Business, Thousand-Year Heritage". Han Wangxi, Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Propaganda Department, Yang Chuan, Vice President of Bosch China, Wu Nianbo, Chairman of Suzhou Good-ark Electronics, and many other entrepreneurs delivered keynote speeches.
9th Conference 2017 in Shanghai
Theme: "Nirvana Rebirth - Awakening and Transcendence of Corporate Spirit". Mao Zhongqun, Chairman of Fotile, Dr. Peng Dezhi, former Vice President of AIG China, Yang Chuan, Vice President of Bosch China, Zhou Xinping, Chairman of Hunan Dasanxiang, and many other entrepreneurs delivered keynote speeches.
10th Conference 2018 in Beijing
Theme: "Belt and Road and Cross-Cultural Management". Professor Zhu Yongxin, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended and delivered a keynote speech on "Three Questions for Entrepreneurs"; Zhou Tienong, Vice Chairman of the 11th National People's Congress Standing Committee, attended the conference; Professor Mohan Munasinghe, former Vice Chairman of the UN IPCC, Chairman of the Sri Lankan Presidential Expert Committee, and Nobel Prize winner, delivered a keynote speech.
11th Spring Conference 2019 in New York (UN Headquarters)
Theme: "Family Governance · Everlasting Foundation". Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme, sent a congratulatory letter to the conference. Dr. Hans Herren, President of the Millennium Institute, delivered a conference address. Pierre du Pont, 10th generation heir of the DuPont family (Fortune 500), Mike Hill, 5th generation heir of the Bancroft family and former owner of Dow Jones Company, Mitzi Perdue, second-generation successor of Sheraton Hotels, and many other family business heirs shared in-depth insights on family governance issues.
11th Autumn Conference 2019 in Chengdu
Theme: "Promote Virtue and Innovation · Rekindle Vitality". Moon Kuk-hyun, Korea's Most Respected CEO, Yang Chuan, Vice President of Bosch China, Lu Rong, Vice President of Honeywell Asia High Growth Region, Wu Wenhui, former CEO of Siemens Healthcare Northeast Asia, Li Lianghua, Vice President of Fuyao Group, Peng Dezhi, Vice President of AIG Asia Property Insurance, He Donghui, Executive President of Fotile Group, Li Jingchun, former Chairman of Shanxi Tianyuan Group, and other entrepreneurs delivered keynote speeches.