GEF2025 | Beyond Compliance: Redefining Business Success Through Integrity, Resilience, and Long-Term Vision

We are at an inflection point in business leadership. Despite decades of progress, recent years have seen a backtracking on environmental, sustainability, and ESG commitments. In an age of overlapping global crises, climate, biodiversity loss, economic uncertainty, and technological disruption, leaders are forced to navigate profound ethical dilemmas:

  • How do we balance short-term profit pressures with long-term planetary and societal well-being?
  • What does bold and courageous leadership look like when going beyond compliance?
  • How do we ensure that the right thing is done not just for shareholders, but for humanity, non-humans, and the planet?

Scientific evidence and global standards, from Imperial College’s Leonardo Centre for Business and Society to ISO PAS 808: Purpose-Driven Organisations, consistently point to one truth: our ethical compass and the quality of our ethical decision-making at both individual and organisational levels are the defining factors in building truly sustainable, future-fit businesses.

And yet, many organisations are retreating from these commitments under market pressure. This creates an urgent need to reframe business success: not as a trade-off between values and profits, but as a path where integrity and resilience drive financial success.

Responsible governance meeting in Kenya

The Globethics Global Survey on Business Ethics (2022–2024) gathered insights from business leaders, managers, and professionals worldwide to map how ethics is perceived, taught, and applied in business contexts. The survey, culminating in three volumes, offers rich evidence on ethical challenges and opportunities across regions, sectors, and cultures, with contributions from both Global North and Global South.

The Global Ethics Forum 2025 Business Track offers an immersive mix of executive masterclasses, keynote talks from global business leaders, in-depth case studies on long-term success, interactive dilemma labs tackling real-world scenarios, and cross-sector dialogues bridging business with education, technology, finance, and values. Participants will leave with fresh perspectives on ethical leadership in a rapidly changing world, practical tools for navigating complex governance dilemmas, and inspiration from leaders who have shown that doing the right thing drives success—plus opportunities to continue the journey through tailored training and advisory partnerships.

Aims of the Business Track :

  • Spotlight bold leadership

    Share real-world examples of leaders and organisations that make courageous choices for the greater good, even when it is difficult.

  • Raise the narrative beyond compliance

    Challenge participants to reimagine success as purpose + performance, rather than performance despite purpose.

  • Provoke profound discussions

    Create space to unpack complex ethical dilemmas faced by leaders in finance, technology, supply chains, education, and governance.

  • Offer a 360° perspective

    Explore how integrity, long-term vision, and values apply across strategy, finance, innovation, and partnerships.
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Who should take part in this track at GEF2025?

Business leaders, C-suite executives, board members, sustainability managers, investors, entrepreneurs, and consultants who:

  • Face ethical dilemmas in balancing stakeholder needs.
  • Seek practical frameworks for navigating governance and purpose.
  • Want evidence-based proof that courageous, values-driven leadership delivers.

Discover what's on the programme (click Show by tracks to select the Business Track and learn more about each session).