The independent jury that will choose the seven honourees includes Nobel
laureates Muhammad Yunus, whose Grameen Bank pioneered micro-lending worldwide,
and A. Michael Spence, Professor Emeritus of Management at Stanford
University’s Graduate School of Business and Board Member of the ICC Research
Foundation.
“We are delighted to be a partner of the Business for Peace Awards,
encouraging businesspeople to foster peace and stability to the benefit of
humanity,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy
Carrier. “As the world business
organization, ICC is proud to show how ethical business conduct is not only
good for business but good for global living standards and good for peace.”
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is the highest distinction for
outstanding businessworthy accomplishments. The 2012 award attracted more than
90 nominees from 60 nations.
“The Oslo Business for Peace Award aims to create a better union between
business and society, where each contributes to the other," said Per L.
Saxegaard, Chairman of the Business for Peace Foundation. "Our goal is to
inspire business leaders to be businessworthy, to have them apply their
business energy with the purpose of creating economic value that also creates
value for society. With this goal in mind, we search the world for business
leaders who are trailblazers in showing that a strong bottom line is compatible
with the higher purpose of promoting societal progress. The honourees who have
been selected by our independent committee of Nobel Prize recipients are all
strong exemplars of the merit of this idea.”
The
2012 Business for Peace winners said their award was inspiring ethical business
practice in others.
Heba
El-Kholy, Director, Oslo Governance Centre, Democratic Governance Group, Bureau
for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme said: “UNDP
recognizes that the private sector has an essential role to play in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable human development and
believes the Business for Peace Awards can make an important contribution to
promoting inclusive growth, environmental sustainability , gender equality and
democratic governance’
One 2012 honouree, Latifur Rahman, of Bangladesh, believes the Business for Peace Award’s “socially
responsible and ethical business criteria” have struck a chord among his peers. He said: “I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic felicitations from a cross-section
of the Bangladeshi business community on my being honoured with the prestigious
Oslo Business for Peace Award 2012. I
believe the award will encourage the business community in Bangladesh to
practice and strive to uphold the guiding principles of the Business for Peace
Foundation.”
Eduardo Eurnekian, of Argentina,
who is also a 2012 honouree said: “It is up to businessmen of today to hand on
a patrimony of values to future generations, to nourish their vitality and
initiatives. May the significance of this award – and its desire for
peace and freedom – continue to inspire men and women in every time and
place.”
The award ceremony, on 14 May 2013 in Oslo, Norway, will be hosted by
the City of Oslo, the Oslo Business for Peace Foundation with support from ICC,
and the International Herald Tribune as official global media partner.
Governing Mayor of Oslo Stian Berger Roesland said: “Oslo is pleased to
be a part of this unique initiative. The city has followed the development of
the Business for Peace Award with great interest, and is impressed by the
position it has achieved in just a few years. See you in Oslo!”
ICC is already receiving award
nominations from its global network of local representative offices and
chambers of commerce.
Discussing the award presented to 2012 honouree Vladas Lasas, business
magnate Richard Branson said: “It is wonderful to see business leaders try to
make a real difference…and becoming a force for good.”
Vladas Lasas, CEO/Founder of Skubios siuntos UAB Kaunas & UPS/Lithuania, added: "The Business for Peace Awards offer excellent encouragement, inspiration and opportunity to all business leaders, helping them to think beyond ‘business only’, and escalating the best they do locally to a global level."
Submit a nomination for the award by 1 February 2013.
For more information please email WCF or visit ICC Business for Peace and the Business for Peace Foundation
View the Richard Branson’s discussions on the role of business and the Business for Peace Award with Vladas Lasas, one of the 2012
Honourees from Lithuania.
We would like to thank our global media partner the International Herald Tribune for their support.