To sustain a long-term clean business environment requires the concerted efforts of the public and private sectors. For the past 25 years, with the staunch support of major business chambers, the ICAC’s Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre (Centre) has been a driving force behind the continued promulgation of ethical governance and extensive dissemination of integrity messages to various trades and industries.
In November this year, the Centre hosted a live streamed event to mark its 25th anniversary. About 50 guests from chambers, trade associations, professional organisations and regulatory bodies graced the event and witnessed the unveiling of the Centre’s new logo and tagline: “Embrace Ethics, Enjoy Success”.
Mr Cliff Sun Kai-lit, Chairman of the Centre’s advisory body – Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Advisory Committee (BEDAC), when addressing the event, said the Centre was the pioneer of public-private partnership in promoting business ethics and corporate governance. “I am proud to see that the seeds of integrity planted by the Centre are well rooted in the business community and have been flourishing”.
The Centre has so far assisted more than 10,000 business organisations, ranging from startups, SMEs to listed companies, to enhance their capabilities in integrity building and resisting corruption. In addition, over a million business practitioners and professionals had attended its ethics training programmes.
To address the concerns and cope with the diverse training needs of specific sectors, the Centre has also produced over 2,000 training and reference materials for different targeted sectors. The resources are easily accessible through the Centre’s newly revamped website.
Meanwhile, more than 70 trade and professional bodies recognise the Centre’s integrity training as their continuing professional development programmes or incorporate ICAC messages in their professional qualifying examinations.
Over the years, the Centre has forged close ties with different industries and corporations in promoting ethical practices. For example, the CMA Testing and Certification Laboratories (CMA Testing), a Hong Kong-based company founded in 1980, has established a long-term partnership with the ICAC in anti-graft capacity building for decades. The Centre has been providing tailored-made corruption prevention training and related services, including staff integrity training, regular review of its code of conduct and corruption-prevention resources to the organisation.
“Good reputation is the key to a successful business, especially for an internationally recognised testing center. My company and all our staff seek for a long-term reputation instead of a one-off advantage or sweetener from a customer. We firmly believe that dishonest or false testing results will ruin the company’s hard-earned reputation over the past 40 years, and that is why we must say no to corruption and unethical practice,” BEDAC member cum Chairman of CMA Testing, Dr Wingco Lo Kam-wing, said when meeting a group of tertiary students from the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong whose visit to the organisation was arranged by the Centre under a joint ethics promotion project with the university.
To engage young business leaders, the Centre has also partnered with the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to organise an exchange session for the Chamber’s young executive members. Participants were briefed on the gist of the anti-bribery law and corruption-prone areas in business operations including procurement, sales and marketing and exchanged views on how to promote an ethical corporate culture in their workplaces.
Business organisations and professional bodies are welcome to contact the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre at (852) 2826 3288 or hkbedc@crd.icac.org.hk for its full range of consultancy services on ethical management and training.
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