Official Launching of BBLF Business Ethics Standard

  BBLF presented the first in Bulgaria Business Ethics Standard at an official ceremony that took place in Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan. The Standard was given to 77 companies who are members of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum as an implicit element to their membership in the organization.

Participants at the ceremony received also a letter from Mr Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, stating his support to introducing a Business Ethics Standard and underlining that "business ethics is vital if we wish to be accepted with respect, as equal partners".

The Business Ethics Standard is a result of one-year dialog between the members of the Forum brought together with the idea to implement more practical approach to fostering good business practices and build correct and trustful business relations. The main point was to create benchmarks that would help distinguish between "what is good and what is bad" and models that should be adopted by all companies doing business in Bulgaria. Subsequently, the Standard was discussed in the framework of BBLF "Business and Corporate Ethics" Target team and further developed by BBLF Managing Board.

The Business Ethics Standard (see the sample in Bulgarian)contains 10 basic principles for corporate and market behaviour that are based on moral values. It represents a Declaration of commitment to be signed by companies willing to comply with those principles and states their commitment to draft and implement a Code of Business Conduct based on those principles and values.

Last October the Standard was first introduced officially by Mr Maxim Behar, BBLF Chairman, at a British- Bulgarian Business Forum held in London (see the sample in English). At the Forum were present Mr Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria and Ms Susan Simpson, Director Europe and Regional Learning Network, Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, who both received a copy of the Standard.

"I am sure that after five years the number of companies willing to join the Standard will grow many times and will probably reach the number of 30 000" said Mr Maxim Behar, BBLF Chairman, in his closing remarks at the official launching. Currently, BBLF Managing Board is discussing the procedure of giving the Standard to all companies outside BBLF willing to commit to its principles.