Ethics and firms: theBusiness Ethics Summit focuses on bestpractices.

Event organized by Core at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
(ANSA) – ROME, JUN 12 – A meeting took place at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican City on Friday to reflect on how to apply ethics to business decisions when it comes to environmental, technological and social issues.
The Business Ethics Summit, the first forum of its kind in Italy, was organized by Core, an agency specialized in public and institutional relations, in collaboration with the Pontifical Lateran University, and it brought together ministers, academics and experts from every sector from all over the world. Core Board Director Cristiana Falcone explained that the aim of the summit, produced with the help of artificial intelligence, was “to share experiences of success and failure to explore the role of ethics in business.
“The summary of the discussions will become the subject of four case studies available to young people who want to undertake a managerial career,” she added.
There were four sessions on the debate agenda: Human Economy, Tech Economy, Impact Economy and Climate Economy.
Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso took part in the first session, and emphasized how ‘Made in Italy’ is “not identified as a place, but as a model of production, a sort of global brand of excellence that puts the international consumer at the centre of the Italian production system”.
Sam Altman, an American IT expert, entrepreneur and business manager and the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, spoke about the Tech Economy.
“An ethical company is also a better company,” Altman said. “We apply high standards of safety, control, transparency and honesty precisely because we consider them to be essential characteristics for the progress of humanity”.
Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi featured in the third session on the Impact Economy.
He highlighted how sport is a social immune system capable of limiting negative impacts on people, especially young ones.
“Life should be lived in a non-conflictual way,” he said. The final session addressed the issue of the Climate Economy with Lorenzo Radice, the Sustainability Manager of the Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) rail group, taking part. FS was a partner of the event.
“The FS Group is putting sustainability principles into its business model with a re-interpretation of all activities, from strategic ones to operational ones,” Radice said.
“FS has inserted into its Statute the goal of pursuing sustainable development to create value for shareholders and stakeholders. “Indeed, the company aims to become the linchpin of a new mobility ecos ystem focused on shared and collective transport, realizing transport infrastructure and services capable ofgenerating benefits for people and for territories.
“The industrial plan for the next 10 years revolves around sustainable development by addressing the climate emergency and the energy crisis.
“And the criteria of environmental and social sustainability are considered when assessing investments and measuring company performance and rewarding management”.
Salvatore Pinto, the president of Axpo Itaia – another partner – stressed how putting ESG strategies at the centre of development was “a priority for the economies of the whole world.
“As an energy operator, we are committed to taking all the roads that technology makes available for increasingly Green energy generation,” he said. “But the next new challenge will be to nurture people’s creativity and talent, flanking it with digitalization offers and looking to (ANSA).