The mission of Business for Peace is to support, inspire, and recognise global business leaders who are positively changing the face of business.

The vision of Business for Peace is that all business leaders have as their purpose to improve society. We therefore aim to support, inspire, and recognise global business leaders who are positively changing the face of business. We do this by awarding the Oslo Business for Peace Award, the highest recognition a Business Leader can achieve, to exceptional individuals who exemplify the concept of being businessworthy. We also hold events, lead international declarations and pledges, and support private sector investment in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Being businessworthy describes a behaviour of applying one’s business energy ethically and responsibly to create value for all stakeholders.
The foremost examples of businessworthy leaders can be found among Oslo Business for Peace Award recipients.

Business and peace are closely linked. Peace is crucial for businesses as no business can thrive in failed societies, and business can be an important contributor to creating and sustaining peace. That’s why our Founder Per Saxegaard went forward with his idea in 2007. 

We often limit our thinking about peace as the absence of violence, (often called negative peace). However, like staying healthy is not only treating and curing a disease but also avoiding being sick, peace can be thought of as creating the optimal environment for the human potential to flourish. As referred to by the Institute of Peace and Economics this represents the attitudes, structures and institutions that when strengthened, leads to more peaceful societies (often called positive peace).  Societies high in positive peace show stronger degree of resilience and are better able to adapt to external shocks, and have a stronger basis for societal advancement and growth.

Within this approach of thinking, businesses’ role as a contributor to building and sustaining peace is easier to recognise, realising that businesses’ core contribution to society is its innovative ability to create and scale solutions to human and societal problems, thereby creating value for all. Businesses will need to act ethically and responsibly as well as realize that society is the very purpose of its existence. 

The thinking and action we refer to as being businessworthy is coined to inspire such a contribution to more peaceful and prosperous societies.

The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given annually to exceptional businesspersons who, through actions and commitments, exemplify the concept of being businessworthy. Nominees must be:

1) Examples to Society and their Peers: act as examples to the general public and inspire the business community by showing how to achieve success through ethical and responsible business practices.

2) Advocates of Ethical and Responsible Business: outspoken advocates of ethical and responsible business principles, and of social responsibility in corporate governance.

3) Trusted by the Communities their Businesses Affect: have developed and cultivated successful international or national businesses in a manner that is recognised and appreciated by the communities within which their business is active, ideally by creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society.’

Recipients are selected by an independent Award Committee of Nobel Prize winners in Peace and Economics. Nobel Laureates, being the foremost representatives of the global society, select the foremost representatives of the business communities. As of today, the Award Committee consists of four members. Read more about the Award Committee here.

The nomination process is based on a local, bottom-up nomination process through the global networks of the International Chambers of Commerce, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Global Compact, and Principles for Responsible Investment. Each of these partners receives nominations from their network, then forwards their top candidates to Business for Peace for consideration.

50 Honourees in total and counting! Honourees represent a wide range of industries, including finance, aviation, and agriculture. 

Previous winners include Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, Sarah Beydoun of Sarah’s Bag, Edgar Montenegro of Corpocampo, Martin Naughton of Glen Dimplex Group, Marilyn Carlson Nelson of Carlson Companies, Paul Polman (formerly) of Unilever, Durreen Shahnaz of Impact Investment Exchange and Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani.

For a full list of names, see here.

The Foundation continues to host an annual Summit in Oslo, Norway  and give out the annual Award, but operations have grown beyond that, all toward the same mission. The Foundation launched the Businessworthy Pledge as well as the Oslo Climate Leadership Declaration in recent years. It also co-hosted the SDG Impact Nordic Springboard in 2019. 

In 2018, BfP launched a popular monthly “Future Of…” discussion series based in Oslo, in collaboration with leading Nordic startup hub MESH. 

The new Future of Business Programme marks the Foundation’s expansion into impact projects overseas, but the mission to change the face of business is the same as it was upon inception.

Whether you’re an individual or business, there are plenty of ways that we can connect!

1. Take the #businessworthy pledge! It’s the perfect way to start. 

2. Become a partner! Want to work with us to achieve our mission? Contact marius@businessforpeace.org 

3. Be a volunteer! Our annual Summit draws hundreds of business professionals to Oslo, Norway. Every year we gather a team of talented individuals who believe that we can make the Summit a truly memorable experience. 

4. Donate. Business for Peace is a not-for-profit foundation. We rely on contributions of public, private, and individual supporters to carry out our mission and keep our events free. Please consider making a donation and being part of our #businessworthy movement. In Norway, please send donations via Vipps: 589223. International supporters, please contact info@businessforpeace.org

5. All employment opportunities will be posted in our newsfeed.