Business ethics is the application of ethical values to business behaviour

Ethics goes beyond the legal requirements for a company and is, therefore, about discretionary decisions and behaviour guided by values.

The IBE aims to demystify the topic of business ethics and to make it practical and tangible. The IBE focuses on how ethical values and standards apply to the world of business. It takes a practical rather than an academic or philosophical approach to helping organisations and their employees with ethical dilemmas so that they are able to 'do the right thing'.

The field of 'Professional ethics' is similar but instead focuses on the expected behaviours of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers, who are required to follow specific principles or codes or of conduct, usually as members of a professional body or holders of a professional qualification.