Business Ethics in Schools – beneVolens Foundation

The beneVolens Foundation supports a school-based educational program in North Rhine-Westphalia that links economic fundamentals with ethical judgment formation, thereby preparing participants for the complex challenges of business ethics. In interactive project days, practice-oriented block modules, and professionally supervised excursions, central dilemmas such as high profits versus fair wages or low costs versus adequate working conditions are addressed. This fosters a lively engagement with topics from education for sustainable development, counseling, and vocational as well as further training. The concept is equally aimed at teachers and students of secondary schools who wish to develop new perspectives on economic action and social responsibility together with experienced experts.

As a 100% fundable grant offer, public institutions and non-profit educational providers can submit applications on an ongoing basis. A prerequisite is affiliation with a school in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as a cooperation agreement with the beneVolens Foundation. The objective is the sustainable sensitization to ethical issues in everyday economic life and the strengthening of competencies to actively shape a responsible economy. Through full funding, participation is flexibly plannable and possible without own financial contribution. The program thus makes an important contribution to value education and promotes young people’s ability to reflect on economic actions in terms of the common good and to actively help shape them.