On November 17, Columbia Business School awarded the 2004 Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics to Lord John Browne of Madingley, group chief executive of BP p.l.c. An excerpt of his acceptance speech follows.What does the word ethics mean for a large global company?The starting point must be the basics. Companies must obey the law in every jurisdiction in which we operate. We must tell the truth, even when the facts are uncomfortable. We have to deliver on the promises we make — to our customers, our staff and our shareholders. And we must never try to succeed by paying bribes or facilitation payments because that introduces a corrosive dishonesty in the whole pattern of relationships on which good business is built.Some people believe that business is intrinsically unethical. That is simply wrong. The overwhelming majority of businesses do tell the truth and obey the law. My personal experience is that while some individuals inevitably make mistakes, business life as a whole is composed of honourable people doing their best.The basics are crucial, but ethics is surely about rather more than that. Fundamentally, for individuals and for organisations, ethics are about purpose. I believe the purpose of business gives it a distinct, unique and indispensable role in society.I think there are four specific elements to that role.The first is the creation of wealth. We take our shareholders’ money, put it to work applying skills and technology, and create additional wealth for them. Most of the investors in any large publicly quoted company are individuals and families saving for their retirement. They depend on the investments they make with us, and that is a considerable responsibility. As a company we create wealth not just for our shareholders but for society as a whole. The multiplier effect of what we do is estimated to be around three or four times the initial investment. So as we invest over $6 billion this year in the United States, there is a ripple effect creating an economic impact of around $20 billion. And then, of course, we provide products and services which enable our customers to pursue their lives.The second element of the corporate role is the resolution of challenges and removal of the barriers which stand in the way of human progress. Society should be able to trust business both to tell the truth about longer-term challenges and to apply our skills and resources to meeting those challenges. The best example of that is climate change — global warming. For more than a decade now, the world’s leading scientists have been warning us about the impact of human activity on the world’s climate. Our business is at the heart of this because part of the problem is caused by the use of hydrocarbons, including oil and gas. We can’t live in denial of the evidence, or pretend that we can just stand aside as the situation gets worse. We have to acknowledge the reality of the risk and then offer solutions.We’ve gone through that process over the last decade. We’ve argued the case for precautionary action and we’ve begun to show what can be done and how the issue can be tackled. BP has been part of that, but we’re not alone and many, many other companies have been part of the process. In general, business in our sector and beyond has accepted that there is a problem and that we have a common responsibility to find solutions.Climate change is a major, global challenge. But there is no need for fatalism. Business is beginning to demonstrate that there are practical steps that collectively can limit emissions and keep global warming over the next several decades within the margin of safety. We can use energy more efficiently, improving the mileage per gallon in vehicles, for instance, or eliminating waste. We can shift the pattern of energy use, for instance substituting natural gas for coal in power generation. We can advance new technologies, such as photovoltaics. And we can develop the potential for the capture and storage of carbon, the process of sequestration.Much of the debate on climate change has been about what governments can do and the need for international agreements. Well, we do need government to set a target. But the action to achieve any target will be led by business — supporting research, applying technology and spreading knowledge internationally so that the best practice in energy use becomes the global standard. I think one of the most important roles for business is to demonstrate what is possible, and to offer society new and better choices.The next distinctive role for business is the development of people. No business is better than the people who work for it. I’ve been in business quite a long time now, but I have to confess in all that time no oil rig has ever walked into my office with a new idea. Business lives on ideas. We thrive because we take concepts and possibilities which don’t exist and turn them into reality. And that puts a premium on the quality of our human capital.The principle at the heart of this is meritocracy. We can’t thrive as a company unless we attract at least our share of the most talented people available, and unless we develop those talented people to their full potential. That means that we have to be diverse and inclusive. That corporate perspective now means that business has become a force for social mobility. Business has a special role because it can take and develop people with a range of different skills and give them the opportunity to shine, to grow and to thrive.There is one last role: how a company behaves, and how we contribute to the development of the places in which we work. We work now in 100 countries around the world, and many of our most important new developments are in countries where market economies are still emerging. Those countries are important because their resources will fuel the world for decades to come. That means that how we operate in those countries and the contribution we make to their stability and orderly development is very important.There are a number of elements that we have to get right. In part it’s about applying our standards of care — for instance on safety and environmental protection — universally. In part it’s about giving opportunity to the people who work for us. In part it’s about transparency — explaining what we are doing and encouraging the open reporting of the flows of revenue involved. It’s about capacity building — using our links and resources to ensure that education is available and that there are institutions that can build a base of skills in each local community. And it’s about exploring ways in which we can support the development of other businesses so that our activity is not the only source of jobs and wealth creation.We’re doing all those things in the different countries in which we operate. In every area we want to make a contribution to sustainable development. In the end, that is probably the only climate in which we can secure and develop our business.Those are some of the roles of an international business at the beginning of the 21st century. I believe they are all profoundly ethical. They speak to the interests of the company and its shareholders, and that is as it should be. But they also speak to a wider understanding of the role of business in society.The fundamental definition of ethics is about the conduct of the relationship of one person to another. The issue of ethics and business is about the relationship of one entity to everyone with whom we come into contact.One of the great lessons of business is that however large and successful you might think you are, your success is always conditional on the decisions of others. That is why the way companies work is so important. It is why relationships are such important concerns. And in my view, it is why the ethical beliefs on which those relationships are founded will in the end divide those businesses which are going to succeed from those which will fail.