Corporate scandals rarely begin with a single bad decision or a few “bad apples”. More often, they emerge gradually: when toxic leadership, destructive incentives, ambiguous rules, manipulative language and a culture of silence make ethical behaviour more difficult — and ethical blindness possible.
In this webinar, Guido Palazzo, Professor of Business Ethics at HEC Lausanne and co-author of The Dark Pattern: The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals, will explore the recurring organisational dynamics behind major corporate failures. Drawing on his research and experience working with organisations, he will examine how well-intentioned people can become disconnected from the moral consequences of their decisions — and what leaders and boards can do to recognise the warning signs before they escalate.
The second part of the conversation will look forward: how can organisations move from dark patterns to more constructive, resilient and life-serving ways of operating?
Sara Gnoni, Founder and CEO of The Positive Project, will share practical pathways to build what we might call bright patterns: governance, incentives, decision-making processes and organisational cultures designed to support integrity, accountability and positive contribution.
The session will explore:
How corporate cultures can normalise small ethical compromises — and how to interrupt this slippery slope.
The role of boards, leaders and incentives in preventing ethical blindness.
How the B Corp framework can help organisations embed stakeholder accountability and measure their impact.
How Nature Governance and Nature on Board can bring the interests of nature and future generations into strategy and governance.
How organisations can move beyond harm reduction towards becoming a force for human and non-human wellbeing.
This is not a webinar about achieving perfection. It is an invitation to recognise the systems we create — and to redesign them so that organisations become more morally resilient, more robust and more accountable to life.
Join us for an honest and practical conversation about corporate ethics, systemic change and the conditions needed to build a just and inspiring society — for all living beings and those yet to come.