The history of the Global Ethic Institute began long before its official founding in 2012. Its roots go back to what was initially formulated as the “Global Ethic Project” in book form and later institutionalized through the Global Ethic Foundation. These early developments are closely linked to the Global Ethic Foundation and continue to form the intellectual foundation and starting point of our work to this day.
Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, invites Hans Küng to Davos, where he delivers a lecture titled “Why Do We Need Global Ethical Standards to Survive?”
In his speech, Küng outlines his “Global Ethos” argument for the first time to a broader audience, including the business community.
Aware of the momentous global challenges of our time, the Tübingen theologian raises the question of humanity’s survival in his 1990 book “Project World Ethos”: How can we survive peacefully in the 21st century, given our diverse historical experiences, beliefs, and values? He answered the question himself with a call to develop a planetary consciousness, to reflect on shared values, and to harness the potential of cooperation, rather than lose human civilization in a clash of cultures.
The Global Ethic Foundation is established in Tübingen to permanently institutionalize the concept of the Global Ethic. The initiator and founder is the entrepreneur Karl Konrad von der Groeben.
On October 23, 1995, at the founding ceremony held as part of a formal event at the University of Tübingen, Küng declares: “The Global Ethic is anything but a beautiful, idealistic dream. It is a grand vision, but one that we need if the world order of nations, cultures, and religions is to have an ethical foundation.”
At the invitation of former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Hans Küng is participating in an expert group of the InterAction Council that is drafting a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities to complement the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document was subsequently submitted to the United Nations and recommended for adoption.
In collaboration with Hans Küng and the business ethicists Josef Wieland and Klaus Leisinger, the “Manifesto Global Economic Ethic” is drafted and presented to the UN Global Compact in 2009.
The Manifesto brings the idea of a global ethic into the world of business and financial markets. A year later, Hans Küng publishes the book “Ethical Business: Why Economics Needs Morality.”
The Global Ethic Institute has been inaugurated in April 2012—one year after its founding in 2011—by the Global Ethic Foundation in collaboration with the University of Tübingen and the Karl Schlecht Foundation. This is made possible in particular through the initiative and the generous, long-term support of the founder, Karl Schlecht.
The purpose of the Institute is to conduct basic research and teaching to provide a scientific foundation for the idea of a global ethic in society and the global economy, with the aim of promoting dialogue.
Prof. Dr. Claus Dierksmeier becomes the first director of the Global Ethic Institute. The focus of his work lies on the development of an ethics of globalization and its economic and political applications; as a theoretical and secular continuation of the Global Ethic project, he proposes his theory of “qualitative freedom”—a concept of freedom oriented toward mutual cooperation, the creation of life opportunities, and the assumption of responsibility.
Dierksmeier has succeeded in establishing the Global Ethic Institute as a fixture in dialogue with the business community, as well as within the research landscape and at the University of Tübingen.
Theologian and entrepreneur Prof. Dr. Dr. Ulrich Hemel is taking over the position; not only does he share with his predecessor, Prof. Dr. Claus Dierksmeier, membership in the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, but they also agree on their academic focus: social and economic sciences, theology, and philosophy. As editor of the anthology “Global Ethic for the 21st Century,” Hemel laid the foundation in October 2019 for a comprehensive learning program on global and personal responsibility, which reflects Global Ethic approaches in business, peace and conflict research, communication and education sciences, and even issues of digitalization and sustainable development. He established the Global Ethic Ambassador Program and is committed—including on the international stage—to raising the institute’s profile as a bridge-builder between business and academia.
Professor Dr. Nils Goldschmidt is the new director of the Global Ethic Institute, succeeding Professor Dr. Dr. Ulrich Hemel
Goldschmidt is a Catholic theologian and economist. In his inaugural lecture in October 2025, titled “Compromises: Why the Truth Will Not Save Us,” he addressed the central importance of the ability to compromise for a democratic, just, and sustainable society. In his courses, he provides, among other things, an insight into the history of economic thought.
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