2021 IFBEC Highlights
For over ten years the International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct (IFBEC) has provided an
opportunity for companies within the aerospace and defense (A&D) industries to exchange
information on best practices in the area of ethical business practices and global trends. IFBEC has
strengthened commitments to ethical conduct within A&D throughout the globe through public events
discussing best practices, industry wide initiatives, and providing a forum to communicate efforts
made within the sector. Our 2021 IFBEC efforts include:
• Western Hemisphere Initiative: In cooperation with the Brazilian Association of Defense and Security
Materials Industries, IFBEC has launched an initiative to establish ethical guidelines for the Western
Hemisphere. Both the Brazilian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce have
engaged with IFBEC on this initiative. The initiative has developed consensus based on best practices
regarding anti-corruption, a supplier code of conduct, and business courtesies and hospitalities. While
the process for government engagement ongoing, we will examine opportunities with the upcoming
Summit of the Americas and the “year of action” following the Summit for Democracy hosted by the
U.S. government.
• Industry Benchmarking: IFBEC members conducted a benchmarking exercise regarding internal
investigations and incident/helpline reporting. After collection and analysis, IFBEC presented the results
of each survey via webinar to all IFBEC members, providing a unique insight into current international
standards for our industry.
• NATO Building Integrity: IFBEC members continued to work with NATO on its Building Integrity
programme, giving NATO access to both IFBEC and member company best practice materials and
providing speakers to NATO training events and other forums.
• Annual Conference: Despite the ongoing pandemic, IFBEC convened the 2021 Annual Conference
virtually this October with over 100 participants. This year’s two-day conference provided a forum for
industry experts to discuss key topics in ethics and network with their industry peers. Along with topical
issues related to ethics in a time of crisis and updates on compliance and legislation, IFBEC’s
conference also discussed trending issues such as root cause analysis and predictive ethics and
sustainability.
In addition to efforts discussed above, IFBEC continually provides speaking engagement opportunities to our
member companies with government and external stakeholders. This raises the ethical profile of individual
member companies and positively impacts the entire industry. These engagements and our ongoing projects
are how IFBEC will continue to deliver on our mission to strengthen the practice of business ethics for the
aerospace and defense sector.
We look forward to what’s to come in 2022! For information on IFBEC, please contact Kelvin Stroud and Bry Spinella.
Kelvin Stroud | Executive Director, IFBEC | Kelvin.Stroud@aia-aerospace.org
Bry Spinella | Executive Secretariat and Director of Membership, IFBEC | Bry.Spinella@aia-aerospace.org