THE biggest ethical issue facing Hong Kong business is its behaviour abroad, says Sally Stewart, University of Hong Kong head of management studies. She said double standards on worker safety were a problem for Hong Kong businesses setting up operations in less developed countries. Referring to the two separate factory fires in Shenzhen last year, which killed scores of people, she said: ''They [businesses] wouldn't dream of having conditions like that in Hong Kong . . . it shouldn't be acceptable elsewhere.'' Sealed windows and other safety violations by the Hong Kong owners of the factories caused more than 80 deaths in each incident. Neil Herndon, department of business and management lecturer at City Polytechnic, said codes of conduct were getting a lot of lip service from companies in the territory. ''Death by study and death by committee are ways to do nothing,'' he said, describing the easy option of establishing a committee as a way of giving the impression a situation is being dealt with when, in reality, it is not. However, a month after the ICAC conference on business ethics, the topic is getting academic input. The University of Hong Kong will soon open its business values study centre under the department of management studies. A member of the founding committee said the resource centre would act as a discreet source of information and counselling for companies unsure about ethical decision-making. The centre's three-day inaugural conference opened yesterday.