Ethisphere Announces the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies

Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, today announced the 135 honorees representing 22 countries and 47 industries that have earned the coveted designation of World’s Most Ethical Companies® in 2021. This is the 15^th annual recognition of companies that have demonstrated a commitment to ethical business practices through programs that positively impact employees, communities, and broader stakeholders, and contribute to sustainable and profitable long-term business performance.

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In 2021, nine companies are first-time honorees, while six have been recognized 15 times, every year since the awards inception in 2007.

“We continue to be inspired by the actions and initiatives of the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees. Leadership by this group of companies is a reason that business – above all other institutions – was most trusted during the challenging times of 2020,” stated Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. “Honorees integrate ethics and values with corporate strategy. They speak up, are transparent, take action, and look for innovative ways to make a difference. We congratulate their efforts.”

“Integrity has been embedded into our DNA and is the foundation for our ethics since we were founded 100 years ago,” said Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO of Charoen Pokphand Group. “Being recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies is a true honour. We’re still on a journey and I am greatly appreciative of the collective efforts of all our employees.”

“It’s a privilege to have once again been named one of the world’s most ethical companies,” expressed Craig Arnold, Chairman and CEO of Eaton. “This recognition reflects the commitment of our 92,000 employees who serve all our stakeholders with uncompromising integrity and dedication to our mission to improve the quality of life and the environment.”

“It’s an honor to be named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 15^th consecutive year, a recognition that reflects Ecolab’s values to act with integrity no matter the circumstances,” said Christophe Beck, President and CEO of Ecolab. “I’m proud to lead a company where associates are committed to doing what’s right, every single day, and know that ethical operations are foundational to our long-term success.”

Ethisphere’s 2021 Ethics Index, the collection of publicly-traded companies recognized as recipients of this year’s World’s Most Ethical Companies designation, outperformed a comparable index of large cap companies by 7.1 percentage points over the past five calendar years.

The outperformance, which we refer to as the “ Ethics Premium ,” has remained consistent since we began tracking the equity performance of honoree companies. We believe this outperformance is the result of the kinds of practices that lead a company to be on our list – practices that demonstrate investment in their people, in their culture, and in their communities. We see in this data that those practices, over time, lead to stronger financial performance.

“As evidenced by this continued outperformance, ethics is good for business,” Erblich added.

Ethisphere will host a Virtual Honoree Gala on March 30, 2021 where Make-A-Wish CEO, Richard K. Davis, will deliver the keynote address. This will be the 15^th year we celebrate the standard bearers of integrity at this Gala.

Methodology & Outcomes

Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 data points on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.

This year, the process was streamlined and the question set expanded to gauge how applicants are adapting and responding to the global health pandemic, environmental, social, and governance factors, safety, equity, and inclusion and social justice.

All companies that participate in the assessment process receive an Analytical Scorecard providing them insights into where their programs stand against the demanding standards of leading companies.

Honorees

The full list of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees/

Follow the conversation on Twitter: 2021 #WorldsMostEthicalCompanies.

About the Ethisphere Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.

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Contact information

Clea Nabozny
clea.nabozny@ethisphere.com
+1 (480) 397-2658