WME Honorees
2011 World's Most Ethical Companies
The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business “ethically” and translate those words into action. WME honorees demonstrate real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institute’s credo of “Good. Smart. Business. Profit.”
There is no set number of companies that make the list each year. Rather, the World’s Most Ethical Company designation is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers. This year, there are 110 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Of these companies, 36 are new to the list in 2011 and 26 companies dropped off from the 2010 list. These “drop offs” generally occurred because of litigation and ethics violations, as well as increased competition from within their industry.
IT CAN PAY TO BE ETHICAL
Investing in ethics is beneficial for any company, even in a recession. The below graph compares the “WME Index,” or all publicly traded 2011 World’s Most Ethical Company honorees, against the S&P 500 since the initial World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition from 2007.
You can find more in-depth information on the methodology for 2011’s World’s Most Ethical Companies here.
2011 WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES:
Aerospace Indra Sistemas
|
Apparel Adidas
|
Auctions eBay |
AutomotiveCummins
|
Banking Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
|
Business Services Accenture
|
| ChemicalsEcolab
|
Computer HardwareHitachi Data Systems |
| Computer SoftwareAdobe Systems
|
Construction and Engineering CRH
|
Consumer Electronics Electrolux
|
Consumer ProductsColgate-Palmolive Company
|
| Diversified IndustriesGeneral Electric Co. |
Electronics and SemiconductorsFreescale Semiconductor
|
Energy and Utilities Encana
|
Engineering and DesignAECOM Technology Corporation
|
| Environmental ServicesWaste Management |
Financial ServicesAmerican Express
|
| Food and BeverageGeneral Mills
|
Food Stores Kesko
|
| Forestry, Paper and PackagingInternational Paper
|
Health and Beauty Natura Cosmeticos |
| Healthcare ServicesBaptist Health South Florida
|
Hotels, Travel and HospitalityKimpton Hotels
|
| Industrial ManufacturingCaterpillar
|
InsuranceAflac Incorporated
|
| InternetZappos |
Media, Publishing and EntertainmentThomson Reuters |
| Medical DevicesBecton Dickinson
|
Metals Umicore |
Real Estate British Land plc
|
Restaurants and CafesStarbucks Coffee Company |
| Specialty PharmaMedicis |
Specialty RetailBest Buy Co.
|
| StaffingManpower |
Telecom HardwareAvaya Inc.
|
Telecom Services Singapore Telecom
|
Transportation and Logistics Autoridad del Canal de Panama
|
Comme Il Faut
Housing Development Finance Corp
Sonae2010 World's Most Ethical Companies
The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business “ethically” and translate those words into action. WME honorees demonstrate real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institute’s credo of “Good. Smart. Business. Profit.”
There is no set number of companies that make the list each year. Rather, the World’s Most Ethical Company designation is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers. This year, there are 100 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Of these companies, 26 are new to the list in 2010 and 24 companies dropped off from the 2009 list. These “drop offs” generally occurred because of litigation and ethics violations, as well as increased competition from within their industry.
IT CAN PAY TO BE ETHICAL
Investing in ethics is beneficial for any company, even in a recession. The below graph compares the “WME Index,” or all publicly traded 2010 World’s Most Ethical Company honorees, against the S&P 500 and FTSE since 2005.
MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
For the first time, in concert with the announcement of the 2010 World’s Most Ethical Companies, Ethisphere has published its first annual Media Responsibility Report. This report discloses the methodologies, editorial approach and financial relationships behind the generation of the annual World’s Most Ethical Companies list.
The 2010 Ethisphere Media Responsibility Report can be found here.
2010 WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANY SELECTION PROCESS:
1. The Methodology
A methodology committee of leading attorneys, professors, government officials and organization leaders, assisted Ethisphere in creating the scoring methodology for the World’s Most Ethical Companies awards.
2. Candidate Selection
Over the course of the year, companies across the world submitted their applications to become 2010 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Based on these applications, as well as information Ethisphere gathered throughout the year, a list of semi-finalists was created.
3. In-Depth Analysis
At this stage, semi-finalist companies were notified and given an in-depth survey questionnaire to fill out regarding their ethics and compliance program, governance and corporate responsibility.
4. Further Refinement
Ethisphere then conducted data analysis on hundreds of companies based on their responses to the survey, as well as documents and information researched and requested by Ethisphere to confirm survey responses. Every company was then given an EQ score based on the results of the survey and measured against seven distinct categories. These categories were Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Innovation that Contributes to the Public Well Being; Industry leadership; Executive Leadership and Tone from the Top; Legal, Regulatory and Reputation Track Record; and Internal Systems and Ethics/Compliance Program.
5. The Winners…
The highest EQ scores for each industry became this year’s 2010 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
You can find more in-depth information on the methodology for 2010’s World’s Most Ethical Companies here.
2010 WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES:
| Aerospace
|
Apparel
|
| Auctions
|
Automotive
|
| Banking
|
Business Services
|
| Chemicals
|
Computer Hardware
|
| Computer Software
|
Construction and Engineering
|
| Consumer Electronics
|
Consumer Products
|
| Diversified Industries
|
Electronics and Semiconductors
|
| Energy and Utilities
|
Environmental Services
|
| Financial Services
|
Food and Beverage
|
| Food Service
|
Food Stores
|
| Forestry, Paper and Packaging
|
Healthcare
|
| Hotels, Travel & Hospitality
|
Industrial Manufacturing
|
| Insurance
|
Internet
|
| Media, Publishing and Entertainment
|
Medical Devices
|
| Pharmaceuticals
|
Real Estate
|
| Restaurants and Cafes
|
Specialty Retail
|
| Telecom Hardware
|
Telecom Services
|
| Transportation and Logistics
|
Rezidor Hotel Group2009 World's Most Ethical Companies
Making it onto the World’s Most Ethical Companies list proves to be more and more difficult every year. This year Ethisphere received a record number of nominations from companies in over 100 countries and 35 industries.
This year, 99 companies made the cut. Twenty companies dropped off the list from last year, and 25 companies were newcomers. A remarkable 44 companies are “three-peats,” making the list for the past three years.
Below you’ll find the methodology used to determine winners, as well as a few callouts from companies that made the list, and how they encourage ethics throughout their company on a day-by-day basis.
2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies Selection Process:
1. The Methodology
A methodology committee of leading attorneys, professors, government officials and organization leaders, assisted Ethisphere in creating the scoring methodology for the World’s Most Ethical Companies awards.
2. Candidate Selection
Over the course of the year, companies across the world submitted their applications to become 2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Based on these applications, as well as information Ethisphere gathered throughout the year, a list of semi-finalists was created.
3. In-Depth Analysis
At this stage, semi-finalist companies were notified and given an in-depth survey questionnaire to fill out regarding their ethics and compliance program, governance and corporate responsibility.
4. Further Refinement
Ethisphere then conducted data analyses on hundreds of companies based on their responses to the survey, as well as documents and information researched and requested by Ethisphere to confirm survey responses. Every company was then given an EQ score based on the results of the survey and measured against seven distinct categories. These categories were Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Innovation that Contributes to the Public Well Being; Industry leadership; Executive Leadership and Tone from the Top; Legal, Regulatory and Reputation Track Record; and Internal Systems and Ethics/Compliance Program.
5. The Winners…
The highest EQ scores for each industry became this year’s 2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
You can find more in-depth information on the methodology for 2009’s World’s Most Ethical Companies at www.ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-methodology/.
2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies
| Honeywell InternationalUSA • Aerospace and Defense |
The Aerospace CorporationUSA • Aerospace and Defense |
| Harris CorporationUSA • Aerospace and Defense |
|
| NikeUSA • Apparel |
PatagoniaUSA • Apparel |
| BMWGermany • Automotive |
CumminsUSA • Automotive |
| Johnson ControlsUSA • Automotive |
 Toyota MotorJapan • Automotive |
| HSBCUK • Banking |
 RabobankNetherlands • Banking |
| Standard Chartered BankUK • Banking |
Westpac Banking CorporationAustralia • Banking |
 AccentureBermuda • Business Services
|
Pitney BowesUSA • Business services |
| Dun & BradstreetUSA • Business Services
|
|
| EcolabUSA • Chemicals
|
DellUSA • Computer Hardware
|
| Hewlett-PackardUSA • Computer Hardware |
Ricoh CompanyJapan • Computer Hardware |
| XeroxUSA • Computer Hardware |
Oracle CorporationUSA • Computer Software |
| salesforce.comUSA • Computer Software |
SymantecUSA • Computer Software |
| HenkelGermany • Consumer Products |
KaoJapan • Consumer Products |
| MattelUSA • Consumer Products |
SC Johnson & SonUSA • Consumer Products |
| UnileverNetherlands/UK • Consumer Products |
General ElectricUSA • Diversified Industries
|
| Freescale SemiconductorUSA • Electronics & Semiconductors |
IntelUSA • Electronics & Semiconductors |
| Texas InstrumentsUSA • Electronics & Semiconductors |
Duke EnergyUSA • Energy & Utilities |
| FPL GroupUSA • Energy & Utilities |
Sempra EnergyUSA • Energy & Utilities
|
 StatkraftNorway • Energy & Utilities |
Wisconsin EnergyUSA • Energy & Utilities |
| CRHIreland • Engineering & Construction |
FluorUSA • Engineering & Construction
|
| CH2M HillUSA • Construction and Engineering |
 HolcimSwitzerland • Engineering & Construction |
| Waste ManagementUSA • Environmental Services & Equipment |
|
| American ExpressUSA • Financial services
|
The Hartford Financial ServicesUSA • Financial services
|
| The Principal Financial GroupUSA • Financial services |
 DanoneFrance • Food & Beverage |
| General MillsUSA • Food & Beverage |
Kellogg CompanyUSA • Food & Beverage |
| PepsiCoUSA • Food & Beverage
|
Stonyfield FarmUSA • Food & Beverage |
| SodexoFrance • Food Service |
SafewayUSA • Food Stores |
| Trader Joe’sUSA • Food Stores |
International PaperUSA • Forestry, Paper & Packaging |
| Stora EnsoFinland • Forestry, Paper & Packaging |
Svenska Cellulosa(SCA)Sweden • Forestry, Paper & Packaging |
| WeyerhaeuserUSA • Forestry, Paper & Packaging |
TargetUSA • General Retail |
| Cleveland ClinicUSA • Healthcare |
Johns Hopkins HospitalUSA • Healthcare |
| PremierUSA • Healthcare |
AccorFrance • Hotels, Travel & Hospitality |
| Marriott InternationalUSA • Hotels, Travel & Hospitality |
CaterpillarUSA • Industrial Manufacturing |
| Eaton CorporationUSA • Industrial Manufacturing
|
John DeereUSA • Industrial manufacturing |
| MillikenUSA • Industrial manufacturing
|
Rockwell AutomationUSA • Industrial Manufacturing |
| AflacUSA • Insurance |
SompoJapan • Insurance |
| Swiss ReSwitzerland • Insurance |
GoogleUSA • Internet |
| Zappos.comUSA • Internet |
|
 Thomson ReutersCanada • Media, Publishing & Entertainment |
Time WarnerUSA • Media, Publishing & Entertainment |
| Baxter InternationalUSA • Medical Devices |
Becton DickinsonUSA • Medical Devices |
| Royal PhilipsNetherlands • Medical Devices |
Flint Hills ResourcesUSA • Oil & Gas |
| Petro-CanadaCanada • Oil & Gas |
AstraZenecaUK/Sweden • Pharma & Biotech |
| NovartisSwitzerland • Pharma & Biotech |
 Novo NordiskDenmark • Pharma & Biotech |
| NovozymesDenmark • Pharma & Biotech |
Jones Lang LaSalleUSA • Real estate
|
| McDonald’sUSA • Restaurants & Cafes
|
StarbucksUSA • Restaurants & Cafes |
| Best BuyUSA • Specialty Retail |
GapUSA • Specialty Retail |
| IKEASweden • Specialty Retail |
Marks & SpencerUK • Specialty Retail |
| Ten Thousand VillagesUSA • Specialty Retail |
AvayaUSA • Telecom Hardware
|
| Cisco SystemsUSA • Telecom Hardware
|
|
| T-MobileUSA • Telecom Services |
VodafoneUK • Telecom Services |
| Nippon Yusen KaishaJapan • Transportation and logistics
|
United Parcel ServiceUSA • Transportation and logistics |
Spotlight on Selected Winners
What goes on behind the scenes of a company to make it one of the World’s Most Ethical? We asked a number of individuals directly responsible for the ethical direction of their company. Following are some excerpts from their responses:
Accenture
Douglas G. Scrivner, General Counsel, Secretary & Compliance Officer
In Accenture’s ethics and compliance program, the company uses six “core values” of stewardship, best people, client value creation, one global network, respect for the individual and integrity.
Douglas Scrivner, General Counsel at Accenture, says that ethics and compliance can’t be effective if they’re only seen as “bolt-ons,” or something that is only done at the end of the day after the “regular work” is complete. “We aim to put ethics and compliance into the way our people work and lead. We seek to leverage existing processes, procedures, structures and functions to ensure the outcomes we are expecting and alignment with the goals of the organization,” says Scrivner.
To better understand how the company’s ethics and compliance program is being received by employees, Accenture uses employee surveys, risk assessments and results of corporate investigations. Scrivner notes that in a recent survey, over 90 percent of employees feel that Accenture is highly ethical and that the company’s commitment to integrity has been communicated to the whole company.
“Those are excellent scores for a company of more than 181,000 people,” Scrivner says. “We haven’t arrived at the end of our journey (and never will), but I am confident that we continue to move in the right direction and continually reinforce our commitment and our expectations in this area.”
Caterpillar
Ed Scott, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer
Ed Scott, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Caterpillar, says that the ethics at Caterpillar start at the top, beginning with CEO Jim Owens. “Our leaders work to ensure that Our Values in Action [Caterpillar’s Code of Conduct] are part of everyday life at Caterpillar,” says Scott. “They take various opportunities to incorporate Our Values in Action into their communications. In turn, Caterpillar employees are expected to know and live by Our Values in Action.”
Scott says that he is most proud of the way that the company’s ethics program reaches out to the thousands of Caterpillar employees working in around 50 countries in all regions of the globe. “Over the past few years, we’ve made significant strides in globalizing our approach,” says Scott. “One item in particular is our Annual Assessment and Questionnaire. It is offered in 14 languages and all of our employees are required to complete this. You can imagine that with so many employees, this is a major undertaking.”
Scott believes that any company’s ethics and compliance program is only as strong as the culture behind it. “You can have the best ethics and compliance program in the world, but if you don’t have an ethical culture supported by strong leadership, the program will ultimately not succeed,” Scott says. “Generations of Caterpillar people built our honorable reputation and ethical culture through their words and deeds.”
General Mills
Roderick A. Palmore, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance and Risk Management Officer
As a well established global business, General Mills knows that ethics programs must be adaptable to the different regions in which the company operates. “A strong ethics and compliance program must feel culturally relevant to employees,” says Roderick Palmore, General Counsel of General Mills. “A program that genuinely reflects the culture and values of a company helps employees understand and incorporate the messages of the program into their daily decisions. Employees experience them as part of the very fabric of the company’s culture.”
To help employees learn from prior real-world decisions—both good and bad—General Mills developed a feature on its company Intranet that uses real examples that came from the company’s Ethics Line. “We continually look for opportunities to incorporate real stories from our history to bring to life our heritage of integrity and to respond to that feeling of pride we all have in working for General Mills,” Palmore says.
Palmore says that in order to remain relevant, General Mills makes sure that its ethics and compliance program is continually evolving in a real-time way to meet the needs of a constantly changing demographic-base of employees. “We strive to be the best,” Palmore says. “That means we need to stay fresh in our thinking and be in touch with best practices.”
Philips Electronics North America
Brent Shafer, CEO
Above and beyond mere “word play” towards and ethics program, Philips links its sustainability and ethics programs with the company’s core strategy. And, even more important, Philips grades its success by measurable results. By 2012, Philips aims to generate 30 percent of total revenue off Green Products, further increase energy efficiency of the company by 25 percent and double the company’s investment in Green Innovations to €1 billion.
“Our performance in 2008 shows that we are well on track to achieve these goals with 25 percent of total sales coming from Green Products, investing 282 million euros in green innovations and reducing our carbon footprint by 5 percent,” says Brent Shafer, CEO of Philips Electronics in North America. “We communicate transparently on our sustainability performance through our annual report that is independently verified by a third party.”
Shafer notes the importance of transparency when it comes to reporting about the ethical environment of the company, especially in developing countries. “It is important for anyone with an interest in Philips to know that any corporate targets, whether it is a sales goal or growth ambition, will not happen at the expense of non-compliance with the Philips General Business Principles,” Shafer says. “This risk is heightened in emerging markets as corporate governance systems are less developed in emerging markets compared to mature markets.”
Unilever
Iskah C. Singh, Deputy Global Code & Compliance Officer, Associate General Counsel
Unilever uses a number of approaches to engage its employees in the company ethics and compliance program, according to Iskah Singh, Associate General Counsel for Unilever.
“Our employee training and education program raises awareness and reinforces the values of the Code of Business Principles,” says Singh. “Also, employees annually acknowledge understanding and compliance with our Code of Business Principles. In addition to traditional training modules, we have utilized smaller ‘Ethical Moments’ – 3 to 5 minute clips – to raise awareness and strengthen the open ethics and compliance environment.”
Singh says that a strong ethics and compliance program provides many benefits: solid leadership; encourages and facilitates open communication; clearly articulates the standards of business conduct; continually reinforces ethics awareness and actively demonstrates that the values are not just words on paper but are lived on a daily basis.
Singh notes that a key differentiator in Unilever’s ethics and compliance program is the fact that employees deep within the organization can look to their immediate supervisors as examples of ethical leadership. “It is here that an ethical culture is cultivated and the standards and values of Unilever’s Code of Business Principles is given meaning,” says Singh.
T-Mobile USA
Robert Dotson, President and CEO
Robert Dotson, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA says that the real test of a company’s ethics program is the extent to which it is “in the fabric” of all employees. He says that happens through strong tone of the top. “That emphasis also echoes through the halls of our parent company, Deutsche Telekom,” says Dotson. “However it also includes active participation and support from our employees. Our employees strive to get results the right way; they regularly raise issues or questions to management on our anonymous Integrity Line; and they take personal responsibility for how they live the values in their quarterly performance reviews. It’s a top to bottom program that is owned at all levels of the company.”
Dotson adds that T-Mobile is a fast paced company in a competitive industry, and that “brings a certain amount of pressure to develop game-changing products, outpace the competition, and drive excellent financial results.” But, he says, that shouldn’t affect how the products are developed or how the company operates. “Our employees know that getting great results is only part of the equation,” Dotson says. “We expect everyone to get the right results, the right way. ‘Performance’ and ‘values’ are like two wings of an airplane – they are both required for success, and you really would never try flying without one of them.”
Send your comments to Ethisphere editors by sending an email to letters@ethisphere.com. Your comments may be published in an upcoming issue of Ethisphere Magazine.
2008 World's Most Ethical Companies
A number of companies out there think that a good CSR program consists only of a soapbox and a bullhorn. Unfortunately for them, just being loud doesn’t equate with being ethical. Likewise, simply dropping a cool $100 million into clever marketing and public relations doesn’t make a company ethical, either.
The World’s Most Ethical Companies are the ones that go above and beyond legal minimums, bring about innovative new ideas to expand the public well being, work on reducing their carbon footprint rather than contributing to green washing and won’t be found next to the words “Billion Dollar Fine” in newspaper headlines any time in the near future. These are the companies that stand out among the competition in their industry.
So if that’s what it takes to become one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, perhaps a good question to ask is, what does it take to be eliminated from consideration for the World’s Most Ethical? The obvious answers involve bribery, discrimination, fraud or any number of other illegal activities. The conditions of supplier factories must be taken into account too, as well as the company’s stance on the environment. Product liability is a factor as well.
Of course, no business is perfect. Every large corporation gets sued or experiences a crisis. The World’s Most Ethical Companies are the businesses that respond not with a PR campaign, but with real action, such as complete transparency for the public and significant effort given to fixing the core problem.
With the help of our methodology panelists, our researchers looked at company history as far back as five years. Products that clearly don’t benefit the public’s best interest pulled down a company’s ranking. Because most large corporations take on lawsuits in five years’ time, we looked at the nature and history of each case and the nature and history of the plaintiff, as well as the effect of the issue in question. We noted if a major case was brought about by a disgruntled ex-employee or generally lacked significant merit.
At the same time, we took note of issues and lawsuits that didn’t hit the largest media outlets. And, because of those little-heard cases, a few of the 2007 winners fell off the list this year. Some fell off because newcomers stood out this year, and others dropped because they got caught up in some unpleasant business since last year’s rankings. You can read more about our methodology below to get a breakdown of how we scored each company.
All of the 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies are standouts in their industries. These companies up the ante for what it takes to be an ethical leader and force their competitors to follow suit or fall behind.
The World’s Most Ethical Companies use ethical leadership as a purposeful method to drive profits. Finally, each of these companies embodies the true spirit of Ethisphere’s credo: Good. Smart. Business. Profit. We salute them and encourage you to do so as well.
Methodology
01 The Starting Line
We began by bringing together a group of expert attorneys, professors, government officials and organization leaders concerned with ethical and honest business practices to create a methodology panel. The panel assisted us in creating the scoring methodology for the World’s Most Ethical Companies awards.
02 Candidate Selection
Over the course of the year, Ethisphere contacted thousands of companies worldwide about the awards to gather information and create a pool of candidates.
03 Making Contact
Semi-finalist companies were then notified and given an in-depth survey questionnaire to fill out regarding their ethics and compliance program, governance and corporate responsibility. To see a copy of the questionnaire, click here.
04 Crunching Numbers
Ethisphere then conducted data analysis on hundreds of companies based on their responses to the survey, as well as documents and information researched and requested by Ethisphere to confirm survey responses. Every company was then given a score based on the results of the survey and measured against seven distinct categories.
These categories are Corporate Citizenship and responsibility; Corporate governance; Innovation that Contributes to the Public Well Being; Industry leadership; Executive leadership and Tone from the Top; legal, regulatory and reputation Track record; and Internal Systems and Ethics/Compliance Program.
05 The Final Stretch
The highest EQ scores for each industry became finalists and were then notified and interviewed by Ethisphere analysts.
06 And the Winners Are…
Finally, 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies were announced on June 3rd, 2008 at the Forbes-Ethisphere Ethical Leadership Forum in New York City’s Rainbow Room.
You can find more in-depth information on the methodology for 2008’s World’s Most Ethical Companies at ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-methodology.
Ranking
Ethical leadership can and should be profitable. through recognizing companies that pursue an ethical leadership model, the Ethisphere Institute both rewards such behavior and motivates winners and other companies to strive for future recognition.
SPOTLIGHT ON SELECTED WINNERS
What goes on behind the scenes of a company to make it one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies? We spoke with a number of individuals directly responsible for the ethical direction of their company. Following are some excerpts from our conversations:
Mark Burns
Global Compliance & Ethics Coordinator
UPS
Mark Burns, the global compliance & ethics coordinator at UPS, reveals that his company uses ethics as a business strategy. “At UPS, we consider being a good corporate citizen a key ingredient that enables us to be a successful company,” Burns says. “In fact, it is part of our overall corporate strategy.”
With over 100 years of business under its belt, UPS has become the world’s largest package delivery company, operating in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Mark points out that UPS is “a global company with many different cultures. Although languages and cultures around the world may be different, we do not change our ethical standards at UPS.” To keep up with the worldwide operations, his ethics program must be ready for international demands. “Our ethics program is global in nature,” he says. “We provide ethics and code of conduct materials in 12 languages, ensuring that our employees understand and adopt ethics policies. Our culture also reinforces written policies. Managers are expected to be role models with their subordinates and their performance and career is judged accordingly.”
Andrew Hinton
Chief Compliance Officer
Google hasn’t even celebrated its 10th birthday yet, and it’s already one of the most influential companies in the technology industry. From the beginning, however, Google has been dedicated to conducting business responsibly and reducing our impact on the environment. The most prominent example is Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, which is committed to using the power of information and technology to address some of the world’s most challenging problems: Climate change, poverty, disasters and disease. As of January 2008, the organization had already committed over $75 million in investments and grants around the world.Google encourages its staff to become involved in these efforts at all levels and routinely communicates the importance of ethics and compliance to its employees. Additionally, Google is working with a group of other companies, NGOs and academics to help develop a global code of conduct for how to deal with governments that suppress free expression and privacy. As Andy Hinton, Google’s global ethics & compliance officer, puts it, “World class technology is only the tip of the iceberg at Google. Google wants to change the world for the better in very fundamental ways. That’s part of what makes us a ‘different’ kind of company.”
David Frishkorn
Director of Business Ethics & Compliance
Xerox
Speaking with David Frishkorn, Director of Business Ethics & Compliance at Xerox, reveals a unique approach that Xerox employs in their ethics program. Many companies will place a strong emphasis on tone from the top, and stop there. Frishkorn prefers a different approach. “When everyone focuses on tone from the top, you can have somebody standing there, yelling and shouting, but if they’re not respected, or if the message isn’t properly received, or if the environment is one that is contrary to what the words from the top are, it’s not going to be effective,” says Frishkorn. “The real test of the tone from the top is that it’s received well and that the employees commit to the program.” To that end, Frishkorn says that Xerox helps employees get involved in the ethics program through a basic monthly survey that asks simple questions such as, “Do you think it’s an ethical environment?”, “Do you know about the helpline?” and “Would you call the helpline?” These fundamental questions help the compliance team get an accurate reading of the corporate environment. “There is ample opportunity and space in that survey for people to write in comments, and that’s where we actually get a lot of the ‘good’ data,” Frishkorn says. “So when something monumental happens that is either good or bad from the employees’ perspective, relative to the ethics at Xerox, we can pick up on that pretty quick in the write-in comments.”
David Landau
Chief Compliance Officer
Starbucks
Starbucks isn’t just a household name when it comes to coffee, but it’s also synonymous for outstanding CSR practices. David Landau, the company’s chief compliance officer, notes that Starbucks has a long history of ethical leadership. “Starbucks was founded upon notions that all people should be treated with respect and dignity, that diversity is to be respected and embraced,” explains Landau. He notes that these principles are instilled in employees at every level, from barista to the board. “Even during times of transition, Starbucks partners are focused on doing what’s right by each other, customers, farmers, vendors and shareholders; and we are driven by our mission statement and guiding principles.”Landau points out that a successful ethics program is one that “provides key, clear policies and expectations, and is also flexible enough to move with the business. It adapts to support and promote appropriate decisions and outcomes in an ever-changing and complex business environment.”So, what part of Starbucks’ ethics program is Landau most proud of? The way that it enhances everyday life at the company. “Our program supports and promotes an amazing corporate culture,” he says. “Our business ethics and compliance program is truly global and has helped not only Starbucks partners, but business partners as well, to operationalize the company’s values and guiding principles. We’re proud that partners regularly show their trust by contacting us to share concerns or broach questions.”
Dan Amos
CEO
Aflac
Dan Amos, CEO of Aflac, joined the company in 1973, and during his tenure the company has grown into an international powerhouse in the insurance industry. Amos inherited a company that was founded on ethical principles, like many of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. “This company was founded with the premise that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of the company. This principle has proven true for more than 50 years as Aflac has grown from a small family business to a Fortune 500 company,” says Amos.One of the aspects that helps the company continue to thrive is Amos’ transparent leadership. “As a public company there is a responsibility to tell people what is happening regardless of whether the news is particularly good or bad,” Amos admits. “At Aflac, it is our custom to tell the people what we are doing and why we are doing it to limit any surprises in the future. As a publicly traded company, our actions impact the lives of shareholders and since they own our company, they have a right to know what lies ahead.” This isn’t just rhetoric—Amos can regularly be heard around the office telling employees, “Bad news does not improve with age.”Amos notes that Aflac’s ethics program isn’t just intended for upper levels of management. Rather, an ethical culture is taught from the top down. “Our ethics program is company-wide,” says Amos. “It extends from the call center worker to the IT technician to the board room. You cannot work at Aflac without having taken an online course on ethics and privacy and every employee receives constant reminders of the Aflac way of doing business, which is to treat customers, stakeholders and colleagues with respect and dignity. We are proud that our program impacts all who enter our doors and that it is embraced by our employees.”
Shunichi Nakagawa
Executive Vice President,
Legal and Compliance-Global
Global Corporate Communications
Global Information Systems
Kao
What began as a soap company in the late 19th century, Kao Corporation has since become a leading international manufacturer of cosmetics. Based in Tokyo, Japan, the company has operations in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia.Shunichi Nakagawa, the executive vice president in charge of legal and compliance for Kao, told us that the company was founded with the concept of integrity. “One of our key values written in Kao Way, ‘Integrity’ has been long shared among employees since the foundation of the company, 120 years ago,” Nakagawa told us. “We have Kao’s Business Conduct Guidelines as a code of conduct in our daily activity.” This concept is spread through all employees. “Kao Way and Kao’s Business Conduct Guidelines are introduced and communicated to the employees of the whole group. Programs for ethics and compliance trainings are conducted by various means like internal seminars, intranet, etc. to the employees,” he said.“With this corporate culture, ethics and compliance programs are thoroughly carried out to the employees and each employee fully understands the importance of ‘Integrity.’ This makes Kao stand out among its peers and it is what we are most proud of.”
Thank You
The World’s Most Ethical Companies Methodology Committee is comprised of leading attorneys and government officials, professors and organization leaders who care about ethical and honest business practices.
Ethisphere would like to thank the following individuals for their invaluable assistance in creating the methodology for 2008’s World’s Most Ethical Companies ranking.
| COMMITTEE CHAIR: ALEX BRIGHAM Executive Director The Ethisphere Institute |
DAVID LOGAN Co-founder and Executive Director The Corporate Citizenship Company |
| GEORGE W. ASH Partner Foley & Lardner, LLP |
CHRIS MACDONALD, PHD President Canadian Society for the Study of Practical Ethics |
| STEVE CHURCHWELL Partner DLA Piper US LLP |
TRACI MELVIN Deputy Director Ethics Bethesda, MD |
| CHRIS DERI Head CSR/Sustainability Practice Edelman |
BRIAN MORIARTY Associate Director for Communications Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics |
| JOHN DIENHART, PHD Director Northwest Ethics Network, Seattle University |
DR. JAMES O’TOOLE Professor Daniels College of Business, University of Denver |
| THOMAS DONALDSON Professor The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |
KAREN PAUL Professor Florida International University |
| SEAN GIlBERT Technical Director The Global Reporting Initiative |
RAMA VELAMURI Associate Professor China Europe International Business School |
| JENNY KIM Senior Associate Miller & Chevalier Chartered |
MARTIN WEINSTEIN Partner Willkie Farr & Gallagher |
| BEVERLY KRACHER Professor Creighton University |
ANDREW WEISSMANN Partner Jenner & Block LLP |
| MARC LE MENESTREl Professor of Management and Ethics UPF and INSEAD |
ALEXANDRA WRAGE President TRACE International |
Note: The methodology committee is only involved in reviewing and commenting on WME’s Methodology and is not involved in selecting companies.
2007 World's Most Ethical Companies Winners
Testimonials
Learn About WME
- WME Home
- Scoring & EQ Methodology
- Process
- Request Best Practices Whitepaper
- Ethics Communications Workshop 2012
- 2013 WME Nominations
- 2012 WME Companies
- 2012 WME Honoree Dinner
- Past WME Honorees
- Testimonials
- Advisory Panel
- Additional WME Services
- WME FAQs
"We are delighted to be named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the fifth year in a row, and humbled to be honored for practicing the values of fairness and sustainability that distinguish our company and the fair trade movement. At Ten Thousand Villages, business is driven by our mission. We succeed by acting responsibly and authentically, and by demonstrating dignity and respect for people around the world."
Craig Schloneger, CEO, Ten Thousand Villages
