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 www.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.
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December 16th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
RE: Pete Goughnour
I am sure that you going bankrupt is just the beginning of your “just desserts!”
If others find you trustworthy, they will probably be the crack smoker’s you seem to think are worse than yourself.
Shame on you.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
WEll,
It appears that Pete Goughnour is just getting what he himself dishes out….Oracle is unethical….
I staged his home under contract at 1977 Eddy St in Port Townsend
and he has not paid me over 450.00 he owes me….guess he figures
he is above the law…well, Mr. Gougnour, I find it quite interesting
that you are irate at Oracle and others when you should be pointing the finger at your self….When you pay the people you owe money to, the ones who trusted you to keep your end of the deal, and who helped you to sell a house you were so worried wouldn’t because there some very poor design etc. on your part..then you can start getting up in arms at others who treat YOU poorly..,.until then…shut up!
December 6th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I just read the latest Forbes magazine, Dec 8. Noticed on page 168 that Ethisphere named Oracle as one of its most ethical companies. Here’s ethical for you. After 8 years of excellent service Oracle recently and unceremoniusly laid off my wife in November. Her boss read here a canned script stating she could no longer communicate with Oracle employees or enter Oracle property. My wife was 3 months pregnant at the time and her bosses knew it. At any rate, she got 11 weeks of measly severance. We got all our medical through my wife. Oracle now says to continue COBRA coverage, we will have to pay almost $1,800 per month. We will no longer be able to make our mortgage payment and our home is now worth less than what we owe. Thank you Oracle! Oh and thank you Ethisphere for using your crap methodology to promote a ruthless company such as Oracle. Your judges must smoke crack!
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Hey,
I am doing a business project and I need to know the 5 most ethical companies and the 5 least ethical countries.
Can you please guide me?
November 17th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I have an ethics module in my OB and Leadership classes. This information will be very helpful in leading classroom discussions and giving the students concrete example of those companies that are ‘doing things right’!
Thank you for sharing!
November 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Jeremy, Sorry it is you who clearly does not understand ethics. You assume I haven’t read the selection process. I have and I think you are confusing this with what ethics is. It is just a selection process, could be based on the height of the CEO for example and still have nothing to do with ethics. The selection process itself, is flawed as it just focuses on one end of the spectrum and relies on testimony from a Company authorised representative. It only looks at the existence of processes and not whether they are used or working. Is the representative really going to admit to their Company behaving unethical?
The declaration of “Most Ethical Companies” is rather misleading as it does not focus on their practices or (non) working examples.
FYI a definition of ethics:
eth⋅ics
/ˈɛθɪks/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [eth-iks] Show IPA Pronunciation
–plural noun
1. (used with a singular or plural verb) a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
3. moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence.
4. (usually used with a singular verb) that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
To Whom It May Concern:
Please let me know how I can fax my resume?
October 31st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Joseph,
The majority of the statements (yours included) are arguing a case of personal morality….not ethics. Individuals need to read the research and methodology of ethisphere’s report. Doing this provides one with an opportunity to comprehend how ethics was defined and what criteria were used to establish a ranking system. As I said previously, (which you appear to have missed). Ethics is free from emotion. The majority of responses on this blog are full of emotion, and are being argued from a personal morality stance. Everyone is free to comment, (as protected by the 1st Amendment). However, it is personal rhetoric, a lack of understanding, and blind following that fuels ignorance. I am not claiming to be an expert, however I did READ the research and methodology and fully comprehend the definition of ethics in this study, and how it was used to rank the organizations. Morality is not ethics, and has nothing to do with how these companies were ranked. Before you respond, please READ the research and data, understand the concepts of ethics in this report, take your moral views out of a response, and put your emotions in check.
October 30th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Ethical Companies are those Companies who have a Company representative that claims they are ethical. Those with great ‘PR’ will make the list.
Posting on here or submitting your own material is not going to make a difference on who is selected.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:47 am
McDonald’s has contributed substantially to the obesity epidemic in this country. Google lets the government of China censor its search results. How do those those practices qualify as ethical?
October 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Jeremy,
Yes pointing the finger at you and yet another emotional rant of yours, just because you don’t agree with peoples’ views and the right to express them. Maybe you should put your emotion aside, take a few steps back and re-read your posts.
I think it is you that don’t understand the nature of ethics and why there is huge debate about it.
No one is forcing you to read these posts, if they are not to your taste, don’t read them.
I don’t agree with the view expressed in all posts here, but agree with the right to express them.
I stand by what I said in my previous post and don’t want this turning into a flame war. You seam rather emotional for that to likely be the case.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:03 am
Joseph—-comments made in good faith are expected to be factually based and emotion free. Pointing the finger at me for an emotional rant? Quite possible you fail to understand the concept of ethics and are like the masses incorporating personal views of morality, and personal bias.
October 28th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Irony = the below post :D
An emotional rant in itself :P tut tut
All I can say is that it shows how passionate people are about ethics and upholding ethical standards. If someone perceives strong wrong doings or are wronged themselves of course there will be strong emotion. It is to be expected. Any one working in ethics should understand that.
Everyone is entitled to their viewpoint and expressing it, whether you agree with that viewpoint or not. Some even actually present certain cases. There should not be censorship.
Would you rather we all pat ourselves on the back and congratulate each other, despite whether we are ethical or not?
There should be a place for all comments made in good faith
October 28th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I have read everyone’s responses, and find it interesting that many have used this as a rant and rave section. Not that I have calculated and exact percentage, but I would say it is safe to say 90% of these posts are “off the cuff, emoitional reactions.” Many of the responses are claiming a company is unethical because of some action an individuals does not agree with. For those individuals, I suggest taking a step back to read exactly what went into the identification of these ethical companies. Maybe if you spent more time reading, understand, and reflecting on the material you would not make such ignorant statements and assumptions. Ethics is a complicated issue, and has no place for “emotions”. For all those who wish to rant and rave….go to a yahoo blog and post your idiotic statements and leave this site for those of us who care, and wish to learn more about ethics and how we can help get our organizations on this list.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 am
Today Milliken is pushing the Floor Covering Division Live Oak plant to manufacture as much commercial and hospitality carpet yards as possible. This is understandable. Milliken as a company is struggling, like most of the US economy, and Floor Covering is being asked to carry the weight of poorer company performers (primarily airbags). There is no problem with maximizing efficiency but you would not believe what is happening now. The commercial and hospitality tile dye range operators no longer have the authority to stop their equipment if they see off-quality being made. They literally will continue to run off quality carpet with a dyeing defect (a streak where no dye is applied or a dye drip) or if there is a band or blotch (dark place) in the carpet. This off quality carpet is place in an Out of Flow Area. There a team of up-graders (primarily untrained Mexicans) use colored markers where dyeing defects are “touched up.” The BIG problem with this is the markers are not permanent on nylon. Even worse, if the defect is a dark band or blotch, chalk is rubbed over these areas to disguise the defect. Yes Chalk!! Chalk is most definitely not permanent. The whole idea is that if the defect can be hidden from the customer until it is installed and the furniture put in place the customer won’t recognize the defect is there until much later and think it is some other problem than a Milliken manufacturing defect. Ethical? All of this done to churn out volume; quality be damn. This is a very unethical practice and amazes me tht you would elect Milliken as even close to ethical. Check it out. Ask for an unanounced tour of the plant. Ask to see the Out Of Flow Area.
Using markers to touch up spots has gone on for a long time. But it was always in an emergency situation and used sparingly. You should track back to root cause and work hard to not have the problem in the first place. Not today. It has been said that this is an “industry practice.” Interesting comment as very few companies dye carpet tile today and would even have a need to “touch up” defgects. The Business Manager for Commercial Carpet US complains constantly about $1 million out of pocket per month for returns and allowances claims. You would not believe the army of people working in the Quality Assurance Department. There is an upper management belief that returns and allowances are acceptable.
Most Ethical…no way. Remotely ethical…no way.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
i am a present researcher of a very significant study and one of the topics i got in here is about the ethical work climate of a company or an organization…. just what i knew, company should be of not only good public relations and in provisions of clientele’s need but they should have ethical conditions too. in the workplace… for a more prosperous business…
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
i think the team doesn’t see Asia…because these are just trying to show that USA is No1 in the world…but it is not true…if we conduct a survey to find the worst institution in the world…USA will be in No1 and UK @ No2 etc…
October 1st, 2008 at 12:16 pm
The certifying company should consider some of the above mentioned comments as public opinion for “ethical inside” 2009.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:58 am
I find it hard to believe that EATON is considered an ethical company. I know for a fact that an employee told HR at EATON Hydraulics that a white man had called a black man who also worked there a”nappy headed ho” and they fired the person who reported the incidence yet allowed the person who made the comment to still work there. That is considered ethical in your minds ,what a joke. It makes me wonder how much EATON is paying you to be put on this list.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Found this along with the transcript on another site. Funny.
https://www.compliance-helpline.com/loginFollowup.jsp
Report Number XRX-08-09-0003
PIN M6V7
September 16th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
“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.”
This statement causes some doubt as to your methodology. Attorneys and government officials as groups have a pretty low reputations in terms of ethics. I might suggest looking at surveys that indicate which professions rank highest in ethical behavior, then form a committee from the most respected individuals in those professions.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
This is an article which displays a companies approach to becoming ethical — each company has its short comings but taking action on becoming better is something that we all are trying to accomplish. Hopefully word spreads and other companies will realize that consumers and employees won’t tolerate dishonesty and unethical practices.
http://buendia4you.blogspot.com/
September 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
McDonald’s sells literally trainloads of MSG and worse yet, aspartame (cancer causing, addictive, obesity causing, brain damaging exitotoxin), not to mention dozens of other additives they don’t reveal. Their coffee is deliberately kept at a too-hot temperature, despite thousands of hospitalizations for burns which no other commercial coffee would have caused. They train babies to eat sludge with a food base, and advertise mercilessly to children, who want the toys that come with the sludge. My youngest just threw the food away and kept the toy, before we showed him “Super-Size Me”. Now he doesn’t even ask to go there. As a former victim/customer, I think you have revealed flaws in your selection process with this pick.
Or Starbucks, which KNOWINGLY sponsors gay pride events run by convicted pedophiles, with closed off children’s areas which forbid parents from seeing what the organizers do or say to the kids in those areas. If this were, say, a veterans’ pride group, with convicted child molesters running the event, and so forth, Starbucks would be a pariah. Instead, the have “Ethics Inside”. Right.
You discredit yourselves.
db
August 26th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I had the opportunity to work for a Rio Tinto operation in Juneau, Alaksa for summer as an intern. I was more than impressed with their focus on producing a quality product in a safe and environmental method. More than this, I was impressed by the way they treated their employees and the local communities. I wish Gabriel could site his sources for the strong comments he made above towards Rio Tinto.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Would it be possible to get info on Target ethical results for 200?
Thanks an dbest regards
August 13th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Hillary…Yes Aflac agents drive to their accounts to sell policies. There was a time back in the early ’80’s that cell phone companies had sales forces that went out and did presentations to companies to show how a cell phone could help them improve their business. Now when you want a cell phone, what do you do? You drive to any mall and go to the kiosk and get one. There will come a day when a business will pick up the phone and call an Aflac office and say “I want Aflac for my employees.” That day is not here yet so until then we have to take the product to the potential customer. By the way … did you know that Aflac will now email policy documents to the insured instead of printing one out and mailing it? Yep … it’s true. Saves trees. That should make you happy.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Dear sirs,
I think you should carefully examine Xerox’s business practices before giving any classification as an ‘Ethical’ company. Yes, it all looks good on the outside they have processes and say the right things. However behind the scenes it is a different story. When it comes up against serious ethical violations it all falls apart. The HR function, Senior Management and Business Ethics & Compliance Officers including David Frishkorn himself, are to put it bluntly corrupt. They will outright lie avoid their responsibilities of ruling against each other and these functions are allowed to get away with the worst Business Ethics violations.
They are allowed to cheat their employees, customers and the environment without fear of recourse. The reason for such Business Ethic violations, money and egos. Senior managers’ egos play a heavy role in committing Business Ethics violations and allowing them to be undressed. People refuse to own up to mistakes.
Nepotism is ripe in Xerox, those that tow the Company line and don’t report or stand up to violations, instead continue the trend are promoted. The HR function in charge of employment are corrupt and rule in favour of the managers. Employment law is often ignored. People are accepted into unsuitable roles before they are advertised, that’s assuming they are advertised at all, which many aren’t. Accurate job descriptions and benchmarking are virtually non-existent, despite claims to the contrary. Unlawful changes to employee contracts are forced as the employee is threatened. An employees role is whatever the manager feels like at the time and HR will automatically take the side of the manager. A lot more is expected, then what is actually paid for. Loyal employees are leaving and being replaced by expensive inexperienced employees who fail to meet the requirements of the role and customer service level agreements suffer. This then has a negative impact on the loyal employees who remain and the cycle repeats. Xerox prefers this to staff retention through recognition and reward. Employees are giving the excuse that it is hard times, so their loyalty can not be rewarded, yet see money be wasted on inexperienced fresh employees and in other areas. There are examples of managers spending R&R budget on their own xmas party rather than recognising employees efforts. R&R was revamped and now the cost comes out of the managers P&L, so they are reluctant to recognise their employees, instead favouring their bonuses. Xerox are constantly throwing money at rebranding, their image is more important than their actual practices. This is the key word in Xerox, Image, be seen to be doing it rather than actually do it. Xerox constantly receives low scoring in employee engagement surveys and feedback. They excuse this with the outrageous claim that the low scoring is due to the employees not understanding the questions. In addition employees live in fear for their jobs. As such the employees concerns remain unaddressed.
If you have a problem it is very difficult to get it resolved as with staff losses, Xerox are loosing the knowledge and replacements do not know how, thus do not want to help you. Also people don’t like upsetting the apple cart by querying things or going out on a limb, as mistakes are highlighted more than the effort.
Xerox customers are regularly lied to or misled. They are ‘encouraged’ into buying services or equipment they do not need or worse, still not up to the job or never materialise or even used unknown to the customer, on other Xerox contracts. What Xerox sees as more prestige contracts are allowed to ’succeed’ at the expense of non prestige contracts. These non prestige contracts’ funding and resources are diverted to the more prestige contract without either customer knowing. Therefore on paper the ‘prestige’ contract which Xerox undersold in the first place, to get, looks more profitable then it is and the manager in charge can pick up their bonus. This is common practice, transferring money been contracts or ordering supplies on another contract’s account or using resources owned and paid for by another contract in order for the manager to achieve their bonus. Service Level Agreements put in place to protect customer sensitive information are not enforced or bypassed without the customer knowing. Incomplete work is hidden from the customer on site visits. Job tracking information is falsified. Headcount requirements are not met or falsely propped up by heads from other contracts. Employees’ working environment breaks basic Health and Safety in order to reduce costs. Broken down warehouses are used without heating or cooling, ceilings collapsing due to rain, on live electrical equipment, which when raised to the site manager, instead of addressing it, they just laugh it off. What happens to an employee who queries these unethical practices? They are removed from site and labelled a trouble maker. The HR function supporting the manager and thus committing unethical practices in order to do so. There is no one with the ethical standing and authority to hold them accountable. If it is a senior manager or HR committing the offence, no one is interested and the employee is constantly lied to, leaving the matter unaddressed.
A lot of resources are wasted by Xerox including power and paper. Xerox engineers recommend leaving Xerox machines on as switching them off and on produces more faults and they have to maintain a low service level. Paper is wasted by inexperienced operators who constantly require their work to be reprinted or those that just want an extra copy. Expensive coated gloss paper from a non prestige contract was used for tracking sheets of a prestige contract as the printer needed a service, thus unable to take the appropriate paper and the manager did not want to repair it as it affected their bonus. Stock was often ’stolen’ for various purposes from other contracts rather than buying their own and it eating into their bonus. The cost centre system is widely abused, with other managers charging to your cost centre without you knowing. P&L’s are categorised and tracking down such purchases are very difficult. Also with all the dodgy accounting practices, Xerox just don’t want you to know.
Anyone foolish enough to report the unethical practices to David Frishkorn and his team are unlawfully forced out of the company. This is the preferred action to actual addressing unethical conduct, though of course is kept quiet from the media, even as far as to threaten the employee.
This is just a small example of their unethical practices. More specific details can be given.
Yours faithfully,
Xerox Complaints
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I am an employee for Fresenius Medical Care. What a GREAT company. Since my first day here in 2002, I have been trained to comply with all regulations and to follow procedures exactly. All employees in the clinical setting strive to make life a little easier for the dialysis patients. The patients we provide services to have repeatedly thanked Fresenius Medical Care for the outstanding service they receive. I feel very priviledged to work for such a wonderful company.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Accenture is very far to be one of the “Most Ethical” companies
Examples:
1) During the IPO. The partners of that time “take the cake”. Many of them finished with more than USD 10 or 20 millions in shares and left nothing for the future generations of partners.
2)Look at the following news about a giant tax fraud commited and accepted by accenture partners in Spain
LOS INSPECTORES ACTUARON TRAS RECIBIR UNA DENUNCIA
HACIENDA OBLIGA A 100 SOCIOS DE LA CONSULTORA ACCENTURE A PAGAR 110 MILLONES DE EUROS
http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2008/0...
July 17th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Re: AFLAC
While many have different criteria for ethics, AFLAC is a fairly responsible corporate citizen.
One of the criteria you mention is “sustainable business practices that reduce resource consumption”. Due to AFLAC’s method of domestic distribution, ie. independent sales force in cars, it would be interesting to study the carbon output per policy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it would be appalling.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:45 am
ACCENTURE……one of the most “ethical” companies….you’ve got to be kidding. Management would, and has, cut people off at the knees, just to save a few bucks, especially when it comes to American jobs. They LOVE Bangalore - it’s the cheapest labor around - pound-for-pound! Additionally, upper management personnel have openly had affairs with next-door neighbors outside of the company (who knows about inside?) - this is ethical?? Finally, ACCENTURE, in it’s haste to grow and be a “top dog,” shatters dreams and ruins lives with their contracts and agreements to their vendors.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:25 am
The 3 most interesting parts of this commendable effort are:
(1) the usual mistake…Like most such efforts, your starting point and some criteria conflate true genuine ethical behavior with mere legal and regulatory compliance.
The difference is quite telling. Rules and regs stimulate brilliant plans and activities to “comply” with one hand and continue business as usual with the other. Genuine ethical behavior stimulates change where change is needed.
Absence of “bribery, discrimination, fraud…” does not indicate ethical behavior. It only reflects ways to stay out of prison.
(2) the blogged responses, and comments of interviewed ethical corporate leaders.
Many bloggers nail your mistake in equating mere compliance with truly ethical behavior.
(3) Comments of interviewed leaders. In spite of the above, some of the comments by interviewed leaders really do deal with ethical considerations. “Take care of employees and they will take care of the company.” “we believe people should be treated with respect.”
And the most valuable contribution of your effort…
Genuine ethical corporate behavior has to be stimulated from the top. Period.
Congratulations to the listed execs. Hi, Dan! By the way, is that great AFLAC duck your idea?
Finally… How about taking the comments of leaders you interviewed to heart? How about taking a big step and acknowledging and implementing the true, observable practical difference between mere compliance behavior and genuine ethical behavior?
Thanks for this opportunity to comment… at length!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I am proud to be part of an ethical oragnization. This a high performance delivered organization including the ethics which proves the best among the list.
July 6th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
i worked for Nike headquarters in beaverton, oregon. i find it strange that they could be considered for this list, since they have outsourced the manufacturing of their shoes to china. it was appalling to learn it was cheaper to manufacture there and ship here. sorry, i can’t believe a company that outsources can be considered for this listing.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Funny, that 80% of the companies are from the US.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Ha Ha Ha, my personal experience with some, they donot know abcd of ethics.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
At Symantec, my place of work often, the choices we face are difficult to make, and the decisions we make can fall into gray areas. Situations where integrity is questioned are usually emotional and personal, and remaining objective can be difficult. In addition, laws and regulations concerning ethical issues are often complex and subject to interpretation. Our Code of Conduct with respect to ethics councils us to ask ourselves the following:
• Is this legal?
• Is this ethical?
• Does it follow company policy?
• How will the decision affect others, including consumers, shareholders, suppliers, partners, competitors, the community, and other employees?
• How will the decision look in the eyes of others?
• How would you feel if the decision was made public?
• Have you fully explored the implications of this decision?
• Would additional advice be helpful?
There is an extensive list of company policies that define the laws that govern our actions and how to act within them. They both define exact action that are acceptable and those that are not, as well as help provide guidance where the area is grey.
Rarely have I witnessed an instance where unethical behavior was encouraged or a blind eye turned to it. On the rare occasion that an unethical action was suggested it was met with stern admonishment. There are many imperfect things about where I work. The encouragement and enforcement of ethical behavior has not been one of them. It makes for a company and an environment that I am proud to be a part of.
Symantec treats it’s employees and customers around the globe with a high level of ethical integrity.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Funny, Symantec listed as one. Who has been outsourcing its works staff to India and China, and letting go of it’s American work force in search of cheap labor…..
June 26th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Great to see my company “Cisco” among the winner under computer hardware category but what is criteria of this selection..??
June 26th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Accenture? Changed their name because of their dirty tactics and moved offshore to avoid paying taxes? Nike? How about child labor? Oracle?? Oracle is well known for being the most ruthless software company out there.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I have worked in healthcare for 20 years and for Fresensius Medical Care NA for the past 4 years. I can honestly say that for all the companies I have worked for I am most proud to be part of the Fresenius Team. I have seen the high level of commitment to strong ethical behavior throughout this company. It is taught to us from our first day of orientation through our entire careers. I see it in the people I work with on a daily basis and in the leaders I have come to respect. I have personally met with Motts Walstram our North American CEO and I was blown away that his conversation with me was NOT about the bottom line at all. His only question to me was ” What can I do to make things better for your patients and staff ?” and after asking the question he truly listened to the answers I had. To me, this is true ethics in action. In the SEBU we are blessed to have a RVP who also holds the highest level of ethics as his standard for daily practice. Mr. Mills has set the bar high for us to follow. Like all companies, we have a Corporate Compliance Manual, but unlike some companies, we are strictly held to the standards our company sets forth and I am honored to be part of a company that requires it’s employees to follow the examples of it’s leaders and our leaders are truly concerned about our patients. Thank you for recognizing our company.
Amy Johnson RN - Clinic Manager, Reidsville, NC
June 24th, 2008 at 1:47 am
As the many critical comments illustrate, a simple list has questionable usefulness, with some explanation. I get the idea that Nike is a great place to work at the corporate level, but aren’t they still using child labor? And maybe that’s ok for some people, but that’s my point regarding a simple list without explanation– it suggests a very simplistic sense of what “ethics” is– doing what you can legally get away with?
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 am
GO AVEDA!!! Great company to work for and buy from! Aveda’s mission and stance on using “green” ingredients, recycled packaging, and renewable energy sources for manufacturing is top in the Beauty Industry. Its great to see this little “hippie” brand get recognition for something it believes so stongly about!
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
How can a company possibly make it on this list and be on the LDI boycott list for supporting abortions? Would this not be a very big indicator of a companiy’s ethics? I know it is for me. Just wondering how this works into your ethics valuation formula.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 am
Have you considered a wiki approach? Research in this area is fluid and the nature of data currency leaves your accuracy selective at best.
I choose to shop ethically, relate ethically and work for a NFP ethical organisation. The organisations board constantly strives for improvement and higher standards with its clients and team, not only budgetary outcomes. There is always room for improvement but I too am left disappointed after seeing your list,isn’t there already enough spin out there?
If executed with 100% focus on ethical leadership why is this list inundated with multi-national corporations, isn’t the one person standing alone making a stand often more effective than the several thousand sitting down?
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 am
The Hartford has achieved “Most Ethical” 2008 list status, thus redefining the word “ethical”. Henceforth, “Most Ethical” distinction translates to “Most Likely To Turn a Blind Eye To Retirement Funds Misappropriation”.
The Hartford’s retirement funds division has chosen to take no action regarding 30 client employee complaints of misappropriation of retirement funds by my employer. The company’s 401K plan was initiated in January, 2005 and 401K payroll deductions began on 01/15/05. This employer held the deducted employee 401K monies for nine months in private company bank accounts. Upon discovering zero 401K balances and demanding that funds be deposited into employee accounts, many employees filed email and telephone reports with the Hartford (contacting those with info listed on the web site), as deposits to the accounts only trickled in a bit at a time, were in odd amounts not matching deducted monies and, to date, our accounts are missing funds. Several of us were told by The Hartford reps that there is nothing they can do.
Counsel for these employees have now involved the Attorney General’s office, and most of us are in the process of rolling our 401K monies into IRA accounts with local banks in the interim. I do not trust The Hartford to protect my money as their reps claimed to be helpless in enforcing employer retirement funds misappropriation laws. Although The Hartford did not commit the actual retirement funds misappropriation, they have broken trust by refusing to get involved in their client’s blatant breaking of the law.
By law, employer-deducted 401K retirement monies must be deposited to employee accounts by the 15th of the month following deductions. My employer has grossly disregarded and broken this law and, frankly stated, The Hartford doesn’t give a damn.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:54 am
What we need to remember when viewing these articles and reader comments is that no one person or one company is perfect. We all try our best to add value to our world around us. Some do better then others and this is what we should commend.
Many of these comments are based off of incomplete or inaccurate information. If you truly care about our world, I encourage readers to do their own research prior to making judgment. Find out the facts first, and then create your own opinion!
June 19th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I just started working with Novo Nordisk in US. I feel so re-assured by the fact the company sets high ethics standards. I have made a very good decision.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Ethisphere, Dole made it last year as well. Shouldn’t they be marked gray? I totally agree with Dole’s designation. We sign and we are periodically tested on the “Code of Ethics” and I live those ethics daily in everything we do. We want to provide healthy and nutritious food to the world!!!
June 19th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I think that the effort by Ethisphere is great and should improve ethics in the corporate world. Some of the comments are ridiculous, almost funny. For instance, someone says that 99% of the companies are from the US. I counted (perhaps I missed by 1 or 2) 29 foreign companies, which unless math has changed in the past few years, is “approximately” 29% of 100. OK, still less than you would expect, but a far cry from 1%.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
If Fresenius Medical Care was voted one of the most ethical, either someone was paid off or they never visited the western business unit. i.e. Kathy Woodruff and Bernard Borkowitz.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Allianz?
I have been informed by UNI Global Union that Allianz
disregards human rights and core labour standards in its
operations in Korea.
Allianz Korea is on strike over 147 days because of the confliction between labor and company about implementation of performance-related pay (changing of pay system) on January 2008. In this chaos, “92 branch managers were fired” and “12 contract employees were dismissed.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
As Leona HelmsleyNosbuschHaggermanLayMozilla said:
“Ethics are for little people”
June 14th, 2008 at 2:17 am
I don’t believe most of the companies are truly ethical here, from most of the comments you came to know that people have the differences on each organization, like comment of rena who gave the reasons also and asked, how can then they be ethical?
But considering the territories on they operate or at least when they awarded this for that territory they worked it out better or at least got success in showing so..it is a good practice to compare them, at least they tried to go ethical way…no matter how small that territory is on they operate.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Is it ethical for a company to charge customers for work done by its employees who themeselves are not paid for that time?
Some of these corporations are making hand-over-fist profits and paying their CEOs and the like huge sums of income produced from the backs of underpaid/unpaid employees whose paltry salaries continue to sink further each year due to inflation.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I found this out about Gap, how can they then be ethical?
From Co-op America
• Gap brand stores are so popular that a shopping center without a Gap or its subsidiaries, Banana Republic and Old Navy, is a rare sight. While the Gap has made some progress towards becoming a more sustainable company, such as promoting diversity and encouraging community involvement, the company has a long way to go before it can be considered socially responsible.
• In October 2007, Indian authorities raided factories in New Dehli that produce clothing for the Gap and found children as young as 10 working there.
• Another Indian factory that manufactures for the Gap was the site of 3 deaths in 2007 because it refused to allow employees to leave when they became seriously ill at work.
• The Gap was part of a settlement from a lawsuit brought against 22 companies for using sweatshop labor in Saipan, a US territory in the South Pacific. The Gap has also been linked to sweatshops in at least six countries.
• You don’t have to wear clothing that exploits people and the planet. Visit Go Green to find out how you can be stylish and sustainable.
– Profile Updated 06/12/2008
June 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I read this list of companies and I find it interesting. Some I agree with some I don’t. Some I know personally, some I’ve never heard of.
I read the list of responses and I find it freighting just how poor the state of education has become in the U.S.A. (and possibly other countries that maybe represented in these comments).
Ranting is a fundamental right in the U.S.A. but please educate yourselves before doing so. Do some research into these companies and determine how they actually operate, look up the definition of ethics, and learn how ethics apply to business practices before ranting about this list. This will keep you from sticking your foot in your mouth.
For Example:
Selling a product to an End User/Consumer who then decides to misuse or abuse that product is not unethical on the part of the business. It may be a bad decision and/or unethical on the part of the End User/Consumer (i.e. Drinking lots of soda and becoming fatter than a Sperm Whale) but it by no means is the businesses fault. Blaming the business who sold the product for the bad decision and/or unethical behavior of the End User/Customer is like sending the cashier of a local home improvement store to jail because she sold a hammer to someone who used it to kill their neighbor. It is just wrong.
June 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
As far as Mcdonalds goes, Yes it is true they support a great deal of charities.
But their advertising and Marketing tactics are nothing short of Brainwashing.
Nutritionwise they are the worst Company on earth besides Burger King !!!
June 12th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Hello:
Is it possible to see the list online?
I’ve searched for and cannot find a link to the complet list.
Thanks,
Buster
June 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
What a bunch of whiners. At least these companies are actually doing something positive with profits and giving back.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I have to defend starbucks because I know the company well and respect what they do.
Andreas your comment regarding starbucks is completely false. Starbucks pays well above fair trade for every ounce of coffee the purchase. Additionally, they fund schools and build hospitals for coffee farmers in 3rd world countries. They Bottle water and send all the proceeds to Africa in order to provide drinking water there. Of the companies that should be on that List, Starbucks definitely belongs.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:26 am
What are the criteria again doing harm to individual and violating human rights. If so GE and Google so deserve to be on the list but what is ethics for one person is not ethical for another and what is legal is not necessarily ethical. Is the criteria of greed a factor or is the criteria of ‘economics of enough” a factor. I take issue with having GE or Google and others on this list for the following reasoning:
When Jack Welch left GE, the size of his severance package raised eyebrows despite the value he had brought to the organization over many years of leadership. Soon after he left GE reduced health benefits for many of the hourly employees putting people in harms way and causing financial difficult for some and disaster for others. Is there a link, perhaps. When Dick Cheney left Halliburton to become Vice President he received a severance package that was much larger than he was entitled to based on performance clauses. Halliburton did well with contracts doled out by the subsequent Bush Administration. Viewed as an investment in the future profitability of the company, Cheney’s compensation seems shrewd, but was it ethical?
I think the criteria of the list is cultural and legal influenced to define what is ‘ethical’ behavior and these lists like employer of choice are misleading to the general reader.
June 12th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Allianz?
A company that has been featured on Dateline, aggressively pursued by several state attorney generals & currently involved in several class actions due to their deceptive sales practices with seniors with Indexed Annuities?
I personally know of dozens of seniors that have put their entire life savings in products with Allianz that they now realize will never have access to because of the horrendous surrender charges & lengths to them & their heirs. All were told they couldn’t lose money, but because of surrender charges some will never get back to what they deposited for 10 years or more and at age 85—that is more than a lifetime in many cases.
I am certain you could have discovered other insurance carriers with less aggressive & deceptive sales practices.
Just type “Allianz lawsuits” into Google & you’ll receive a mere 64,000 hits.
Nice choice
June 12th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Wow..this is List fo 2008 World’s most Ethical companies.. and 99% of the compnies listed is based on USA..does it mean Ethics does not exsist anywhere else in the world???
June 12th, 2008 at 7:18 am
When one needs to bash a website dedicated to the recognition of excellant CORPORATE ethical standards, one should at least understand that ethics is NOT just about the end product, but about how a company conducts itself in the treating of it’s employees and it’s financial transparency. I work for one of the companies in this list and I can see why. We provide a beneficial service, to an under serviced section of American business. We provide a much needed service to a market that really does NEED us. Our end product is one of the most proficient and exemplary in our field, and our customer’s business grows because they are releived of concern due to the services we provide. This opinion is also based not from a “corporate opinion” I wasn’t asked to write this, and I won’t see compensation for these words. I’m at one of the lowest levels in my business model, but I take comfort from the knowledge that I won’t wake up one day to an Enron like end to my career.
I think sifting through the mass media outlets in an attempt to tarnish one’s ranking in this system is unethical. I also feel that if you truly can prove that one of the businesses here don’t belong, you shoulld attempt to have it rectified. But of all posts I saw one worthy of that mentality, and even that one has been modded down.
To bash a company for providing goods to consumers who seek it is to bash Free Market and Capitalism all in one. And while you may staunchly say “That’s right!”, without these concepts you wouldn’t have the computer you’re typing on, nor the light at your desk/table/STARBUCKS counter, nor the knowledge that a site like this exists, because frankly none of it would. So bash McDonald’s for producing non-nutritious food all you want, but they don’t force anyone to eat it.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
ECOLAB CEO makes $8.9 million dollars and I can’t get the back comissions owed me due to a clerical mistake?
How is that “ethical”?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Johnson Controls…an ethical company? HA!
June 10th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I find most of these responses laughable and feel that most of them are made by the same people who would have us living in tepees and worshiping the “ground god”. I work for one of the companies listed above every year I do four fundraisers that they actually give me time off and money to organize. I work my tail off, and am compensated well, maybe some of the commenter’s below should try it rather then spend most of their time looking for the evil thing that may, or may not have happened. I am not saying there isn’t a place for people who keep an on corporations doings. I say yes keep them honest, but you’ll find if you work with them, not against and you’ll get further.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:09 am
This is a really sick list.
Take McDonalds as an example. Livestock is the perfect way of being unethical. Not only does livestock eat 5-8 times more food than we get when we eat them, food that could have gone to those who are in need of it, but the craving for fodder for livestock is one of the greatest causes of deforestation in South-America. Yeah, beef is actually killing the rainforest. And this food isn’t good for us either, the number of obese people are just going up, and is causing a greater and greater problem all over the world. Thank you McDonalds.
Let’s not forget one of McDonald’s main partner, Coca-Cola Company. The people who are decontaminating ground water around their factories in poor countries, and denying their workers the right for labour unions. And by the way, PepsiCo is no better, and they’re also on this list.
How nice to read about Starbucks, to see that they are so kind to their workers, IN THE US! Accidentally they didn’t mention how the coffee farmers don’t make enough money to make ends meet, how they can’t educate their children because the children have to help with farming. They didn’t mention wastelands that once were nutritious farmlands, now desolate because of over-production of coffee.
Oh, and Google. Thank you for helping China with censoring the internet. It’s probably good for the Chinese to get a feeling that the west is supportive of their government, ant that since the western sites says exactly the same as the Chinese sites, it is undoubtedly true.
Caterpillar sells their machines to Israel, fully aware that the only purpose is to ruin the homes of civilian Palestinians. But of course, this is from the US, and one can’t consider Palestinians as human beings, i forgot that. Stupid me.
And of course, clothing retailers. So maybe Gap is getting a cleaner chain of production, good for all, but the whole concept of these clothing retailers can actually be considered unethical. Their whole goal is to sell more and more clothes, trying to break sales records over and over. Well, this costs the earth. Take a look at the Aral Sea. It’s shrunk down to almost nothing now, because of irrigation for cotton farmers, because cotton takes a lot of water. And the water that’s left is polluted by pesticides from the same cotton farmers. There aren’t actually enough resources to keep this up, with out laying the whole world barren. But who can blame the companies, as it’s the consumer who’s always craving more?
This list is a disgrace.
June 9th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Who is behind this website? Your rank has not little credibility. How can McDonalds be one of the most ethical companies? Those companies should realize that to really gain consumers’ trust they should be transparent with them. Being ethical means being honest first of all. This website is just another lie.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Ethisphere - please see Mike H’s response below. There is a reason I abbreviated his last name…say his first and last name together and you’ll probably want to remove his posts. They weren’t throughtful anyway.
June 8th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I am pleased that Rio Tinto made the list. They are currently being sued in US District Court over human rights violations at their West Papua Grasberg Mine. A couple years ago, Rio gave the Indonesia military a couple million more to suppress the independence movement in West Papua. That mine was shut down by locals over a decade ago after company security and Indo. military tortured civilians. The company ruined the local river system, a mainstay of the local economy. This is still ongoing.
The UN once accused workers at Rio’s Namibia uranium operation as operating under “slave-like conditions.”
Rio covered-up for 20 years the potential for a deadly tailings disaster at its copper operation, in Utah, US. The company conducted a risk assessment to tally “approximate number of people involved…approximate spread of the population age (normal, young, aged) [sic]…approximate number of children and adults present at each school…approximate value placed on loss of life by Utah courts, with variation by age.”
Rio Tinto, when it was a joint venture partner in Nevada’s Cortez project, worked with the US government to force the Western Shoshone’s horses off grangeland. The horses were penned in areas without adequate forage and many starved and rotted. A few months after taking the land, the company announced that it had “discovered” a new mineral deposit on the property. It’s not the first time the company has stolen native land.
But, says a lot about the list that Rio Tinto is on it. Great company, from Marius Kloppers view, I suppose.
June 7th, 2008 at 8:43 pm