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The Business Ethics Leadership Alliance Welcomes 16 New Members to Its Growing Ranks of Companies Focusing on Corporate Integrity

These new additions bring the total number of current BELA member companies to over 180

Catharine Ellingsen, EVP, CLO & Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Catharine Ellingsen, Republic Services

Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing standards of ethical business practices, announced today that 16 more companies, including AIG, Samsung and Guardian Life, have recently joined the Institute’s Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) — a global community of companies who recognize the inherent value of ethical leadership and who are working together to move business forward with ethics and integrity.  

“Republic recognizes that our ongoing benchmarking and active involvement with other organizations and coalitions ensures best-in-class performance. Our membership in BELA provides us the opportunity to collaborate with our peers who share our commitment to conduct business with the highest levels of ethics and compliance,” said Catharine Ellingsen, Republic Services’ Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

“We joined BELA to share and get inspiration from companies outside of the life sciences industry,” said Jill Fallows Macaluso, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President for Novo Nordisk Inc. “The role of Compliance in the organization has expanded to include ethics, and we want to continue to raise awareness around the business value of ethics and integrity versus compliance with laws and regulations.”

Our membership in BELA provides us the opportunity to collaborate with our peers who share our commitment to conduct business with the highest levels of ethics and compliance.

 CATHARINE ELLINGSEN, REPUBLIC SERVICES’ EVP, CLO & CHIEF ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Lucy Fato, AIG

“There is no substitute for peer interaction when it comes to learning, sharing and executing best practices in corporate ethics,” said Lucy Fato, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, American International Group (AIG). “BELA membership gives us the ability to network with professionals who face the same industry-wide challenges that we do. So whether it involves compliance, governance or general ethics issues, we know that the public increasingly views ethics as a differentiator in the marketplace, so we are pleased to be a part of the BELA networking community.”

The 16 new member companies include:

  • Novo Nordisk Inc.
  • Aaron’s Inc.
  • The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
  • Samsung Electronics America Inc.
  • American International Group Inc. (AIG)
  • Workday Inc.
  • Republic Services Inc.
  • Husqvarna AB
  • Millicom
  • NFP Corp.
  • Unilever
  • The Chubb Corporation
  • MetLife Inc.
  • Allstate Insurance Company
  • Lockheed Martin Corporation
  • Univision

These new additions bring the total number of current BELA member companies to over 180. The companies are working together to collectively raise the standards, expectations and practices of ethical and compliant behavior in their respective companies, industries and markets.

Member benefits

BELA members receive enterprise-wide access to a special member resource center, which features company-contributed expertise from leading multinationals such as MicrosoftNokiaEli LillyWalmartBoeingDellWyndham Worldwide and much more. Other benefits include a downloadable monthly podcast series, “Integrity Matters” hosted by Al Rosa, Chief Compliance Director, General Electric, designed to connect experts and expertise around the globe. BELA members can also benchmark their ethics and compliance programs and practices against those of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. Another added benefit of this membership is the year-round access to networking and sharing best practices at both in-person and virtual events around the globe.

We are proud to partner with our members to develop new platforms that will help raise the ethical standards at companies around the world,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Executive Vice President and Executive Director, BELA. “Research — including Ethisphere’s — shows how organizations with a strong ethical culture regularly outperform their peers. We refer to this as an ethics premium. This underscores the value of prioritizing a strong, innovative ethics program in an ever-changing business ecosystem.”

The Business Ethics Leadership Alliance was founded by Ethisphere after the financial crisis of 2008. Founding members include General Electric, PepsiCo., Walmart, Jones Lang LaSalle and many other multinational organizations who came together to collaborate and share best practices. BELA’s membership has grown to a large community of companies who recognize the inherent value of promoting ethical leadership and world-class compliance culture. Learn more about BELA by visiting http://bela.ethisphere.com. To nominate a company to join BELA, contact Director of Member Engagement Sarah Neumann at [email protected]

About Ethisphere 

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs, including Ethics Inside® Certification and Compliance Leader Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.

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