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The Eight Pillars of an Ethical Culture

The Eight Pillars of an Ethical Culture

In this eBook, we focus on the foundational elements of an effective and sustainable culture, which we have consolidated into the eight pillars of an ethical culture. This framework defines the key metrics of a strong ethical culture:

  • Do your employees understand what is expected of them when it comes to ethical behavior?
  • Do they know where to go if they have questions? Are they willing to speak up?
  • Do they trust the reporting process enough to engage in it? Or do they fear retaliation or lack of an appropriate response?

Ethical culture matters – to employees, investors, and all stakeholders. Companies that have strong values-based cultures are better places to work and well-poised for long-term success. There are many benefits to fostering a culture in which employees feel supported when they speak up. Not only will you reduce people-driven risks, but your organization will also hear from a range of voices – sharing new ideas and other ways to make the company more successful.

What’s New for 2025:

The latest insights on each pillar reflecting thousands of Ethisphere analyst hours working with leading global organizations on measuring the ethical culture of their employees.

New data reflecting the views of nearly 1.3 million responses across 100 organizations.
New resources, including access to:
  • Masterclasses with guidance for evaluating and improving a culture of compliance
  • Reports, data and infographics highlighting the practices of leading organizations
  • How-to resources on topics such as storytelling, top tips for measuring culture and more
  • Members of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) also have access to: templates, toolkits, company examples and event sessions featuring senior leaders discussing topics such as ‘managers as pressure regulators’ and ‘leading with integrity.’

Why Trust Ethisphere?

Our team has helped hundreds of companies measure and improve their speak-up cultures. As we look to 2025 and beyond, we’ve refined what and how we measure: helping companies around the world adopt a more frequent cultural temperature check with pulse assessments, going deeper on the lived employee experience when reporting misconduct to get at what’s not working and what compels employees to speak up.

BELA Asks: How Do I Plan a Fraud Communications Campaign?

Ethicast

BELA Asks: How Do I Plan a Fraud Communications Campaign?

In this episode, BELA Chair Erica Salmon Byrne addresses how to plan a fraud communications plan for your employees, including the “why” behind a communications plan like this and the need for distinct message, messenger, and modality.

In our BELA Asks series, we address questions posed by members of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) about wider issues facing the ethics and compliance community. BELA members who have any questions at all about ethics and compliance can send them to us, and then our internal experts will provide an answer and/or direct them to a helpful resource for more information.

To learn more about BELA, please visit https://bela.ethisphere.com to request guest access to the BELA Member Resource Hub and to speak with a BELA Engagement Director.

If you have a question that you’d like answered on BELA Asks, be sure to use the BELA Concierge Service, and we will get to it as soon as we can.

Watch

Ethicast: A Modern Ethics Lesson From a Very Old Crime

Ethicast

Ethicast: A Modern Ethics Lesson From a Very Old Crime

In this episode, Ethicast host Bill Coffin shares the story of his ancestor’s 1794 indictment for counterfeiting in a tale that will resonate with today’s ethics and compliance community as we face a time of uncertainty and turbulence.

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BELA Asks: How Do I Substantiate a Claim of Retaliation?

Ethicast

BELA Asks: How Do I Substantiate a Claim of Retaliation?

In this episode, BELA Chair Erica Salmon Byrne asks a question about substantiating retaliation claims, and a related question on whether people can use hotlines themselves as a form of retaliation. (Spoiler: They can.)

In our BELA Asks series, we address questions posed by members of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) about wider issues facing the ethics and compliance community. BELA members who have any questions at all about ethics and compliance can send them to us, and then our internal experts will provide an answer and/or direct them to a helpful resource for more information.

To learn more about BELA, please visit https://bela.ethisphere.com to request guest access to the BELA Member Resource Hub and to speak with a BELA Engagement Director.

If you have a question that you’d like answered on BELA Asks, be sure to use the BELA Concierge Service, and we will get to it as soon as we can.

Watch

Ethicast: How E&C and M&A Build Value Together at Labcorp

Ethicast

Ethicast: How E&C and M&A Build Value Together at Labcorp

In this episode, Labcorp Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer, Tracy Strong, discusses the considerable compliance challenges that come with the company’s active mergers and acquisition strategy, and how her team partners with Labcorp’s M&A team to help facilitate transactions. As a testament to Labcorp’s commitment to running a best-in-class E&C program, the company earned Ethisphere’s Compliance Leader Verification recognition from August 2024 through December 2025.

To learn more about our Compliance Leader Verification, click here.

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BELA Asks: Why is Culture the Top Topic in the BELA Member Hub?

Ethicast

BELA Asks: Why is Culture the Top Topic in the BELA Member Hub?

Culture is at the heart of every great organization, and ethical culture is at the heart of every great culture, period. In this episode, Business Ethics Leadership Alliance Chair, Erica Salmon Byrne, gets into that as she answers the question: Why is Culture the top topic in the BELA Member Hub? Her answer speaks to some of the greatest challenges and opportunities E&C teams are likely to face in 2025.

In our BELA Asks series, we address questions posed by members of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) about wider issues facing the ethics and compliance community. BELA members who have any questions at all about ethics and compliance can send them to us, and then our internal experts will provide an answer and/or direct them to a helpful resource for more information.

To learn more about BELA, please visit https://bela.ethisphere.com to request guest access to the BELA Member Resource Hub and to speak with a BELA Engagement Director.

If you have a question that you’d like answered on BELA Asks, be sure to use the BELA Concierge Service, and we will get to it as soon as we can.

Watch