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How Eaton Leverages Ethisphere’s Benchmarking Data, Credible Expertise, and Peer Community to Maintain a Best-in-Class Program

Eaton has a best-in-class ethics and compliance program yet remains relentless in its pursuit of continuous improvement and evolution. As a global intelligent power management company and a 14-time honoree on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list, Eaton enjoys strong leadership engagement and support at every level. For more than 15 years, Eaton has collaborated with Ethisphere to strengthen its mature ethics and compliance program. This collaboration includes active participation in the annual Global Ethics Summit and the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) community.

Joe Rodgers, Senior Vice President of Global Ethics and Compliance, describes the relationship as “symbiotic,” rooted in a shared commitment to elevating ethical business practices and learning from one another. “Ethisphere provides resources that complement our commitment to continuous improvement and strengthen our program,” Joe says.

The Challenge

Eaton has built a strong Ethics and Compliance Program that enjoys active and visible leadership support. Yet, Eaton remains steadfast in its belief that it can never stop strengthening its program. The challenge is sustaining excellence and raising the bar in an environment where expectations keep evolving and the definition of “good” is constantly changing. To meet this challenge, Eaton sought a collaborative resource that could deliver credible benchmarks, share best practices, and provide data-driven insights to pressure-test its approach.

The Solution

Ethisphere has supported Eaton’s objectives with a practical mix of data, expert insights, and peer connections. Eaton’s engagement with Ethisphere focuses on three key areas: access to credible data for benchmarking, tailored answers, high-quality content, and the ability to learn directly from peers.

Benchmarking and validation anchored in credible data. With a focus on both data and maintaining best-in-class standards, Eaton values its annual benchmarking sessions tied to the World’s Most Ethical Companies process. These sessions enable Eaton to compare itself against a selective cohort and validate program quality while identifying areas for further improvement. Joe also uses Ethisphere’s Five-Year Ethics Premium with business leaders to reinforce that a strong ethical culture is good for business and can provide a competitive advantage. Given the longevity of Eaton’s partnership with Ethisphere, Eaton has seen firsthand how Ethisphere’s expanding data set delivers value over time.

Joe explains that benchmarking against a credible third party provides valuable information that can further strengthen Eaton’s program. He points to Ethisphere’s data as a way to spot opportunities for improvement while validating what is working well—resources that would be “very difficult to get elsewhere,” Joe notes.

Direct access to tailored answers. Having a direct point of contact at Ethisphere to support data and information gathering—whether through an engagement lead or the BELA concierge service—also delivers value. Receiving tailored responses to best-practice questions saves time and energy for Joe and his high-performing team.

Content and frameworks that translate into action. Eaton leverages Ethisphere resources such as Ethisphere Magazine, the Ethicast, and the Ethisphere Insights newsletter to gain knowledge of leading practices that help shape strategy. Joe also points to Ethisphere’s Eight Pillars of an Ethical Culture as a particularly impactful resource for framing conversations.

Community connection that enables learning. Eaton also uses the Global Ethics Summit to connect with a broad set of ethics and compliance leaders, share thought leadership and learn from peers who are willing to exchange proven approaches. “It’s fantastic to have an annual opportunity to connect with like-minded compliance leaders through insights and best practices,” Joe says.

The Results

Eaton’s return on this collaboration is both strategic and tangible: faster, more credible decision-making and storytelling about the program, supported by information that would be costly to replicate independently.

In practical terms, this translates into efficiency and avoided costs: Eaton gains access to curated, data-driven insights and resources that would otherwise require considerable time and investment for the company to develop internally.

Final Thoughts

Eaton’s commitment to continuous improvement ensures that its program never stands still. Joe closes by reinforcing that point: “Humility is essential. Our mindset can’t be that we’re finished. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—we’re always learning.” He also proudly notes how the ethics and compliance community shows a distinct and commendable willingness to help each other out, which can reduce the need to reinvent proven approaches. In that context, Ethisphere serves as a catalyst by collecting best practices and connecting companies that want to share and learn together, reducing duplication of effort.

Joe sums it up: “Ethisphere serves as a hub of information. When you work with Ethisphere, you are at the epicenter of a community eager to help each other learn and grow so we can all contribute to an ethical society. In the end, that is good for everybody.”

BELA Asks: Why Is There No Competition in Compliance?

Ethicast

BELA Asks: Why Is There No Competition in Compliance?

This year, we’ve received a record number of concierge questions—more than 300, in fact. And as we wrap up 2025 and look to 2026, we’re taking a moment to look at the broader E&C trends that BELA Asks has elevated, including the most important one: why there really is no competition in compliance.  

This episode stems from the BELA concierge service, in which BELA members can submit questions regarding ethics and compliance and our internal experts will provide an answer plus helpful resources with information. And since there is no competition in compliance, we respond thematically to high-level questions in the BELA Asks series for the benefit of E&C teams everywhere.

Learn more about BELA, request guest access to the Member Resource Hub, and connect with a BELA Engagement Director at www.ethisphere.com/bela

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Ethicast: When to Conduct Root Cause Analysis 

Ethicast

Ethicast: When to Conduct Root Cause Analysis

Once an investigation into workplace misconduct is closed, organizations often turn to root cause analysis (RCA)—but is it always the right next step? In this episode, Ethisphere experts Jodie Fredericksen and Eric Jorgenson discuss the criteria that should trigger a root cause analysis, common obstacles that limit its effectiveness, and how RCA data can be used to identify broader trends. They also highlight common mistakes organizations make when conducting RCAs and share practical guidance on how to ensure insights lead to sustainable change rather than a check-the-box exercise.  

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Inside Whistleblowing in 2025: How Today’s Employees Feel About AI, Ethics, and Retaliation

on-demand webcasts

Inside Whistleblowing in 2025: How Today’s Employees Feel About AI, Ethics, and Retaliation

Join Shannon Walker, EVP of Strategy at Case IQ and Founder of WhistleBlower Security, Inc., for a discussion on the results of Case IQ’s global survey of 1,000+ employees about comfort reporting misconduct, trust in organizational protections, and the impact of culture and leadership on ethics and whistleblowing. She unpacks the survey’s findings and shares actionable strategies to strengthen your speak-up culture and reduce organizational risk.  

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Strengthening an Already Strong Program: How Elbit Systems of America Uses Ethisphere to Stay Ahead of Regulatory and Cultural Expectations

As a company operating in a highly regulated industry, Elbit Systems of America (Elbit America) has long understood that a strong ethics and compliance program is non-negotiable. Several years into its partnership with Ethisphere, the organization now sees that commitment not just as a safeguard, but as a strategic advantage that reinforces integrity, governance, and stakeholder trust.

The Challenge

Defense technology company Elbit America has always viewed ethics and compliance as central to how it does business—not as a back-office function. As the company’s program matured, that long-standing commitment presented a new question: how do you keep elevating a program that is already strong? Leaders wanted to ensure their work not only met regulatory requirements, but also measured up against the expectations of employees, customers, and regulators.

“Our industry evolves quickly,” said Ben Gaffield, Vice President of Assurance, Compliance and Ethics. “We needed confidence that our internal view of program effectiveness aligned with leading practices and emerging regulatory expectations.”

The organization was looking for an external partner that could stress-test its work, provide data-driven benchmarking, and help translate a strong culture of integrity into a durable strategic advantage. They wanted to know not only that their program was effective, but that it reflected leading practice and would stay resilient as the regulatory and business environment continued to evolve.

The Solution

Elbit America turned to Ethisphere to help achieve those goals. Gaffield says the relationship quickly became “highly collaborative and productive,” giving leaders both validation and concrete opportunities to strengthen the program. Ethisphere’s tools and expertise helped the team make “significant strides in promoting ethical business practices and enhancements to our corporate governance program,” Gaffield said.

Independent benchmarking has been a core component. Through Ethisphere’s assessments and insights, Elbit America now compares its program structure, policies, and practices against recognized standards and peers. This guidance has shaped refinements to training, communication, and governance and ensured the program stays rooted in the company’s values rather than drifting toward a check-the-box approach.

For DeAnna Schuler, Head of Ethics & Compliance at the company, one of the most impactful elements has been the practical knowledge-sharing that comes from the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance. “BELA has connected us with peers facing similar challenges,” she explained. “Those conversations help us strengthen our culture of integrity and continuously adapt our approach.”

Recognition as a seven-time World’s Most Ethical Companies honoree has further validated the company’s efforts. For Elbit America, the recognition is not merely symbolic, it signals that ethical leadership is visible in how it operates every day.

The Results

Measuring return on investment for an ethics and compliance partnership is not as simple as pointing to a line on a financial statement. But leaders at Elbit America see results across several dimensions.

First, they see a stronger, more agile compliance program. Ethisphere’s benchmarking sharpened the company’s understanding of its strengths and areas for enhancement, enabling more targeted training and more proactive risk management. “The ROI may be difficult to quantify in financial terms,” Gaffield said, “but it is unmistakable in the maturity of our program and the proactive steps we’ve taken to foster an ethical workplace.”

Second, the partnership has reinforced Elbit America’s reputation with key stakeholders. Recognition through Ethisphere initiatives reassures employees, customers, and partners that integrity is not a slogan, it is a standard independently validated over many years. That, in itself, is a valuable form of risk mitigation and brand strength.

Finally, the partnership sustains cultural momentum. Schuler emphasized that the external perspective, structured feedback, and BELA community are an ongoing motivator. “Ethisphere pushes us to keep raising our standards. Rather than treating ethics and compliance as a project that can be checked off as complete, it keeps us from ever becoming complacent.”

Final Thoughts

If advising another company, Elbit America’s ethics team would encourage treating the partnership with Ethisphere as an active collaboration. They recommend taking full advantage of the research, benchmarking, and networking opportunities available.

“Go in with curiosity and a willingness to learn,” Schuler said. “If you embrace the partnership fully, the benefits show up across culture, governance, and long-term trust, even if they don’t appear in a spreadsheet.”