The World's Most Ethical Companies

Every year, the Ethisphere Institute does research to find the most ethical companies in the world. The Ethisphere Institute is an organization that tries to promote business ethics.


This year, a list of 100 companies has been made, and 79 of those are American companies. There is no winner because the companies are listed alphabetically. 


The winning companies are chosen trough various rounds. In the first round a committee of leading attorneys, professors, government officials and organization leaders chose the categories on which Ethisphere  should pay attention. Semi finalists are decided on the business strategy of the investigated companies. Finally, the companies have to reply to a survey questionnaire. The companies get points for their answers in seven marked categories, which are :

1. Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility

2. Corporate Governance;

3. Innovation that Contributes to the Public Well Being

4. Industry Leadership

5. Executive Leadership and Tone from the Top

6. Legal, Regulatory and Reputation Track Record

7. Internal Systems and Ethics/Compliance Program.

In the Healthcare Industry there are five winners, including Cleveland Clinic and John Hopkins. Google was one of the winners for Internet Services. Ford Motor Company gets the title of an ethical company as well. And France's L'Oreal and Japan's Kao are examples of not american based winners.

As we already know, the consumers attach great importance to the ethics of a company. So if you are listed in this list of the most ethical companies in the world, it is clearly an advantage. But this list is an example for the other companies as well. They must now try to improve their business ethics in order to be listed among the winners next year.

Benoit Germonpré

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-worlds-most-ethical-companies-a220217