135 Companies Honored as 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies^®

Ethics and Compliance Program – 35%
This category reviews company’s performance indicators associated with the overall ethics and compliance program specifically including program structure, responsibility, and resources; program oversight and tone at the top; written standards; training and communication; due care; detection, monitoring and auditing; and enforcement and discipline.

Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility – 20%
This category reviews a wide range of a company’s performance indicators associated with sustainability, citizenship and social responsibility, specifically including environmental stewardship, community involvement, corporate philanthropy, workplace impact and well-being and supply chain engagement and oversight. The quality and effectiveness of the initiatives are considered in addition to stated and measurable goals, accountability and transparency.

Culture of Ethics – 20%
This category measures an organization’s efforts and success at organization tone and includes such topics as efforts to establish an ethical tone from the top and middle, frequency with which culture is evaluated, and methods and outcomes associated with measuring a culture of ethics.

Governance – 15%
This category looks at the availability and quality of systems designed to ensure strong corporate governance including oversight, governance principles and risk management. Governance criteria is modified as needed and as is appropriate when reviewing private companies, partnerships, educational institutions and non-profits.

Leadership, Innovation, and Reputation – 10%
This category measures the legal compliance and ethical track record, along with the company’s ethical reputation in the marketplace with key stakeholders such as employees and customers. While we take into account awards and accolades garnered, we also look at examples of leadership locally, nationally and globally.