As our readers are now familiar with, this website likes to comment on CSR lists, and oh, are there many. Such lists can be used as a grazing area for readers screening new SRI candidates.
This World’s Most Ethical (“WME”) list is brought to you by Ethisphere.com. This firm (this word is chosen over organization and you’ll see why) has come out of nowhere to become among a few select lists cited by companies. These are companies that are socially responsible and want that fact to be known to their customers, suppliers, investors, etc. Ethisphere started in 2007 as an online newsletter and later transformed to what is known today. Unlike other CSR lists, there are no rankings and no set number of chosen companies. Though, typically 100-130 companies are chosen.
However, as in politics, Ethisphere is not without its own ethical controversies. According to Will Evans of Slate magazine, the organization has an inherent conflict of interest. In his article, Mr. Evans states, “Ethisphere’s director, Alex Brigham, is also president and CEO of Corpedia, which helps corporations develop and review their ethics programs.” In fact, Corpedia has several hundred clients, some of which are on the WME list. Specifically, Ethisphere charges companies to be part of its membership groups, buy ads in its magazine, and certify them with its “Ethics Inside” label, which they receive only if Ethisphere determines that “its compliance and ethics activities are demonstrably better than competitors.” We’ll leave it to others to sort out this issue, but Ethisphere has made changes to become more transparent and has changed its advisory panel. The history of these changes are on its website, unfortunately several links are not functioning properly so we could not attain the desired background information.
Despite the above, we like the WME list for a few reasons:
- several of the companies on the list have been recognized by other organizations as being socially responsible.
- the list has few Banks and other industries that have been scandal-ridden, providing additional comfort to us.
- Ethisphere automatically excludes companies operating in “sin industries” such as alcohol, tobacco and firearms.
- while it’s true that the qualifying companies simply fill out a questionnaire, Ethisphere has a process to ween down the list including utilizing independent verification.
- Any organization, public or private, large or small, for profit or not-for-profit can participate. Other lists have become filled with large public companies (and we generally feel that small, and/or private companies are more socially responsible).
- Any company that has had significant legal trouble over the past five years is excluded from the list.
2013’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list:
This year, a record 145 companies made it on the list, with 43 of those headquartered outside the U.S. Since 2007, 23 companies have made it on the list every year. Readers take note! They include:
- American Express
- Fluor
- General Electric
- Milliken & Company
- Patagonia
- Rabobank
- Starbucks
We can vouch for several of the companies above as they are well-regarded in CSR circles. Full List (by Industry) is below:
2013 World’s Most Ethical Companies
Aerospace & Defense |
|
---|---|
Rockwell Collins | USA |
The Aerospace Corporation | USA |
Agriculture |
|
Ethical Fruit Company Ltd | UK |
Apparel |
|
Gap Inc | USA |
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB | Sweden |
Automotive |
|
Cummins Inc. | USA |
Delphi | USA |
Ford Motor Company | USA |
Johnson Controls, Inc. | USA |
Banking |
|
National Australia Bank | Australia |
Old National Bank | USA |
Westpac Banking Corporation | Australia |
Business Services |
|
Accenture | Ireland |
Capgemini | France |
Dun & Bradstreet | USA |
Paychex, Inc. | USA |
Salesforce.com | USA |
William E. Connor & Associates Ltd. | Hong Kong |
Chemicals |
|
Ecolab | USA |
H.B. Fuller | USA |
The Mosaic Company | USA |
The Sherwin-Williams Company | USA |
Computer Hardware |
|
Hitachi Data Systems | USA |
Intel Corporation | USA |
Computer Software |
|
Adobe System Incorporated | USA |
Microsoft Corporation | USA |
Symantec Corporation | USA |
Teradata Corporation | USA |
Wipro Ltd | India |
Construction |
|
CRH plc | Ireland |
Granite Construction Inc. | USA |
Consumer Electronics |
|
Ricoh | Japan |
Texas Instruments | USA |
Xerox Corporation | USA |
Consumer Products |
|
Colgate-Palmolive Company | USA |
Hasbro | USA |
Henkel AG | Germany |
Kao Corporation | Japan |
Kimberly-Clark Corporation | USA |
Mattel | USA |
SCA | Sweden |
illycaffe | Italy |
Diversified Industries |
|
General Electric Company | USA |
E-commerce |
|
eBay | USA |
Electronics |
|
Applied Materials | USA |
Premier Farnell plc | UK |
Rockwell Automation | USA |
Schneider Electric | France |
Energy And Utilites: Natural Gas |
|
Encana Corporation | Canada |
NiSource Inc | USA |
Sempra Energy | USA |
Spectra Energy Corp | USA |
Energy And Utilities: Electric |
|
ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd | Switzerland |
EDP Energias de Portugal | Portugal |
ENMAX Corporation | Canada |
National Grid | UK / USA |
NextEra Energy | USA |
Energy And Utlities: Water |
|
Northumbrian Water Group | UK |
Energy: Oil |
|
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company | USA |
Engineering And Design |
|
AECOM | USA |
CH2M Hill | USA |
Fluor Corporation | USA |
Parsons Corporation | USA |
Environmental Services |
|
The Nature Conservancy | USA |
Waste Management | USA |
Financial Services |
|
American Express | USA |
NYSE Euronext | Netherlands / USA |
TSYS | USA |
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans | USA |
Visa Inc. | USA |
Food And Beverage |
|
All Good Organics | New Zealand |
Kellogg Company | USA |
PepsiCo | USA |
Food Service |
|
ARAMARK | USA |
Forestry, Paper And Packaging |
|
International Paper | USA |
Stora Enso | Finland |
Weyerhauser Company | USA |
Health And Beauty |
|
L’OREAL | France |
Natura Cosmeticos | Brazil |
Shiseido Company, Limited | Japan |
Healthcare Services |
|
Baptist Health South Florida | USA |
Cleveland Clinic | USA |
Hospital Corporation of America | USA |
Novation | USA |
Premier, Inc. | USA |
Sharp HealthCare | USA |
Industrial Manufacturing |
|
Atlas Copco AB | Sweden |
Deere & Company | USA |
Eaton Corporation | USA |
Honeywell International Inc. | USA |
Kennametal Inc. | USA |
Milliken & Company | USA |
The Timken Company | USA |
Insurance: Brokerage |
|
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | USA |
Insurance: Health |
|
Aflac Inc. | USA |
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina | USA |
Blue Shield of California | USA |
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield | USA |
Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation | USA |
Insurance: Property And Casualty |
|
CUNA Mutual Group | USA |
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. | Japan |
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies | USA |
Insurance: Reinsurance |
|
Swiss Re | Switzerland |
Leisure And Hospitality |
|
Holland America Line | USA |
Marriott International, Inc. | USA |
Seabourn | USA |
The Rezidor Hotel Group | Germany |
Media |
|
Thomson Reuters | UK / USA |
Time Warner Inc | USA |
Medical Devices |
|
Becton Dickinson | USA |
Coloplast A/S | Denmark |
Henry Schein | USA |
Metals And Mining |
|
Alcoa | USA |
Tata Steel Ltd | India |
Professional, Scientific And Technical Services |
|
Concurrent Technologies Corporation | USA |
Gemological Institute of America (GIA) | USA |
Noblis | USA |
Real Estate |
|
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc | USA |
Realogy Corporation | USA |
Unibail-Rodamco | France |
Restaurants And Cafes |
|
Starbucks Coffee Company | USA |
Retail: Food Stores |
|
SONAE | Portugal |
Safeway Inc. | USA |
The Co-operative Group | USA |
Whole Foods Market, Inc. | USA |
Retail: General |
|
Marks and Spencer | USA |
Target | USA |
Retail: Specialty |
|
OfficeMax | USA |
Petco Animal Supplies | USA |
Ten Thousand Villages | USA |
Staffing Services |
|
ManpowerGroup | USA |
Robert Half International | USA |
Telecommunications Equipment |
|
Cisco Systems | USA |
Juniper Networks | USA |
Telecommunications Services |
|
Portugal Telecom | Portugal |
SingTel | Singapore |
T-Mobile USA | USA |
Transportation And Logistics |
|
Autoridad del Canal de Panama | Panama |
Nippon Yusen Kaisha | Japan |
UPS | USA |
– See more at: http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/#sthash.cIl5fcq2.dpuf
2013 World’s Most Ethical Companies
Aerospace & Defense |
|
---|---|
Rockwell Collins | USA |
The Aerospace Corporation | USA |
Agriculture |
|
Ethical Fruit Company Ltd | UK |
Apparel |
|
Gap Inc | USA |
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB | Sweden |
Automotive |
|
Cummins Inc. | USA |
Delphi | USA |
Ford Motor Company | USA |
Johnson Controls, Inc. | USA |
Banking |
|
National Australia Bank | Australia |
Old National Bank | USA |
Westpac Banking Corporation | Australia |
Business Services |
|
Accenture | Ireland |
Capgemini | France |
Dun & Bradstreet | USA |
Paychex, Inc. | USA |
Salesforce.com | USA |
William E. Connor & Associates Ltd. | Hong Kong |
Chemicals |
|
Ecolab | USA |
H.B. Fuller | USA |
The Mosaic Company | USA |
The Sherwin-Williams Company | USA |
Computer Hardware |
|
Hitachi Data Systems | USA |
Intel Corporation | USA |
Computer Software |
|
Adobe System Incorporated | USA |
Microsoft Corporation | USA |
Symantec Corporation | USA |
Teradata Corporation | USA |
Wipro Ltd | India |
Construction |
|
CRH plc | Ireland |
Granite Construction Inc. | USA |
Consumer Electronics |
|
Ricoh | Japan |
Texas Instruments | USA |
Xerox Corporation | USA |
Consumer Products |
|
Colgate-Palmolive Company | USA |
Hasbro | USA |
Henkel AG | Germany |
Kao Corporation | Japan |
Kimberly-Clark Corporation | USA |
Mattel | USA |
SCA | Sweden |
illycaffe | Italy |
Diversified Industries |
|
General Electric Company | USA |
E-commerce |
|
eBay | USA |
Electronics |
|
Applied Materials | USA |
Premier Farnell plc | UK |
Rockwell Automation | USA |
Schneider Electric | France |
Energy And Utilites: Natural Gas |
|
Encana Corporation | Canada |
NiSource Inc | USA |
Sempra Energy | USA |
Spectra Energy Corp | USA |
Energy And Utilities: Electric |
|
ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd | Switzerland |
EDP Energias de Portugal | Portugal |
ENMAX Corporation | Canada |
National Grid | UK / USA |
NextEra Energy | USA |
Energy And Utlities: Water |
|
Northumbrian Water Group | UK |
Energy: Oil |
|
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company | USA |
Engineering And Design |
|
AECOM | USA |
CH2M Hill | USA |
Fluor Corporation | USA |
Parsons Corporation | USA |
Environmental Services |
|
The Nature Conservancy | USA |
Waste Management | USA |
Financial Services |
|
American Express | USA |
NYSE Euronext | Netherlands / USA |
TSYS | USA |
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans | USA |
Visa Inc. | USA |
Food And Beverage |
|
All Good Organics | New Zealand |
Kellogg Company | USA |
PepsiCo | USA |
Food Service |
|
ARAMARK | USA |
Forestry, Paper And Packaging |
|
International Paper | USA |
Stora Enso | Finland |
Weyerhauser Company | USA |
Health And Beauty |
|
L’OREAL | France |
Natura Cosmeticos | Brazil |
Shiseido Company, Limited | Japan |
Healthcare Services |
|
Baptist Health South Florida | USA |
Cleveland Clinic | USA |
Hospital Corporation of America | USA |
Novation | USA |
Premier, Inc. | USA |
Sharp HealthCare | USA |
Industrial Manufacturing |
|
Atlas Copco AB | Sweden |
Deere & Company | USA |
Eaton Corporation | USA |
Honeywell International Inc. | USA |
Kennametal Inc. | USA |
Milliken & Company | USA |
The Timken Company | USA |
Insurance: Brokerage |
|
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | USA |
Insurance: Health |
|
Aflac Inc. | USA |
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina | USA |
Blue Shield of California | USA |
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield | USA |
Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation | USA |
Insurance: Property And Casualty |
|
CUNA Mutual Group | USA |
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. | Japan |
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies | USA |
Insurance: Reinsurance |
|
Swiss Re | Switzerland |
Leisure And Hospitality |
|
Holland America Line | USA |
Marriott International, Inc. | USA |
Seabourn | USA |
The Rezidor Hotel Group | Germany |
Media |
|
Thomson Reuters | UK / USA |
Time Warner Inc | USA |
Medical Devices |
|
Becton Dickinson | USA |
Coloplast A/S | Denmark |
Henry Schein | USA |
Metals And Mining |
|
Alcoa | USA |
Tata Steel Ltd | India |
Professional, Scientific And Technical Services |
|
Concurrent Technologies Corporation | USA |
Gemological Institute of America (GIA) | USA |
Noblis | USA |
Real Estate |
|
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc | USA |
Realogy Corporation | USA |
Unibail-Rodamco | France |
Restaurants And Cafes |
|
Starbucks Coffee Company | USA |
Retail: Food Stores |
|
SONAE | Portugal |
Safeway Inc. | USA |
The Co-operative Group | USA |
Whole Foods Market, Inc. | USA |
Retail: General |
|
Marks and Spencer | USA |
Target | USA |
Retail: Specialty |
|
OfficeMax | USA |
Petco Animal Supplies | USA |
Ten Thousand Villages | USA |
Staffing Services |
|
ManpowerGroup | USA |
Robert Half International | USA |
Telecommunications Equipment |
|
Cisco Systems | USA |
Juniper Networks | USA |
Telecommunications Services |
|
Portugal Telecom | Portugal |
SingTel | Singapore |
T-Mobile USA | USA |
Transportation And Logistics |
|
Autoridad del Canal de Panama | Panama |
Nippon Yusen Kaisha | Japan |
UPS | USA |
– See more at: http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/#sthash.cIl5fcq2.dpuf
Autoridad del Canal de Panama Panama Nippon Yusen Kaisha Japan UPS USA –