Ethisphere, a global company advancing the standards of ethical business practices, has revealed the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2023.
The 135 honouree companies in this coveted list represent 19 countries and 46 industries. This is the 17th annual recognition of companies that have demonstrated a commitment to ethical business practices through programs that positively impact employees, communities, and broader stakeholders, and contribute to sustainable and profitable long-term business performance.
“People look to businesses today to lead on important issues and to do right by all of their stakeholders,” said Ethisphere’s CEO Erica Salmon Byrne. “It takes vision and values to explain your why and create the programmes and practices that turn those statements into actions. We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s honourees as part of an exclusive group dedicated to leading by example on business integrity.”
MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES
This year, six companies have been recognised 17 times World’s Most Ethical Companies, every year since the inception of the awards in 2007. They include Aflac, Ecolab, International Paper, Milliken & Company, Kao and PepsiCo.
“PepsiCo is proud to be a 17-time World’s Most Ethical Companies honoree. This recognition highlights our commitment to act with integrity and do business the right way while continually improving our efforts to lead with purpose and inspire positive change in our markets and communities,” said Ramon Laguarta, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo.
OTHER CONSECUTIVE WINNERS
“Being named one of the World’s Most Ethical companies for 14 consecutive years reinforces the critical importance of ethics, integrity, and core values in driving our culture of performance,” shared Carey Smith, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Parsons. “We strive for excellence at every level of our company but especially ethical integrity, which drives how we deliver innovative, integrated solutions for our global customers.”
Voya Financial, Inc is also proud to secure a place in the list for 10 consecutive years. “We are purpose driven and the commitment of our people to do the right thing is foundational to our strong culture of ethics and integrity, which has earned Voya recognition as one the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 10 consecutive years—every year that we have been eligible,” said Heather Lavallee, CEO, Voya Financial, Inc.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS
Eight companies are first-time honourees, this year, including Clarios, FedEx Corporation, Flex, Dana Incorporated, Lam Research, Zoetis Inc, Medtronic and Polaris Inc. “Being honoured in Ethisphere’s 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies is a milestone for Flex, and it signals to us and our entire global network that the ongoing pursuit of higher standards and sustaining an ethical culture is how we commit to improving the world. We believe in doing the right thing, always – for our people, for the communities in which we operate, and for the world at large. We are proud to stand with other leaders around the globe who embody responsible and sustainable business practices,” said Revathi Advaithi, Chief Executive Officer of Flex.
“Our ability to be honored for the first time as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies is a direct result of the commitment of nearly 16,000 Clarios team members around the world,” said Clarios President and CEO Mark Wallace. “I’m proud to lead our team as we strive to live our values, especially our value around being principled, as we do the right things in the right ways for our employees, customers, communities and the planet.”
METHODOLOGY
Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 data points on culture; environmental and social practices; ethics and compliance activities; governance; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and initiatives that support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.
Ethisphere updated the Ethics Quotient questionnaire again this year based on input from our own experts, former applicants, and others to reflect current best practices and to clarify what our team is looking for from applicants. Changes to the 2023 Ethics Quotient include new and revised questions to areas of evolving importance, which include board and C-suite diversity practices, ambassador/liaison programs, acquisition practices, post-investigation discipline, ESG materiality and reporting practices, and human rights.
Each of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies receives access to a new Digital Analytical Scorecard experience. It provides an overview of how the applicant scored against the World’s Most Ethical Companies honourees in key categories, and offers access to 15 key Ethics Quotient data points, along with associated resources, in an interactive format powered by The Sphere—Ethisphere’s new Ethics and Compliance benchmarking platform.
WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES 2023
The full list of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies (in alphabetical order), include:
- 3M (10 times)
- Accenture (16 times)
- ADM (4 times)
- AECOM (7 times)
- AES (10 times)
- Aflac (17 times)
- Allianz (4 times)
- Anywhere Real Estate Inc (12 times)
- Apple Inc (2 times)
- Aptiv PLC (11 times)
- AVANGRID Inc (5 times)
- Avista (4 times)
- Best Buy (9 times)
- Blue Shield of California (11 times)
- BMO (6 times)
- Booz Allen Hamilton (4 times)
- Brown Forman (2 times)
- Cambia Health Solutions (6 times)
- Cap Gemini (11 times)
- Capital Power (5 times)
- CareFirst BlueCross Blueshield (11 times)
- CBRE (10 times)
- Cemento Progreso (10 times)
- Charoen Pokphand Group Co. Ltd (3 times)
- Clarios (1st time)
- Cleveland Clinic (13 times)
- Colgate-Palmolive Company (13 times)
- Covenant Health (8 times)
- Cummins Inc (16 times)
- CUNA Mutual Group (6 times)
- Dana Incorporated (1st time)
- Dell Technologies (11 times)
- DTGO Corporation Ltd (5 times)
- Eaton (12 times)
- Ecolab (17 times)
- EDP – Energia De Portugal (12 times)
- Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (7 times)
- Elbit Systems of America (5 times)
- Eli Lilly & Company (7 times)
- FedEx Corporation (1st time)
- Fifth Third Bank (4 times)
- Firmenich (2 times)
- Flex (1st time)
- Frontera Energy Corporation (3 times)
- Gallagher (13 times)
- General Motors (4 times)
- Genpact Ltd (5 times)
- Grupo Bimbo (7 times)
- Hasbro Inc (12 times)
- HCA Healthcare (13 times)
- Health Care Service Corporation (8 times)
- OTE Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (3 times)
- Henry Schein, Inc (12 times)
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (5 times)
- HP (4 times)
- Hubbell Incorporated (3 times)
- Iberdrola (10 times)
- IBM (5 times)
- Illycafe (11 times)
- Infosys Ltd (3 times)
- Ingredion (9 times)
- Intel (13 times)
- International Paper (17 times)
- JLL (16 times)
- John Deere (16 times)
- Johnson Controls (16 times)
- Juniper Networks (5 times)
- Kaiser Permanente (5 times)
- Kao (17 times)
- Kellogg Company (15 times)
- Kimberly-Clark (8 times)
- Kohl’s (5 times)
- L’ORÉAL (14 times)
- Lam Research (1st time)
- Leidos, Inc (6 times)
- Lincoln Financial Group (2 times)
- Linde (5 times)
- Magna International Inc (2 times)
- ManpowerGroup (14 times)
- Mastercard (8 times)
- Medtronic, plc (1st time)
- Milliken & Company (17 times)
- Noblis, Inc. (11 times)
- Nokia (7 times)
- Northumbrian Water Group (12 times)
- Northwell Health (8 times)
- Northwest Natural Holding Company (2 times)
- Oshkosh Corporation (8 times)
- Owens Corning (6 times)
- Pacific Life (6 times)
- Parsons Corporation (14 times)
- Paychex, Inc (15 times)
- PepsiCo, Inc (17 times)
- Pfizer Inc (2 times)
- Polaris Inc (1st time)
- Premier, Inc. (16 times)
- Principal Financial Group® (12 times)
- Prudential Financial, Inc. (9 times)
- Republic Services (5 times)
- Rockwell Automation (15 times)
- Royal Caribbean Group (8 times)
- Salesforce (14 times)
- Schneider Electric SE (12 times)
- Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc (9 times)
- SERTECPET S.A. (3 times)
- Sony Group Corporation (5 times)
- Starbucks (15 times)
- TE Connectivity (9 times)
- Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (10 times)
- Tenneco (2 times)
- Teradata Corporation (14 times)
- The Allstate Corporation (9 times)
- The Hartford (14 times)
- The Hershey Company (2 times)
- The Lincoln Electric Company (5 times)
- The Timken Company (12 times)
- Thrivent (12 times)
- TIAA (9 times)
- U.S. Bancorp (9 times)
- United States Steel Corporation (2 times)
- University Hospitals (11 times)
- Unum Group (3 times)
- UPMC (5 times)
- VF Corporation (7 times)
- Visa Inc (11 times)
- Voya Financial, Inc (10 times)
- Western Digital (5 times)
- Western Union (2 times)
- Weyerhaeuser Company (14 times)
- William E Connor & Associates (12 times)
- WM (14 times)
- Workday (3 times)
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (3 times)
- Xcel Energy (4 times)
- Zoetis Inc (1st time)
CEO FORUM & GALA
To celebrate the 2023 class of World’s Most Ethical Companies honourees, Ethisphere is holding a CEO Forum and an Honouree Gala. The CEO Forum provides an opportunity for senior leaders to discuss the state of ESG today. The first session—A Collective Force of Values and Vision: Driving Impact on ESG Through a Shared Commitment to Change—features Heather Lavallee, chief executive officer, Voya Financial; and Tamara Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Schnitzer Steel. The second session is titled “Dedication Over Division: How Will Companies Most Effectively Lead on ESG When Polarization is at Peak?” It features Mile Corrigan, president and chief executive officer, Noblis; and Roger Krone, chairman and chief executive officer, Leidos.
Ethisphere’s Honoree Gala will feature a keynote address by Jenn Lim, CEO and co-founder of Delivering Happiness (DH), a company she and the late CEO of Zappos.com, Tony Hsieh, created to help companies develop cultures for a more profitable and sustainable business approach.
Click here for more information.
RELATED ARTICLES
Check out 2021’s Most Ethical Companies here.
The Best Places to Work programme has announced the world’s top 20 employers. Click here to read more.
Sign up for our newsletter
