Showing that it can pay to be ethical, Ethisphere Magazine graphed its “WME Index,” or all publicly traded 2011 World’s Most Ethical Company honorees, against the S&P 500 since the initial World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition from 2007. Even in a recession, ethical companies outperformed the S&P 500; however considerably greater returns (in excess of 30%) were achieved so far in 2011. The majority of the firms in the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking are U.S. firms. Read on to see how many and which industries were dominated by the U.S.
Ethisphere Magazine noted that:
“There is no set number of companies that make the list each year. Rather, the World’s Most Ethical Company designation is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers. This year, there are 110 World’s Most Ethical Companies.”
Of those 110, 67 or 61% were U.S. companies. Industries which were dominated by U.S. companies include:
- Aerospace
- Apparel
- Automotive
- Business Services
- Computer Hardware and Software
- Construction and Engineering
- Engineering and Design
- Food and Beverage
- Industrial Manufacturing
- Hotel, Travel and Hospitality
- Telecom Hardware
According to WME Methodology, the heart of the evaluation and selection process for Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies is Ethisphere’s proprietary rating system, the Ethics Quotient (EQ) which consists of the following core categories:
-Ethics and Compliance Program (30%)
-Reputation, Leadership and Innovation (30%)
-Governance (15%)
-Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility (25%)
The winners and detailed methodology can be viewed via: Ethisphere Magazine. Congratulations to all those firms worldwide who are leaders in ethics.