Dive Brief:
- Ethisphere Institute, which defines and advances ethical business standards, released its list of 124 worldwide companies for their high ethical values. Ethisphere’s 2017 World’s Most Ethical Companies are honored for influencing and creating positive change in business communities across the globe.
- Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere’s CEO, said in a release that the chosen companies invest in their local communities, value diversity and inclusion and concentrate on the long term as a viable business advantage.
- Ethisphere said that a company’s ethics are tied to its financial value. An analysis of how the stock price of publicly traded companies among the honorees compared to the S&P 500 during the past two years shows a 6.4% premium. Ethisphere calls the increase an ethics premium.
Dive Insight:
Organizations often look to HR to steer their ethics initiatives. Who better than HR can help employers act as good corporate citizens for their workers and the communities in which they operate and stay in compliance with employment laws?
The connection between organizations whose ethical conduct is the core of their operations and resulting financial success is apparent. Consumers regularly align themselves with companies whose values and social commitments mirror their own. Employees, especially millennials, also tend to favor working for organizations that have shown dedication to issues they care about such as the environment, product safety or community involvement.
