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The 2013 World's Most Ethical Companies (Ethisphere)

May 24, 2013 Add Comment Edit

Every year, the Ethisphere Institute reveals its annual World’s Most Ethical (WME) companies list. The companies on the WME list "truly go beyond making statements about doing business "ethically" and translate those words into action." WME honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, they exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices today. In 2013, a record 145 companies made the list, which includes more than three dozen industries, from aerospace to wind power, with 43 of the WME winners headquartered outside the US. Since the list's inception, 23 companies have made the list all six years including: Aflac, American Express, Fluor, General Electric, Milliken & Company, Patagonia, Rabobank and Starbucks, among others.

Here is the WME list for 2013:

Company	Industry	Country
ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd	electrical equipment	Switzerland
Accenture	business services	Ireland
Adobe Systems Incorporated	computer software	USA
AECOM	engineering and design	USA
Aflac Inc.	insurance: health	USA
Alcoa	metals and mining	USA
All Good Organics	food and beverage	New Zealand
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company	energy: oil	USA
American Express	financial services	USA
Applied Materials	electronics	USA
ARAMARK	food service	USA
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	insurance: brokerage	USA
Atlas Copco AB	industrial manufacturing	Sweden
Autoridad del Canal de Panama	transportation and logistics	Panama
Baptist Health South Florida	healthcare services	USA
Becton Dickinson	medical devices	USA
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina	insurance: health	USA
Blue Shield of California	insurance: health	USA
Capgemini	business services	France
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield	insurance: health	USA
CH2M HILL	engineering and design	USA
Cisco Systems	telecommunications equipment	USA
Cleveland Clinic	healthcare services	USA
Colgate-Palmolive Company	consumer products	USA
Coloplast A/S	medical devices	Denmark
Concurrent Technologies Corporation	professional, scientific and technical services	USA
CRH plc	construction	Ireland
Cummins Inc.	automotive	USA
CUNA Mutual Group	insurance: property and casualty	USA
Deere & Company	industrial manufacturing	USA
Delphi	automotive	USA
Dun & Bradstreet	business services	USA
Eaton Corporation	industrial manufacturing	USA
eBay	internet	USA
Ecolab	chemicals	USA
EDP Energias de Portugal	energy and utilities: electric	Portugal
Encana Corporation	energy and utilites: natural gas	Canada
ENMAX Corporation	energy and utilities: electric	Canada
Ethical Fruit Company Ltd	agriculture	UK
Fluor Corporation	engineering and design	USA
Ford Motor Company	automotive	USA
Gap Inc	apparel	USA
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)	professional, scientific and technical services	USA
General Electric Company	diversified industries	USA
Granite Construction Inc	construction	USA
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB	apparel	Sweden
H.B. Fuller	chemicals	USA
Hasbro	consumer products	USA
Henkel AG	consumer products	Germany
Henry Schein	medical devices	USA
Hitachi Data Systems	computer hardware	USA
Holland America Line	leisure and hospitality	USA
Honeywell International Inc.	industrial manufacturing	USA
Hospital Corporation of America	healthcare services	USA
illycaffè	consumer products	Italy
Intel Corporation	computer hardware	USA
International Paper	forestry, paper and packaging	USA
Johnson Controls, Inc.	automotive	USA
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc	real estate	USA
Juniper Networks	telecommunications equipment	USA
Kao Corporation	consumer products	Japan
Kellogg Company	food and beverage	USA
Kennametal Inc.	industrial manufacturing	USA
Kimberly-Clark Corporation	consumer products	USA
L'ORÉAL	health and beauty	France
ManpowerGroup	staffing services	USA
Marks and Spencer	retail-general	UK
Marriott International, Inc.	leisure and hospitality	USA
Mattel	consumer products	USA
Microsoft Corporation	computer software	USA
Milliken & Company	industrial manufacturing	USA
National Australia Bank	banking	Australia
National Grid	energy and utilities: electric	UK/USA
Natura Cosméticos	health and beauty	Brazil
NextEra Energy	energy and utilities: electric	USA
Nippon Yusen Kaisha	transportation and logistics	Japan
NiSource Inc.	energy and utilites: natural gas	USA
Noblis	professional, scientific and technical services	USA
Northumbrian Water Group	energy and utlities: water	UK
Novation	healthcare services	USA
NYSE Euronext	financial services	USA/Netherlands
OfficeMax	retail-specialty	USA
Old National Bank	banking	USA
Parsons Corporation	engineering and design	USA
Paychex, Inc.	business services	USA
PepsiCo	food and beverage	USA
Petco Animal Supplies	retail-specialty	USA
Portugal Telecom	telecommunications services	Portugal
Premie, Inc	healthcare services	USA
Premier Farnell plc	electronics	UK
Realogy Corporation	real estate	USA
Ricoh	consumer electronics	Japan
Robert Half International	staffing services	USA
Rockwell Automation	electronics	USA
Rockwell Collins	aerospace and defense	USA
Safeway Inc.	retail- food stores	USA
salesforce.com	business services	USA
Salesforce.com	computer software	USA
SCA - Svenska Cellulosa AB	consumer products	Sweden
Schneider Electric	electrical equipment	France
Seabourn	leisure and hospitality	USA
Sempra Energy	energy and utilites: natural gas	USA
Sharp HealthCare	healthcare services	USA
Shiseido Company, Limited	health and beauty	Japan
SingTel	telecommunications services	Singapore
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.	insurance: property and casualty	Japan
SONAE	retail- food stores	Portugal
Spectra Energy Corp	energy and utilites: natural gas	USA
Starbucks Coffee Company	restaurants and cafes	USA
Stora Enso	forestry, paper and packaging	Finland
Swiss Re	insurance: reinsurance	Switzerland
Symantec Corporation	computer software	USA
T-Mobile USA	telecommunications services	USA
Target	retail-general	USA
Tata Steel Ltd	metals and mining	India
Ten Thousand Villages	retail-specialty	USA
Teradata Corporation	computer software	USA
Texas Instruments	consumer electronics	USA
The Aerospace Corporation	aerospace and defense	USA
The Co-operative Group	retail- food stores	UK
The Mosaic Company	chemicals	USA
The Nature Conservancy	environmental services	USA
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies	insurance: property and casualty	USA
The Rezidor Hotel Group	leisure and hospitality	Germany
The Sherwin-William Company	chemicals	USA
The Timken Company	industrial manufacturing	USA
Thomson Reuters	media	US/UK
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans	financial services	USA
Time Warner Inc.	media	USA
TSYS	financial services	USA
Unibail-Rodamco	real estate	France
UPS	transportation and logistics	USA
Visa Inc.	financial services	USA
Waste Management	environmental services	USA
Westpac Banking Corporation	banking	Australia
Weyerhaeuser Company	forestry, paper and packaging	USA
Whole Foods Market, Inc.	retail- food stores	USA
William E. Connor & Associates Ltd.	business services	Hong Kong
Wipro Ltd	computer software	India
Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation	insurance: health	USA
Xerox Corporation	consumer electronics	USA

Source: Ethisphere

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2013 World's Most Admired Companies (Fortune Magazine)

May 23, 2013 Add Comment Edit

Fortune Magazine's 2013 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," is an annual ranking of the world's most admired and respected companies.

Companies are assessed based on their performance in several key areas including innovation and social responsibility.

This annual ranking from Fortune is widely considered a definitive report card on corporate reputations. According to Fortune, these companies have shown a commitment to social responsibility and high ethical standards.

Here are the rankings of the top 50 companies as assessed by Fortune Magazine:

Rank	Company Name	Location	Score *
1	Apple	CA	8.24
2	Google	CA	8.01
3	Amazon.com	WA	7.28
4	Coca-Cola	GA	7.32
5	Starbucks	WA	7.94
6	IBM	NY	7.37
7	Southwest Airlines	TX	5.52
8	Berkshire Hathaway	NE	7.18
9	Walt Disney	CA	7.84
10	FedEx	TN	7
11	General Electric	CT	6.9
12	McDonald's	IL	7.81
13	American Express	NY	7.55
14	BMW	Germany	6.67
15	Procter & Gamble	OH	7.37
16	Nordstrom	WA	7.28
17	Microsoft	WA	6.15
18	Nike	OR	7.94
19	Whole Foods Market	TX	7.49
20	Caterpillar	IL	7.87
21	3M	MN	6.49
22	Target	MN	7.22
23	Costco Wholesale	WA	6.95
23	Johnson & Johnson	NJ	6.21
25	Exxon Mobil	TX	8.19
26	Boeing	IL	7.48
27	Wal-Mart Stores	AR	6.88
28	J.P. Morgan Chase	NY	7.46
29	Toyota Motor	Japan	6.95
30	UPS	GA	6.84
31	Singapore Airlines	Singapore	6.1
32	Nestlé	Switzerland	8.1
33	Volkswagen	Germany	6.25
34	Goldman Sachs Group	NY	6.57
35	Samsung Electronics	South Korea	6.5
36	Marriott International	MD	8.07
37	PepsiCo	NY	6.94
38	Wells Fargo	CA	7
39	Unilever	Britain/Netherlands	7.15
40	Deere	IL	7.62
41	DuPont	DE	6.65
42	Intel	CA	7.07
43	St. Jude Medical	MN	6.1
44	Accenture	Ireland	7.1
45	Home Depot	GA	6.88
46	Yum! Brands	KY	6.94
47	eBay	CA	6.67
48	Facebook	CA	7
49	Cisco Systems	CA	7.08
50	Ralph Lauren	NY	7.08

Source: CNN Money

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Managing Ethical Conduct: Challenges for the Global Company (Special Webcast)

December 09, 2012 Add Comment Edit

On December 18, 2012 01:00 PM EST [13:00], there will be a special webcast on ethical conduct within public companies. Ethical conduct of officers and directors is an ongoing discussion within the public company. In response to emerging global risks, operational demands, and regional government relations, companies have long embraced the role of Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer (CECO). This webcast will address the role of the CECO in today’s public company, examine ways that the role is evolving, and identify how CECO support from officers and directors will enhance corporate reputation and trust with multi-national stakeholders.

Audience

Chief ethics officers, chief compliance officers, chief investment officers, chief risk officers, chief financial officers, directors of corporate governance, or general counsels

Speakers

Jacqueline Brevard
former Vice President and Chief Ethics Officer
Merck & Co., Inc.

Ms. Brevard is the former vice president and chief ethics officer of Merck & Co., Inc. and established Merck’s first Office of Ethics and Ombudsman Program in 1995. She leads Merck’s Committee.

Gretchen Winter
Executive Director, Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society
College of Business at University of Illinois

Ms. Winter is the executive director of the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (the "Center").

Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Chair Emeritus
Ethics and Compliance Officer Association

Ms. Bonime-Blanc has almost two decades of executive legal, governance, compliance, risk, internal audit and corporate responsibility experience at global companies. She has worked in private, public, established and start-up companies in technology.

Kimberly Byer-Clark (Moderator)
Program Director
The Conference Board

Kimberly Byer-Clark is a program director with The Conference Board. She develops and produces workshops and conferences in the Corporate Leadership practice. Kim is also responsible for content development, speaker selection and recruitment.

For more information click here.

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How Morality Can Win the War on Climate Change

September 19, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The climate movement must go beyond preaching economics and explaining science, we must create a moral imperative that compels us to act. To get people involved in the war on climate change we must weave environmental awareness into our codes of conduct.

The reasons why more people are not demanding action on the environment is a glaring moral failing. If we are to see a critical mass of support for efforts to combat climate change, we must understand that in addition to an economic and ecological crisis, we are also facing a moral crisis. To bridge the gulf between morality and climate change we need to go to the places where morality still has value.

Religions are a primary source of ethical conduct, and as such they are an ideal platform for communicating a moral argument. Although governments and businesses have a central role, churches, temples, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship may be the best venues for disseminating the moral dimension of the climate change issue. We need to tap into the deeply embedded preexisting morality of the vast majority of people who consider themselves followers of religion. (Even those who do not subscribe to religion also respond to moral arguments about the need for action on climate change).

Religious leaders from all the major traditions see action on climate change as a moral imperative. As reviewed in an extensive list of Climate Change Statements, all of the world’s major religious traditions espouse a harmonious relationship between people and the planet.

One group called Interfaith Moral Action on Climate is a collaborative initiative of religious leaders and groups that are promoting a moral call to action on climate change. This group feels compelled by their “traditions and collective conscience to take action on this deeply moral challenge. [They] believe that a moral voice is essential in inspiring action on climate change, since scientific and economic arguments alone have not moved the United States to adequately address this deepening crisis.”

Interfaith is calling for policies that dramatically reduce wasted energy, support renewable energy and phase-out all fossil fuel subsidies. Despite the radical change they advocate, their message is positive. They seek a “brighter vision” to unite the world around “a set of clear widely held moral principles.”

Their third guiding moral principle is to protect the Earth, they reiterate the aboriginal beliefs that we have a moral obligation to be good stewards of the Earth and all of its creatures and processes. Interfaith’s vision advocates a moral response to climate change while acknowledging scientific research.

They have circulated their Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, and an Interfaith Statement on Climate Change was submitted by representatives of the world’s religions at the COP17 in Durban, South Africa.

“We recognize that climate change is not merely an economic or technical problem, but rather at its core is a moral, spiritual and cultural one. We therefore pledge to join together to teach and guide the people who follow the call of our faiths.”

In an article titled “Rekindling the Moral Call to Action,” climate change is construed as a “fundamental moral and humanitarian issue.” The article urges action from leaders and works towards a unified effort to combat climate change.

On July 23rd, 2012, there was a phone conference briefing on “How to Communicate about Climate Action as a Moral Imperative.” The event was co-hosted by Climate Access, US Climate Action Network, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change, and the National Climate Ethics. The speakers indicated that we need to create a moral movement that urges people to take personal responsibility and choose sides on the issue of climate change.

Even American Evangelical Christian Leaders have clearly articulated a moral argument for supporting action on anthropogenic climate change. They state that their Christian moral convictions demand their response to climate change. They go on to advocate national legislation in the U.S., requiring emissions reductions through market based mechanisms like cap-and-trade.

As reviewed in a Guardian article, NASA scientist Jim Hansen calls climate change a moral issue on a par with slavery. He is calling for a global carbon tax and sees inaction on climate change as an “injustice of one generation to others”.

Morality is also the key issue in an article titled Why Few Americans View Climate Change as a Moral Problem by Ezra Markowitz. He is a doctoral candidate in Environmental Sciences at the University of Oregon and a research fellow with the Climate Shift Project at American. In a 2012 publication Markowitz points to an absence of strong moral intuitions on climate change.

Markowitz and his colleague Azim Shariff have published research on the moral psychology of the public (dis)engagement with climate change. Their new paper in Nature Climate Change is called “Climate change and moral judgment.” In the paper, Markowitz and Shariff explore six reasons why climate change is not a more common moral issue and six strategies that may help to compel us to act.

According to these researchers, the human moral judgment system fails to acknowledge climate change because: Climate change is complex, distant and abstract; it represents an untraditional type of moral transgression where it is sometimes hard to attribute blame; people have an aversion to guilt; they see the future as uncertain and they fail to identify with victims of climate change. Finally, concerns about climate change are not at present core moral values.

To help people engage efforts to combat climate change, the authors recommend that we use existing moral values. They go on to suggest that we should focus on communicating the problems that climate change will wreak upon future generations, rather than on the potential benefits. The idea here is that it is counterproductive to focus on “extrinsic motivators” for action on climate change (i.e. economic growth and jobs). According to the researchers, it weakens moral engagement by deemphasizing intrinsic values and non-materialist motives.

The research indicates that it is more productive to use messaging that generates positive emotions (eg: hope, pride and gratitude), rather than negative emotions (eg: guilt, shame and anxiety). The study reports that we need to expand our group identity, incorporate shared goals, and finally, we need to highlight positive social norms where pro-environmental action is lauded.

“The point I want to drive home is this: truly engaging with climate change as a moral issue—really feeling its moral significance viscerally—is no easy feat” Markowitz said, “regardless of how often we hear about the people and animals that will be harmed or the injustice of richer individuals and nations misappropriating a life-sustaining, common resource.”

We will need to be creative and develop evidence-based approaches that help people to understand climate change as a moral imperative. Despite the subtle psychological nuances needed to effectively communicate the point, the moral argument is capable of unleashing unprecedented activity.

Source: Global Warming is Real (http://s.tt/1kkiE)

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