4 consultancies named World's Most Ethical Company

The Ethisphere Institute has released its 2015-edition of the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’. This year’s list recognises more than 130 companies in 20+ countries, including large global names such as Microsoft, H&M, PepsiCo and Starbucks, as well as four firms active in the consultancy industry: Accenture, Capgemini, CBRE and Wipro.

Every year the Ethisphere Institute, a US-based independent center promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance, conducts research into the state of ethics in business. As part of its research, the institute honours leaders that demonstrate a strong corporate culture focused on ethics and compliance, as well as responsible business practices. The so-called ‘World's Most Ethical Company’ assessment is based on performance in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%).

Among the 132 companies recognised this year are several well-known names, such as Cisco, Microsoft, GE, H&M, Manpower, Marriott, PepsiCo and Starbucks and Visa. Four firms active in the consulting industry have also made the prestigious list – management and IT consultancies Accenture and Capgemini, real estate advisor CBRE and Indian origin IT consultancy Wipro.

“These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” comments Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate them for this extraordinary achievement.”

Hervé Canneva, Ethics and Compliance Officer at Capgemini, says her firm is “proud to be honored as a World’s Most Ethical Company for 2015”, adding that Capgemini “will continue to ensure that the culture of ethics is at the heart” of its organisation. Bob Sulentic, CEO of CBRE, says: “CBRE’s selection as a World’s Most Ethical Company is a powerful statement about our corporate culture.”