The journey to the World’s Most Ethical Companies starts with a qualitative and quantitative assessment across five categories. This proprietary rating system, known as the Ethics Quotient® (EQ), is at the heart of the selection process for this prestigious honor. Featuring more than 243 multiple-choice and text questions, the Ethics Quotient framework evaluates a company’s performance in an objective, consistent, and standardized way.
Evaluate your organization using our EQ questionnaire outlining best-in-class standards across five key evaluation areas.
Review the EQ questionnaire survey, collect responses from appropriate parties, and submit online.
Review the Guidance on Supporting Documentation, gather documents, and submit them via the online portal.
Submit the application fee, which partially offsets the work involved in reviewing each application
At the end, compare your practices in The Sphere to benchmark, analyze and gain access to guidance.
Strong Ethics Make for Good Business.
Over the past 18 years, we’ve tracked the World’s Most Ethical Companies as they outperformed peers and competitors, demonstrating a link between ethical behavior and financial performance. We call this link the Ethics Premium.
This outperformance is the result of the kinds of practices that lead a company to be recognized –investments in their people, culture, and communities.
What does it mean to receive World’s Most Ethical Companies designation? For many honorees, it is the highest level of external validation for a years-long campaign to develop best-in-class business integrity practices. It sends a clear message to everyone, from internal stakeholders and partners to clients and the public that an organization has dedicated itself to promoting a strong ethical culture that builds value for everyone.
Deborah Spanic, VP and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
"I highly recommend that companies go through the World’s Most Ethical Companies application process. Even if you don’t achieve the honor, going through that benchmarking and seeing where your program stacks up against those that are considered to be at the top of their game is a fantastic way to gauge the things that you need to focus on, or that you might want to consider for your program.”
Paul Cash, General Counsel
“I would say to a first-time company, use the World’s Most Ethical Companies application process to reflect on the work you may need to do, where your opportunities are, and hold yourself accountable. Even if you are not honored, applying is such a rewarding process. It will help to make your program better, which will allow you to make a bigger impact on your communities and the world.”
Kathrin Belliveau, EVP & Chief Purpose Officer
“I think that for any company that is seriously committed to ethics, operating responsibly, and sustainability for their stakeholders, the process and the methodology of World’s Most Ethical Companies is best in class. I would highly recommend it to companies that are looking to start an ethics and compliance program and for companies that have been at it for a long time and want to see how they can improve.”
Justin Ross, Chief Compliance Officer
“Our customers ask us about our compliance program all the time. … And these aren’t one-off, easy conversations. These are in-depth presentations with our big customers around what we’re doing on ethics and compliance. When we get the World’s Most Ethical Companies honor, our customers see that. And that makes them comfortable to do business with FedEx.”
The 2024 announcement will mark the 18th year we have honored organizations with this designation.
Applicants are evaluated based on their (i) Ethics and Compliance Program, (ii) Culture of Ethics, (iii) Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility, (iv) Governance, and (v) Third Party Management. Each category is evaluated through a combination of answers to our Ethics Quotient® (EQ) questionnaire and submitted supplemental documentation. The Ethisphere team will also conduct independent research into an organization’s reputation and litigation history and, where necessary, will follow up with a candidate. A company’s final Ethics Quotient (EQ) score is evaluated relative to those of its peers within the context of its structure, size and operating environment. Those organizations demonstrating the strongest application across our methodology receive the designation of being one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
Any organization, public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, U.S. or foreign based, is eligible to participate in the process and be considered for designation as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. That said, the Ethics Quotient questionnaire and peer group is generally designed for those organizations with over $250 million in revenue. This does not mean that smaller organizations cannot benefit from the process or be designated as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, but rather that our process is not suitable for many smaller companies unless they have the type of programs in place typically seen at larger companies. Please note that while our process has broad eligibility requirements, non-profit colleges and universities, governments, governmental agencies, government majority owned organizations, and NGOs are not eligible. If you have a question regarding eligibility, please contact Ethisphere here: Contact Us
Applicants who are Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) members also receive a scorecard with exclusive insights and data comparing their scores to those of honorees, along with a more in-depth benchmarking that provides further insights and guidance.
Applying for the World’s Most Ethical Companies application is part of a much deeper commitment to developing and maintaining a robust culture of ethics, compliance program, governance, and more. At your disposal is a vast library of helpful resources that showcase best practices in business integrity, what past honorees have considered the most important parts of their quest for excellence, and helpful insights from Ethisphere’s own subject matter experts on what the latest trends and expectations are and where you can go to best inform your own application process. From Ethisphere Magazine’s profiles of past honorees to current data cuts within The Sphere, to a steady schedule of informational webinars, applying for the World’s Most Ethical Companies doesn’t mean you have to do it in the dark. Whether it’s your first application or your eighteenth, we invite you to take advantage of the resources that will help make your application a rich and productive experience.
Applying for the World’s Most Ethical Companies application is part of a much deeper commitment to developing and maintaining a robust culture of ethics, compliance program, governance, and more. At your disposal is a vast library of helpful resources that showcase best practices in business integrity, what past honorees have considered the most important parts of their quest for excellence, and helpful insights from Ethisphere’s own subject matter experts on what the latest trends and expectations are and where you can go to best inform your own application process. From Ethisphere Magazine’s profiles of past honorees to current data cuts within The Sphere, to a steady schedule of informational webinars, applying for the World’s Most Ethical Companies doesn’t mean you have to do it in the dark. Whether it’s your first application or your eighteenth, we invite you to take advantage of the resources that will help make your application a rich and productive experience.
Ethisphere® is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. We have a deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and believe integrity and transparency impact the public trust and the bottom line of any organization.
