Westpac Makes Global Ethical Leadership List
19 June 2008 at 2:30 pm
Westpac Banking Group has emerged as the only Australian company to make it onto a global list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
The list is published by the Ethisphere Institute, a US think-tank set up to research and promote profitable best practices in governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate social responsibility.
Westpac appears on the second annual World’s Most Ethical Companies list.
Alex Brigham, executive director of Ethisphere Institute, says researchers and analysts reviewed several thousand companies throughout 2007.
He says there were numerous companies that were repeat winners from last year’s inaugural list, including Duke Energy, Deere & Co, General Electric, Google, and McDonald’s, while US companies General Mills, NYSE Euronext, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and Premier, Inc. were among many newcomers.
He says the process was rigorous and the Institute is confident that the organisations included in the 2008 ranking are the standouts in their industries, forcing their competitors take a long, hard look at their own efforts-and shortcomings.
Brigham says these companies make a concerted effort to ensure ethical practices remain a top business priority.
The process included reviewing the companies’ codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers; and working with consumer action groups for feedback.
Researchers further analyzed information provided by the companies themselves through questionnaires and conducted additional research for anything they might have missed.
The 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies advisory panel included Ethisphere editors and researchers, as well as attorneys, government officials, professors and other leaders from their respective fields who care about ethical and honest business practices.
To see the complete list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, visit www.ethisphere.com/WME2008
Alex Brigham says the World’s Most Ethical Companies use ethical leadership as a purposeful method to drive profits. Finally, each of these companies embodies the true spirit of Ethisphere’s credo: Good. Smart. Business. Profit.
