2008 World's Most Ethical Companies to Be Announced in June

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ethisphere Institute, a think-tank dedicated to the research and promotion of profitable best practices in governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility, is now accepting applications for the 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking. The rankings will be revealed at the Forbes and Ethisphere joint-conference, “Driving Profit Through Ethical Leadership” on Tuesday, June 3^rd at the Rainbow Room in New York City, and will also appear in the institute’s quarterly publication, Ethisphere Magazine.

“We are pleased to once again be able to highlight companies that have strong institutional leadership and cultures committed to ethical business”

“We are pleased to once again be able to highlight companies that have strong institutional leadership and cultures committed to ethical business,” said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute. “We are finding that these companies are continually outperforming their competitors, showing that ethical practices positively affect profit in our society.”

Ethisphere researchers and analysts take into account over 80 individual variables in seven broad categories that make up a company’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ). Ethisphere analysis is based both on the information provided by companies through the EQ survey, and through Ethisphere’s rigorous research and verification methods.

The 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies methodology committee is comprised of leading attorneys and government officials, professors and leaders who care about ethical and honest business practices.

Last year’s roster of World’s Most Ethical Companies included Starbucks, Avaya, Kellogg’s, Nike, Sun Microsystems, IKEA, PepsiCo and Novartis, among others.

“It’s notoriously difficult to evaluate ethics at the corporate level; Ethisphere has identified the most important criteria for doing so,” said Prof. Thomas Donaldson, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

For more information about the World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking or to nominate your company, visit http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-rankings/. For more information or to register for the Driving Profit Through Ethical Leadership conference, visit http://forbesconferences.com/?page=event&eventID=124.

About Ethisphere Institute

The research-based Ethisphere Institute and associated membership group, the Ethisphere Council, are supported by more than 100 institutions and corporations, including Thomson West, the Practising Law Institute, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Global Reporting Initiative, Corpedia, Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner, Avaya and Kraft. Ethisphere Magazine is the quarterly publication of the Institute.

The Ethisphere Institute publishes the globally-recognized annual World Most Ethical Companies Ranking™ as well as the Government Contractor Ethics Program Ranking™ and the upcoming Global Anti-Corruption Quotient.