Tata Steel and Wipro are the two Indian companies that feature in Ethisphere’s 2017 list of the world’s most ethical companies. The Ethisphere Institute is an American think-tank that works to define and set global standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success.   

Ethisphere has been honoring companies under their ‘The World’s Most Ethical Companies’ program since 2007. They select those companies who recognize their role in society to influence and drive positive change in the business community and societies around the world. These companies also consider the impact of their actions on their employees, investors, customers and other key stakeholders and leverage values and a culture of integrity as the underpinnings to the decisions they make each day.  

Wipro is one of only two IT firms that have made it to the list, the other one being Xerox Corporation. Similarly, Tata Steel is one of the two companies from the metals, minerals & mining space that were honored; with US-based Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc being the other company.

“We are honored to be recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 11 consecutive years,” said Kao Corporation President and CEO, Michitaka Sawada. “For 130 years, we have upheld the value of Integrity passed down from Kao’s founder. As a core value, we positioned integrity as the foundation of the Kao Group Mid-term Plan 2020 (K20), which started from this year. This Integrity continues to be embraced as K20 guides the group’s daily business activities.”

In total, there are 124 honorees, spanning five continents, 19 countries and 52 industry sectors. There are 13 eleven-time honorees and 8 first-time honorees in this year’s list.

"Companies we've honored as World's Most Ethical take a novel response to the shift in societal expectations, constant redefinition of laws and regulations, and the geo-political climate," Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer said.

"They invest in their local communities around the world, embrace strategies of diversity and inclusion and focus on long term-ism as a sustainable business advantage. In short, these companies are transformative, not just out of need, but because they recognize that integrity is the key to their advancement,” he added.

Since 2007, Ethisphere has honored those companies who recognize their role in society to influence and drive positive change in the business community and societies around the world. These companies also consider the impact of their actions on their employees, investors, customers and other key stakeholders and leverage values and a culture of integrity as the underpinnings to the decisions they make each day.The list honors companies that excel in three areas – promoting ethical business standards and practices internally, enabling managers and employees to make good choices, and shaping future industry standards by introducing tomorrow’s best practices today. 

(Source: Ethisphere)