Let Values Lead the Way

Today at Ethisphere, we are delighted to announce the list of the 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies?. At a time when there are so many challenges in the world, Ethisphere has honored 136 companies that exemplify what it means to lead with values, embrace transparency, use their reach around the globe to make a positive impact.?

Perhaps the most compelling thing about this year’s honorees is the degree to which they prove Ethisphere’s conviction that good ethics is good business. The 2022 Ethics Premium—the spread by which the World’s Most Ethical Companies outperform comparable large cap companies—hit an all-time high of 24.6 percentage points. This is no fluke. As Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs have finally achieved broad awareness and acceptance, we see that truly ethical companies have long been moving in this direction already. Now, more than ever, they are seeing the rewards that come with putting employees, stakeholders, community, and society alongside shareholder returns.

A significant component of ESG is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and we have some encouraging data there, as well. For the first time, over 30 percent of Honoree board seats are held by women or gender non-conforming directors. Not only that, 53 percent of Honorees report between 30-45 percent of their board seats held by gender-diverse directors, and another 18 percent report that their boards are at or past gender parity. In comparison, in 2021, the Russell 5000 reported only 24.3 of board seats were held by non-male directors. Meanwhile, 87 percent of our Honorees are now tracking racial and ethnic diversity among directors, part of a swiftly growing trend that connects DEI and ESG and requires top leadership to provide hard numbers to show their progress.

Even though there is still plenty of progress yet to be made, these numbers are an exciting glimpse of better things to come. After all, this is an age of enhanced accountability, and people don’t just expect platitudes from business leaders. They expect results that go beyond earnings and actually make a difference in creating a better society for everyone. What people really want to see—and what we respect most—is action.

That is why we at Ethisphere watch, evaluate, and celebrate those companies that are making real, measurable progress to doing good: so that the companies that are exemplifying what good looks like can provide an example for others to follow. None of this is easy. But when companies dedicate themselves to building long-term integrity, sustainability, and accountability, the results speak for themselves.

These fraught times call for strong, values-based leadership. But you can’t fake integrity, and you can’t pull it out of thin air. You have to work hard at making sure your values can withstand the pressures and complexities of doing business in the real world.

The honorees in the World’s Most Ethical Companies list do just that. After all, strategies come and go, and business priorities change. But values are constant because they reflect the best versions of ourselves and they show the way forward through even the most complex challenges. And right now, that matters more than ever.?