Ethisphere Institute Explained

The Ethisphere Institute is a for-profit company that, for a fee, defines and measures corporate ethical standards, recognizes companies that do well in those stated metrics, and promotes best practices in corporate ethics.^[1] The company is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The company publishes Ethisphere Magazine and announces its World's Most Ethical Companies award once a year. The company also offers verification services for corporate ethics under such names as "Ethics Inside Certification" and "Compliance Leader Verification". It hosts the Global Ethics Summit every March in New York City and manages a community of compliance, ethics and legal professionals known as BELA, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance.^[2]

Operations

The Executive Chairman of Ethisphere, Alex Brigham, created the institute in 2007, as part of Corpedia, a compliance training company.^[3] In 2010, Corpedia was sold but Ethisphere's ownership was retained by Brigham.

Criticism

See also: Greenwashing.

Ethisphere has been criticized for its business model and the possible conflict of interest created when other companies pay for an assessment.^[4] Ethisphere assesses companies based on self-reported data and a survey.^{[5] [6]} Companies dubbed "most ethical" by Ethisphere include Eastman Chemical and Blue Shield of California, despite the involvement of both in major public scandals at the time. Ethisphere also awarded Elbit Systems of America, a branch of a large Israeli weapons manufacturer that has been widely protested for its role in the Israel–Hamas war, with the title of "one of the World's Most Ethical Companies".^[7] Some companies that are recognized often advertise for Ethisphere and pay additional licensing fees for the right to use the year-specific World’s Most Ethical Companies logo.

References

Web site: Elbit, company that was protested weekly, confirms it is moving out of Cambridge . Reinert . Sue . August 28, 2024 . Cambridge Day . September 10, 2024 .

Web site: Investor Overview March 2024 . . December 31, 2023 . Elbit Systems . September 10, 2024 .

Notes and References

1. News: Evans . Will . Beware of corporate consulting firms offering awards for corporate ethics. . 8 February 2022 . Slate Magazine . 19 March 2010 . en.
2. News: DiPietro. Ben. What Matters More: Focusing on Rules or Creating Ethical Culture?. WSJ.
3. Book: Handbook of Research on Strategic Communication, Leadership, and Conflict Management in Modern Organizations . 14 April 2020 . Normore, Anthony. 8 March 2019 . IGI Global . 9781522585176 .
4. News: Schwartz . Arthur J. . A closer look at the 'most ethical' company rankings . 8 February 2022 . Philadelphia Business Journal . 13 May 2016.
5. News: Lazarus . David . The ethics of firms paying to be honored for ethics . 8 February 2022 . Los Angeles Times . 27 October 2014.
6. News: McEachran . Rich . Ethical awards: green wash or genuinely recognising sustainability? . 8 February 2022 . The Guardian . 3 September 2013 . en.
7. News: McAllen . Jess . 2024-03-14 . The Dubious Ethics of “the World’s Most Ethical Companies” . 2024-10-08 . en-US . 0027-8378.