Tata Power, Tata Steel and Wipro high on ‘Ethics Quotient’

Every year, Ethisphere compiles a list of the top ethical companies of the world from across five continents.

Three Indian companies— Tata Power, Tata Steel and Wipro— have been named the most ethical companies in the world among 132 companies from across 50 industries and 21 countries.

Though US-based companies continue to dominate the list, it is gratifying to see a few Indian companies in the list, especially at a time when corporate malpractices has been at a high.

Interestingly, these companies have been part of the list for quite a few years now. In a list of 132 winners, 15 companies have won for the last 9 years, since its inception. There are also 11 new entrants in the list.

Tata Power has made it to the list in the Electric Energy and Utilities category, whereas the other two winners Wipro and Tata Steel, found a place in the IT Services and metals categories respectively.

Every year, Ethisphere compiles a list of the top ethical companies of the world from across five continents.

Globally, companies such as Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, Parsons Corporation, Accenture, Hitachi Data Systems and L’Oreal also form part of the list.

Ethisphere recognises companies that not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, but also exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices. It rates the companies on the basis of their EQ (Ethical Quotient).

For the uninitiated, the EQ score is derived through a proprietary matrix of relationships between answers to given questions and a set of complex formulas based on demographic qualifiers.

The framework of EQ comprises a series of multiple-choice questions that capture a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardised manner. The information collected is not intended to cover all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, social responsibility, compliance or ethics, but rather, is a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies.

The EQ framework and methodology has been determined, vetted and refined by expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and from the World’s Most Ethical Companies Methodology Advisory Panel.

The EQ framework consists of five core categories —ethics and compliance programme, CSR, culture of ethics, governance and leadership, innovation and reputation.