Do consumers care if the firms they patronize are ethical? Often, the answer is yes. And these people may stop buying a product and tell their friends if the firm is not. As a result, ethical behavior is a must. Thus, this post focuses on the world’s leading ethical companies 2017.
Each year, Ethisphere® Institute honors the world’s most ethical companies. In addition, it offers insights:
“Ethisphere honors companies who recognize their role in society. They influence and drive positive change in the business community. And societies worldwide. These firms know their actions affect employees, investors, customers, and others. In addition, they integrity is the underpinning of decisions.”
Click the links to see Ethisphere’s prior two rankings: 2016: World’s Most Ethical Firms . 2015: World’s Most Ethical Companies.
World’s Leading Ethical Companies 2017
For 2017, Ethisphere honorees represent 5 continents, 19 countries, and 52 industries. Thirteen firms are 11-time honorees. And 8 firms are first-time honorees.
“that excel in three areas. (1) They promote ethical business standards and practices from within. (2) These standards enable managers and employees to make good choices. (3) They shape future industry standards with tomorrow’s best practices today. Honorees tend to outperform others financially. And this connects good ethical practices and performance.”
Although ethical honorees come from 19 countries, U.S. firms dominate. In fact, U.S. companies account for 75 of the 100 firms. France and Britain tie for second with three firms each.
To see the full list of 100 firms, click the image that appears below. The list sorts companies in alphabetical order. Then, to read insights on ethical performance, click “Download here.” Note: Complete a free login to download the insights.
Ethics, one of the core components of business is often taken for granted by many companies in a view of higher profit and the results are not so good. Volkswagen, the German car giant was caught in emissions scandal and they had to pay a price for it. Customers lost the trust they had put in that brand. There are several other companies who are not having the right business practices, some are known by customers while some are not but their impact will be seen sooner or later.
It is nice to know that U.S. companies dominate the list. Constantly on the news or on the internet, we see many stories of ethical misconduct here in the U.S. and across the globe. As a consumer living in the U.S, I am very happy to read where they stand on that list. Also, I completely agree with the first sentence of the post. Do consumers care about a company’s ethics?
Absolutely.
Do you care. 😄
yes!
I have never considered before whether or not a company is ethical before buying from it. I am glad I have read this post so I can take this factor into account now, as it is very important to support companies who are ethical versus those who do not care to uphold ethical values. I was surprised to scroll down the list and actually read a lot of American company names that I recognized. It is reassuring the see major companies such as Dell, Hasbro, Kellogs, and Microsoft. I honestly don’t associate American companies with being ethical because I assume Americans are only in the big business of making a dollar as quickly and easily as possibly, even if it be unethically. Hopefully, even more companies can take on this value of ethicalness to build better businesses.
Ethics are a huge issue for consumers, especially younger consumers, in business right now. Considering how many entertainment companies, venture capital firms, and tech startups-turned-giants, like Uber, have recently encountered harassment scandals and subsequently had to re-structure their management, the media has been covering ethics in companies more and more. People are concerned with the ethics of companies that they work for and purchase from, to the point of turning down jobs and boycotting products and services. It is always in a company’s best interests to be ethical, and the companies on this list are a good example of how good ethics leads to long-standing success.
Does it matter to you when you shop
I like this post a lot! As important as ethics is in business, mainly companies only get publicity regarding their ethics when there is some sort of a scandal, or conduct that is other wise not approved of, which we’ve seen a lot of lately. It is nice to get a glimpse of the positive side of things- the most ethical companies! It is important for companies to gain and keep their customers’ trust and upholding ethical values and actually showing it and taking pride in it is a great thing that all of the companies on the list obviously do their best to do!
I think it’s really great that most American companies practice business ethics. Personally, I care if a company is ethical. It is crucial for companies set a good tone at the top. Companies such as Marriott, Allstate, Northwell Health, and Starbucks were included as honorees on ethisphere, which is great. It is so important for companies to strive toward positivity, as well as creating a sense of community for the employees. With ethical guidelines, companies treat their employees better and provide quality products and services for consumers.
I really like this post! But before, I don`t really care about where the product that I`m buying are from.However, Ethic is really important in the market. So from now on, I will definitely look into it.
This post is interesting because of how certain countries are more commonly rated for being considered ethical companies. In my International Business course, we recently studied Geert-Hofstede’s cultural analysis of various economically successful countries. Through this analysis I saw how the business culture varies in different countries. For instance, in Japan many companies all still male dominated or have male dominated executive boards. Japan also ranked high in power distance which reflects a stratified business culture. In contrast, American firms ranked high in individuality and low in power distance, which generally insinuates that individual’s are more valued and have greater say within the company. This goes to show the difference in equality within the workplace between these to countries. I am not surprise American companies frequently rank on this list because of our society’s constant push for progression and equality.
Good
I have found for it to be extremely important to shop from ethical companies. A lot of people don’t really see the point, since it is not something directly affecting them, but as more and more people begin to only shop from ethical companies, it will become a trend, and can possibly negatively effect the unethical companies, therefore causing them to either change their ways or stop doing business.
I love reading articles about the praising of ethical companies. I cannot stress enough how important it is to support these companies in every way. Whenever I think of the word ethical in business terms, 9 times out of ten, it is unethical companies that come to mind first, such as the giant Enron scandal. I feel like these ethical companies don’t get enough praise as they should, especially in a world like today where pressure is insane to do things under the table.
I have always been one to consider whether a company is ethical before buying from it. More recently, I have been more interested in this. Especially with items like makeup that could be tested on animals, or shoes that could be made in sweatshops. I think even if you have a successful brand it is important and will lead to more success if one is ethical in the making and selling of the products. Take Tom’s shoes for example. People will pay $60 for a pair of shoes because they like them, but with Tom’s you also get the feeling of doing something good by donating a pair of shoes with your purchase.
I feel that I may have an unpopular opinion. Its not that I don’t care, its just not the first thing that I consider. If one truly knew what went on in the making of their products, they wouldn’t sleep at night. iPhones and Nike are a great example. Almost everyone has them but they don’t care how they were made. I would bet that everyone who has commented has owned one of those items. Safety nets had to be put up in China to stop workers from committing suicide. People know these horrific facts and will continue to buy the products as long as the price is kind to the wallet.
Interesting!
It’s good to see that consumers are caring about ethics. However, how much do they care about them in relation to other characteristics of that item? Would people care more about ethics or pricing and quality?
Although people always care about how much money can a company make, the honor of the company is also important. The best company I think is making money and show the honor to society and its employees at the same time.