There were nine energy and utilities companies honored, out of a total of 132, on the 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies list released by Ethisphere, and several of these utilities own and operate hydroelectric plants.
These are:
AES in the U.S.
Avista in the U.S.
EDP in Portugal
Iberdrola in Spain
National Grid in the UK
Xcel Energy in the U.S.
Rounding out this list were Avangrid in the U.S., Capital Power in Canada and NextEra Energy in the U.S.
The World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 data points on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain.
Ethisphere says its research supports the conclusion that ethics and financial performance go hand-in-hand. Through annual tracking of how the stock prices of publicly traded honorees compare to the Large Cap Index, Ethisphere determined that the listed 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies outperformed the large cap sector over five years by 13.5%. This “Ethics Premium” forms the basis upon which companies can correlate responsible behavior with shareholder value, Ethisphere says.
The 132 honorees represent 51 countries and 21 industries. This is the 14th annual recognition of this designation. Best practices and insights from the 2020 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of 2020.
The Ethisphere Institute “define[s] and advance[es] the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success.” The company measures and defines core ethics standards using data-driven insights, according to its website.
