PHOENIX — ADM, Ingredion and Colgate-Palmolive have been named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies® in 2023 by Ethisphere, a company that strives to advance ethical business practices. The three pet industry companies were included among a total of 135 honorees representing a range of industries.

Ethisphere’s 17^th annual the World’s Most Ethical Companies list recognizes companies that have demonstrated a commitment to ethical business practices that positively impact employees, communities and stakeholders, as well as contribute to sustainable and long-term business performance. Ethisphere examines company culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance, governance, diversity, equity and inclusion, and initiatives that support the value chain.

This year’s list highlights companies from 19 countries spanning 46 industries.

“People look to businesses today to lead on important issues and to do right by all of their stakeholders,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, chief executive officer of Ethisphere. “It takes vision and values to explain your why and create the programs and practices that turn those statements into actions. We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s honorees as part of an exclusive group dedicated to leading by example on business integrity.”

Ethisphere has also released its 2023 Ethics Index, which collects data from the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees. According to the company, this year’s ethics index outperformed a comparable index of large-cap companies by 13.6% from January 2018 to January 2023.

“The outperformance, which Ethisphere refers to as the Ethics Premium, has remained consistent since we began tracking the equity performance of honoree companies,” Byrne said. “This outperformance is the result of the kinds of practices that lead a company to be on our list — investments in their people, culture and communities. We see in this data that, over time, these practices lead to stronger financial performances by businesses.”

This year marks ADM’s fourth time as an honoree, Ingredion’s ninth time and Colgate-Palmolive’s 13^th time.

Ethisphere hosted a Chief Executive Officer Forum and Honoree Gala to celebrate the World’s Most Ethical Companies on March 14. The forum allows senior leaders to discuss their environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and the overall state of ESG.

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