These days doing good is good business. Most of the world’s leading companies spend a lot of time, money and resources on corporate social responsibility (CSR) because they know the importance and value of being one of the world’s most ethical companies.

Recently Ethisphere, an organization which promotes ethical business practices, announced the designation of 128 honorees representing 21 countries and 50 industries as the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies. 

To make the grade companies on the list have met rigorous criteria across five categories covering the quality of their ethics and compliance program, organizational culture, corporate citizenship and responsibility, governance, and leadership and reputation.

Asian companies are represented although firms in certain countries seem to understand the importance of CSR versus others. As a percentage of economic activity, Asian businesses still lag their western counterparts. In Hong Kong the sourcing services company Connor was recognized, Indian firms Tata Steel and the IT company Wipro made the list, Japanese beauty company Kao and electronics giant Sony were included, and in Thailand the real estate firm DTGO was also included.

We would like to encourage more Asian firms to add CSR programs to their priorities as companies have a large role to play in define ethics, a commitment to the environment and fair labor practices in the countries they operate in.

The full list of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.