OREANDA-NEWS. April 01, 2014. Polish oil concern PKN ORLEN, owner of Lithuanian refining company ORLEN Lietuva, has been awarded the prestigious title of The World’s Most Ethical Company. PKN ORLEN is the only company recognised with the title in Central and Eastern Europe.

The title is awarded to companies based on the Ethics Quotient™ Framework, a comprehensive scoring methodology developed by the Ethisphere Institute and a team of international advisors on business ethics and best practices. The key criterion in selecting the world’s most ethical companies is their ability to successfully integrate an ethical conduct programme into their daily operations and set solid standards for ethical leadership.

"The award is a significant distinction for our company which confirms that our corporate ethics measures, implemented in ORLEN Group, are in fact compliant with the world's highest standards. This is of great importance to us, given the complex nature of our operations and their global reach. We are proving that market problems must never release a company's management board and employees from their duty to conduct business in an ethical manner," said Jacek Krawiec, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.

The World’s Most Ethical Company title has been awarded since 2006, the other companies recognized this year are: The General Electric Company, Encana from Canada, The TATA Power Company from India, and Swiss company SwissRe.

The Ethisphere Institute is an independent research centre that promotes best practices and ethics in business, as well as the highest standards of governance in the management of relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broader regulatory community.