OREANDA-NEWS. Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) announced today it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2016 World’s Most Ethical Company®. This marks the third consecutive year that Eastman has appeared on the prestigious list.

Eastman is only one of two chemical companies being honored this year, underscoring its commitment to continually raising the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behavior.

“For nearly 100 years, Eastman has taken pride in doing business with integrity,” said Mark Costa, Eastman’s chairman and chief executive officer. “I’m beyond proud of our Eastman team for earning this prestigious recognition for three consecutive years.”

“We believe it takes more than strong business results to build a great company,” said David A. Golden, Eastman’s senior vice president, chief legal and sustainability officer. “It takes each and every one of us, every day, conducting business within a culture of the highest ethical standards. It’s also important for us to look beyond our own walls and find ways to have a positive, sustainable impact in the communities in which we live and work.”

"Companies rely on Ethisphere to continually raise and measure the standards of corporate behavior. Those that demonstrate leadership in areas like citizenship, integrity and transparency create more value for their investors, communities, customers and employees, thus solidifying a sustainable business advantage," explained Ethisphere’s chief executive officer, Timothy Erblich. "Congratulations to everyone at Eastman for being recognized as a World's Most Ethical Company."

The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes those organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

Eastman has a number of policies and initiatives in place that allow its team members to cultivate a culture of integrity and ethical standards. The company has an Office of Global Business Conduct, led by Eastman’s chief legal and sustainability officer, which establishes the Code of Business Conduct. The Code outlines the laws, principles and guidelines all employees follow regarding honesty, integrity and responsible corporate behavior. Annual training on the Code of Business Conduct is required for all employees. Additionally, the Business Conduct Helpline, which is a confidential, 24-hour “hotline,” is available. The line provides an anonymous means for employees to report suspected violations and is staffed by third-party specialists.”

Methodology & Scoring
The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research and vetted and refined by the expert advice from Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel. The EQ offers a quantitative way to assess a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%) and provided to all companies who participate in the process.

About the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-­driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication Ethisphere magazine.