PepsiCo, Adobe Systems among world's most ethical cos list

NEW YORK: Food and beverages maker PepsiCo and software manufacturer Adobe Systems have made it to the list of world's most ethical companies for this year which are led by CEOs of Indian origin.

PepsiCo and Adobe Systems are headed by Indian origin chief executives Indra Nooyi and Shantanu Narayen, respectively. Both the companies have cornered a place in the list of 100 most ethical companies for 2010, as per the report by a research-based Ethisphere Institute.

Besides, debt-ridden Hartford Financial Services have also made it to the list, which was earlier headed by India-origin chief Ramani Ayer. He left Hartford Financial Services in June last year after serving for 12 years.

According to the report, the world's most ethical company designation is awarded to those firms that have leading ethics and compliance programmes, compared to their industry peers.

Interestingly, the companies that have secured a berth on the list are from wide range of industries, right from banking to consumer goods to auto, retail and media.

The list also includes search engine giant Google, global lender Standard Chartered Bank, hardware maker Hewlett-Packard, consumer products manufacturer L'Oreal, diversified industries General Electric, telecom company Vodafone and media and entertainment firm Time Warner.



Meanwhile, global consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture, which has ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods also found a place on the list.

"Of these companies (100), 26 are new to the list in 2010 and 24 companies dropped off from the 2009 list. These 'drop offs' generally occurred because of litigation and ethics violations, as well as increased competition from within their industry," Ethisphere Institute said.

Some of the companies who have dropped from this year list includes car maker Toyota, global lender HSBC, hardware maker Dell, software major Oracle Corp and fast-food chain McDonald's.