NextEra Energy, Inc. has been named a 2014 World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute.
The institute is an independent center of research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance. The announcement marks the seventh time NextEra Energy, which operates the Conestogo Wind Energy Centre in Mapleton, has received this recognition. This year, just 144 companies worldwide were selected across 41 industries, including only four other U.S. energy and utility companies.
“At NextEra Energy, we believe that doing the right thing by our employees, stakeholders and in the communities where we operate is a competitive advantage that benefits our customers and our shareholders,” said James L. Robo, chairman and chief executive officer of NextEra Energy.
“We are pleased that our actions in these areas have been recognized once again. We fully recognize that operating ethically, reliably, safely, and profitably go hand in hand.”
The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient framework. The Ethics Quotient framework has been developed over years of effort to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way.
Among NextEra Energy initiatives evaluated by Ethisphere were the company’s corporate governance structure as well as its compliance and ethics program oversight, written policies, training and communications, monitoring and auditing, and enforcement and response. Evaluators also inquired about NextEra Energy’s workplace injury rates, employee benefits, environmental programs, and charitable activities.
“The entire community of World’s Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it,” said Ethisphere CEO Timothy Erblich. “NextEra Energy joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. ”
The Ethisphere recognition is the latest in a series of recognitions received by NextEra Energy.
Last month, the company was named Number one among electric and gas utilities for the eighth consecutive year in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of Most Admired Companies.
Visit http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/ for the full list of the 2014 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
