The Ethisphere Institute announced its fourth annual selection of the World’s Most Ethical Companies on March 22, 2010. The list shows a strong correlation between business ethics and performance. These companies go beyond making statements about doing business “ethically” and translate those words into action.

Investing in ethics is beneficial for any company, even in a recession, as shown by a graph displaying the “WME Index,” or all publicly traded 2010 World’s Most Ethical Company honorees, against the S&P 500 and FTSE since 2005 (FTSE is an independent company jointly owned by The Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange). The World’s Most Ethical Companies have outperformed the S&P 500 by delivering a 53% return to shareholders since 2005.

The graph and the complete list of the 100 World’s Most Ethical Companies are located at: http://ethisphere.com/wme2010/

This year, Ethisphere issued their first Media Responsibility Report (2010), which discloses the methodologies, editorial approach, and financial relationships behind the annual “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list: 2010 Media Responsibility Report.

More information on the Ethisphere Institute can be found at: http://www.ethisphere.com