Ethisphere Announces General Motors as One of the 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies for the Third Year in a Row

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Mar 15, 2022, 09:00 ET

Recognition honors companies demonstrating exceptional leadership and a commitment to business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance and governance practices

DETROIT, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, today recognized General Motors as one of the 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies.

GM remains the only OEM automaker on the list and has been for the past three years. In 2022, Ethisphere recognized 136 honorees spanning 22 countries and 45 industries.

"Integrity is not something that changes direction with the current, it's a quality that stays firm, even in challenging times," said Michael Ortwein, GM assistant general counsel and chief compliance officer. "That's why GM's recognition as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the third year in a row inspires me. As we strive to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, this designation further validates our relentless drive to win with integrity, every day, everywhere we operate. I'm proud to say we're leading with the belief that doing the right thing is not an option — it's an imperative."

In early 2021, GM announced it plans to become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040 and is working toward a transition to 100% zero tailpipe emissions for new light-duty vehicles by 2035. The company plans to introduce more than 30 electric vehicle models globally by 2025. Most recently, GM announced it will expand on its philanthropic commitment to equitable climate action by doubling its Climate Equity Fund, dedicating a total of $50 million to help close equity gaps in the transition to electric vehicles and other sustainable technology.

"Today, business leaders face their greatest mandate yet to be ethical, accountable and trusted to drive positive change," said Ethisphere CEO Timothy Erblich. "We continue to be inspired by the World's Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to integrity, sustainability, governance and community. Congratulations to General Motors for earning the World's Most Ethical Companies designation."

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based on the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient® (EQ) framework which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. 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 and reputation (10%).

Ethics and Performance
Ethisphere's 2022 Ethics Index, the collection of publicly traded companies recognized as recipients of this year's World's Most Ethical Companies designation, outperformed a comparable index of large cap companies by 24.6 percentage points over the past five calendar years.

Methodology and Scoring
Grounded in Ethisphere's proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World's Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.

Honorees
The full list of the 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found here.

About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which will power everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, https://www.holden.com.au/?evar25=gm_media_release Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com.

About Ethisphere
Ethisphere^®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 and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

SOURCE General Motors Co.